Penny has the holiday spirit!
Jingle Jess
Cookie Tester is a very important job.
Jess likes ice cream almost as much as Penny.
Penny is not sure Gramma is telling the truth about these 'hats.'
Can a coolie hat be festive?
They're fun, anyway!
Look! Little lights!
Decorating the tree with Dad
Decorating the tree with Mom
My office, with my new ribbon tree art (thanks, John!).
The holiday stress is enough to drive anyone to drink!
Bottoms up!
She voluntarily stands in front of the tree wearing a pretty dress, but of course by the time I get my camera...
Is it just me, or does she look like part of an animatronic display?
Penny is fascinated by Grandpa's train set.
YAY, ICE CREAM!
She's working her way up to spoonfuls the size of her head. I have faith that she'll get there soon.
Penny's daycare put on a Christmas show. The 2-year-olds 'sang' Jingle Bells.
Penny, like all her friends, mostly just wanted to play with the bells.
Penny and her trusty steed.
Boys and Girls
Oo. Nurses have the coolest toys...
Sunset over the Norfolk harbor
The cool thing about going to the doctor is the fish tank.
Penny likes peppermint.
Sometimes a cigar is just a peppermint stick.
Penny was VERY excited about snow. (See movie below)
Mom! Look how tall I am!
Gramma's stairs have easy handholds.
...and this one's mine, and this one's mine, and...
Tristan, Heather, and Nathan
Choo-choo!!!
Penny decided that a towel or blanket wrapped around her like this make a 'princess' dress.
This was just the beginning of our Christmas music. (See movie below)
Penny subsisted for four days entirely on apples, yogurt, and cookies. Anyone surprised? I didn't think so.
Wastebaskets make a GREAT hat!
Rimas, Rachael, Rimas' Aunt Donguella (sp?), and Jill...
Rimas' sister Dinah, father Vince, an aunt and uncle whose names I've already forgotten, and Rimas...
And Matt and Penny and I were at the other end of the table, between Dinah and Jill. Lithuanians like big crowds for Christmas Eve dinner.
Penny was not so much into the 12-course dinner as she was wanting to crawl, headfirst, down Rachael and Rimas' steep stairs. And then crawl back up them. Backwards.
She was very into the cheesecake they had for dessert, though.
After-dinner chat
How impressive was Penny? We were there until more than an hour past her bedtime, and she never got fussy.
More fun in the snow. (Movie below)
Penny and her pet snowball that she refused to leave outside.
Penny likes a little pumpkin pie with her whipped cream.
Christmas dinner
Christmas dinner
Matt and Penny demonstrate how Santa comes down the chimney...
Penny loved the dress from Aunt Rach so much she insisted on putting it on then and there. She also got a big kick out of the hand puppets from Gramma.
Of course she fell immediately in love with Aunt Aimee's puppy. Riley was... less than excited about Penny.
Another big hit -- the Elmo cell phone from Uncle Evan and Aunt Aimee.
Biiiiiiiig bear! So heavy!
Hey! Uncle Evan and Aunt Aimee brought the puppy to visit again!
Biiiiiiig doggy!
Chillin' with Uncle Dave and Sheba.
Gramma and Grampa Duck
Peek-a-boo!
This plush teaset (including plush spoons, cakes, and teabags!) thrilled me almost as much as Penny.
Wow, that's a lot of CareBears.
Grandpa and the CareBears.
Gramma and Grampa Duck watching Penny play.
Penny tests the ice cream vintage...
...and pronounces it acceptable. (See movie below)
Grandpa's game: The Flying Tigers!
Out to enjoy the snow before it all melts...
Wringing out the gloves
This is my stick! And I shall call it... Stick!
Hey, Penny, look at Mommy in the window! (What's Grampa Duck doing...?)
Now this is sledding! (Movies below)
Even Mommy came out for some fun!
Hey, Grampa, when do we get to ride again?!
The artist selects her colors...
Viola! So beautiful! (Penny turned her art around and held it up when she was done, without any prompting from me at all.)
Counting toes.
Playing piano with Aunt Sam. (The rare face-playing method.)
Playing piano with Aunt Sam.
Dancing to the music!
Tell me a secret, Grampa...
More new toys! And don't be trying to comb my hair, Mom!
I'm gonna lick you, Uncle John!!!
Uncle John's Revenge
Penny's big present from Gramma and Grampa Luck was a slide.
She was very excited about it...
...but she didn't really want to go down it much.
But she had fun climbing the ladder...
...and sending her CareBears down. So she had fun anyway.
Tutu and Gramma Luck
Grandpa Luck.
When Penny opens presents, she gives each little piece of paper to Matt or I as soon as she tears it off.
Pants and a sweater? Isn't there anything good in here?
Double-fisting the appetizers
Penny insisted on spearing her own piece of feta, but then refused to eat it.
Aunt Sam, Uncle John, and Tutu
You wouldn't rat on me, would you, Uncle John?
Quick! While Dad's not watching! Stuff the chocolate in the mouth!
Aunt Sam taught Penny how to play the guitar!
They put on a lovely little concert for us before dinner. (Movies below)