Baby's First Christmas

Sophia's introduction to Christmas began during our Thanksgiving trip when we took her and Katherine to see Santa. Sophia stared at Santa for about 3 seconds...and then the terror set in! She saw Santa 2 more times this year, and she had the same reaction each time. For Katherine, the terror was instantaneous, and I have a feeling it'll be the same for Sophia next year. Aunt Traice and Gramma drove up on the Sunday before Christmas. Although Sophia hadn't seen Aunt Traice in a couple of months, the two hit it off immediately. Sophia thinks everything Aunt Traice does is totally entertaining.
Here's a video of Aunt Traice dropping leftover Halloween candy into a bowl, and although Sophia was battling a case of the hiccups, she giggled every time!

We spent Christmas Eve in Napa at Aunt Susie and Uncle Greg's house. We were excited to get Sophia together with my cousin Erica's 2 boys, who are both under the age of 3.The kids didn't really want anything to do with one another, and Sophia was far more interested in chasing the cat around. Oh well, maybe next year they'll have more fun together. Sophia definitely looked cute in the Christmas outfit my BFF Jennie gave her!
Daddy came home from work at about 10:30pm on Christmas Eve. We woke up bright and early on Christmas morning to see what gifts Santa had delivered.

Sophia had a great time pulling her gifts out of her stocking.
Sophia's first gift was from Gramma. She had surprised us all by refinishing the old rocking ram that my grandfather gave me for my first Christmas (it is a ram rather than a horse in honor of my astrological sign of Aries)
Santa must have seen what a good girl Sophia was, because she got lots of presents. It would take me forever to list everything she received, but one of her favorites is a toy piano from Moyses.
She was also really excited to receive a toy Elmo from Sharky, one of Daddy's U2 buddies.

On Christmas day, we drove to the Bay Area to Aunt Sandi and Uncle Mike's house. We met Grandpa and the rest of the Caretto clan there. The only rule in Aunt Sandi's house was that there weren't any rules. Sophia was allowed to touch and/or break whatever she fancied. She went straight for the digital camera, but fortunately she didn't break it.
Gramma stayed one extra day before heading back home. Sophia and Trent enjoyed the last bit of spoiling by sharing Gramma's toast.
I think Sophia was a little overwhelmed by her first Christmas, but hopefully she'll be more aware of what's going on next year. She is definitely enjoying all the new toys and books she received, and is looking darn cute in her new clothes!