Linnea's First Christmas

Linnea's first Christmas Eve was spent with the Branca clan at the traditional pasta feast at Great-Gramma Branca's in Rockford.  Closest to Linnea in age is Hunter, barely a year old and another adorable blondie.
Christmas morning found us at Gramma and Grampa Daniels with gifts galore.  Above she's pictured in her Li'l Swede bib from Uncle B and below, opening her blocks from Gramma & Grampa (a huge hit with both Linnea AND, unfortunately, Maya).
Below she's showing Gramma the cool calendar she gave her - of herself, of course.  Have we mentioned how embarrassingly excited Linnea gets to see photos of herself?  It's awkward.
As predicted, the bows and wrapping paper probably ranked as Linnea's favorite things under the tree this year.  If only her tastes would stay so simple...

Mele Kalikimaka

Linnea had a memorable first Christmas in Rockford, followed the very next day by a trip with the Daniels clan to beautiful Kauai. Although it took us nearly two days to get there (long story), it was well worth the trip. Above she's pictured with Mommy on the deck of our condo - that's Hanalei Bay and Bali Hai (yes, from South Pacific) in the background.
Above, she's at the lagoon, trying out her first ukelele with Aunt Aimee. Below, she's admiring the handiwork of Uncle B on a larger (albeit still very Hawaiian) stringed instrument.
Despite the sleep traumas of the four-hour time change, Linnea still managed to soak up some sun (well covered in SPF 45, of course) and enjoy her very first departure from the continental U.S. Aloha!

Dedication Sunday

The Sunday right after Thanksgiving, we took advantage of having both sides of the family in town and dedicated Linnea in our church's Sunday morning service. It was an important day because Mommy & Daddy publicly committed to raise Linnea in a Christian home... and also because she got to wear her first hair bow :).

Pastor Carr did the dedication, and Linnea cooperated quite nicely while he held her during the prayer. She got restless in the last 30 seconds or so, but he is a father of 5 so he knew enough to give her a paper bulletin to play with to pacify her.

Afterwards, we came home and had lunch with all four of her grandparents, Great-Gramma Branca, Aunt Aimee and Uncle Brett. She even got to open some nice mementos of the occasion. She was actually quite into it - boads well for Christmas :).

Thanksgiving 2008

Linnea was just tickled pink to have Mommy's side of the family in town for Thanksgiving this year. Above she is pictured with PAPA (capitalized in attempt to capture the sound of her yelling it every time someone else said it to her).

Here she is with Cousin Kelsey - her only female cousin - shortly after her arrival (along with the rest of her family) from north-central Michigan.

And here she is with her eldest cousin, Evan - already helping to shape and mold her young mind.

We exchanged Christmas gifts with Nana and Papa while they were here and Linnea was the recipient of her very first baby doll - a huge favorite. She kisses her regularly.

All in all, it was a wonderful holiday - a great lead-in to other holidays to come. We just hope she resists the thoughts that are clearly going through her mind in the photo above and lets the Christmas tree stay safe until Christmas!

A Particularly Photogenic Fall Day

Halloween - 2 Weeks Late...

Visiting the Minnesotan Kin

Okay, these pictures are a month old (what can I say?), but last month Linnea finally made it up to the Twin Cities to visit her northern kin.  Above she is pictured with Great-Gramma Daniels, her birthday partner.  On February 27th next year, Linnea will turn 1 and Great-Gramma will turn 90.
Above here, Linnea is banging on the table with second-cousin-once-removed (is that what you call Ryan's cousin's baby?) Autumn, 3 1/2 months her senior and completely ADORABLE.
And here she is waving (which she did - NONSTOP - all weekend) with second cousin Krista (Ryan's cousin).
All in all, it was a short but sweet weekend and we were all glad to reconnect with the Minnesotan branch of the family.  And no, it wasn't just because of the amazing Swedish pancakes.