Christmas dinner...a week early

QQ graciously greets dinner guests.
Playing with cousin Isacah for the first time. Those of you who have followed our journey from the start may be as amazed as I am to remember that Isacah wore the same red dress that QQ wears here only last Christmas!! How time flies. It boggles the mind.
Isacah reaches out to stroke QQ's cheek...and mommy almost drops the camera. So, so cute!
M. and his mom carving the roast beast.
Oodles of toddlers under the Christmas tree.
Everyone is attentive to QQ...cousin Harrison thinks she might be cold in her holiday dress, and offers her his sweater. What a little gentleman!
Isacah and Q playing with I's cash register.

The family sits down to a Holiday feast.
Me cutting my sister-in-law Chrissie's roast beast...since she's busy nursing the newest member of the ever-growing clan.


Uncle M. and his beloveds.

Q plays catch with her grandpa.
Isacah is pretty excited about her after-dinner sucker.
Chrissie and her little butterball, Holland.
Looks like M. has a monkey on his back these days.
Sean and his baby girl.
The piano piled high with gifts for the kiddos.
Q reads with Grandpa.
Q reverently touching aunt Chrissie's angel.
I was thrilled to see how much our almost-16-month-old really got down and enjoyed her first Christmas. I wasn't sure she'd be old enough to enjoy the process (her first b'day was a bit lost on her) but she really rose to the occasion all around.
Opening her first gift... from Aunt Lisa.
Oh, the anticipation!
Oh...my...goodness!!
It was a Jerry Giraffe, and it was a h-u-u-u-ge hit with the Q.
Look at those widened eyes!
She went on to hug and kiss it repeatedly once mommy got it out of the box.
I. Love. My. Giraffe.
Taking a break to refuel on Daddy's lap.
Sean and Chrissie settling in to open gifts.
Watching the proceedings from the comfort of Daddy's safe lap.
This is what she does when confronted by a "stranger" these days. In this case the "stranger" was Uncle John, who she maybe didn't remember from Thanksgiving.
Lisa and the boys enjoy a laugh.
Q loves her cousin Victoria...in a big, big way. The feeling is mutual.
Isacah in her new "Princess costume"...aka Disney pajamas.
Is this not the quintessential Christmas image? So sweet.
Don't worry, they're just bacon bandaids.
Chrissie and the butterball.
Isacah loves scented lotions. I mean, she lo-o-o-o-oves them. It's a girl thang, I guess. Grandma was generous enough to share her gift basket of lotions with her.
Vic and Mom.
Uncle M and Harrison.
Chrissie and Holland get their play on with the Q.

Q loves it when the toys kiss her... even the trucks. Somehow, Isacah understood.
Our daughter is such a trooper. At this point, it was nearly three hours past her bed time, and this hand-to-the-cheek was the first indication of tiredness that she allowed. She is game for anything, and always cheerful. We are lucky, lucky parents.

"I believe this is your bottle? It seems to match your pajamas."
Q is big on sharing.
Isacah blowing her own horn.
While her brother, always going one step further, blows two at once.

At the end of the night, Uncle M busts out the very most special gift from China...a laser top, which is a HUGE hit with all the kiddos. This is one of the many reasons why he holds he position of number one favorite uncle.
Chrissie and Sean lovin' on their last-born.
The Pied Piper of toddlers...
...M. holds court amid his many fans...
...enchanting the multitudes of tiny ones...
...and...
...finding himself turned into a niece-and-nephew sandwich!
Even though my camera focused on the wrong thing, I had to include this photo, which shows just how much the nieces and nephews adore their Uncle M.
No, believe it or not, that's not a doll....It's our tiny new cousin Holland, born the same week we went to China to adopt our beloved Q.