Playing it By Ear: Our Christmas Story

The Official Ishikawa Family Christmas picture (no, Bob is not dead, he just didn't want his picture taken)

Well, yet another first has come and gone. Actually two. We enjoyed a fantastic first Christmas with our Leila and then, today, tried out solid food for the first time! What an action packed few days!

Here are some of the highlights:

CHRISTMAS EVE
The three of us celebrated our own Christmas that morning before heading out to Naperville.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

Leila ready to open her presents!

And skip to post-gift opening...(trust me, you aren't missing much in between in the way of any cute Leila pictures...she stared at us like we were crazy as we opened her gifts and stuck them in her face half expecting her to jump up and yell "whoohoo! just what i wanted!")...

Upon arriving at Grandpa and Grandma Ish's house later that afternoon, Leila lost her sh#$%. All afternoon she struggled to find her happy place and the sh#$%& really hit the fan as we got in the car to head off to church. Leila got so worked up, she was screaming and red-faced the whole ride there. So then, like the newbie parents we are, we were too scared to go in and decided to drive back home. Of course, just as we turned out of the church parking lot, Leila stopped crying. I started to worry that maybe she was possessed or something and didn't want to be near a church...but thank goodness my worries were for nothing as she remained calm even as we turned the car back around and headed back to church. She sat through the service without more than one little peep (and that was when one of the choir members hit a real high and sour note...so it was totally understood) and we laughed at what a memorable first Christmas experience this had made.

Leila in her pretty Christmas dress before the meltdown in the car