With two newborns ready to celebrate their first-ever XMAS we knew it was going to be a special holiday season.

Let’s start off a few days before XMAS when Rebecca and I visited Laurene and the grandkids before they left for Arizona.

We enjoyed a surprise dinner and cake celebrating Rebecca’s birthday. While Laurene made tamales Rebecca took a few photos of the grandkids. After dinner we held the obligatory cake/candle/song ceremony. Doesn’t Rebecca look thrilled?

The next holiday event was the annual Christmas eve dinner at Dan & Diane’s. Nathan stole the spotlight. He was awake, happy and receiving  all the attention.

I was able to snap a photo of Nathan on his own. I decided to process it with this vintage look – after all, that smile is a classic.

After dinner the kids played “find the pickle”. Shannon had troubles again this year. Dan and Doug gave it their best shot. But Kyle held on to his crown and is the reigning champion for another year.

After a few days of house cleaning and food prep XMAS morning finally arrived. The first order of business, as always, is for the grandkids to open presents. Ben & Destiny are well versed at this; they ripped their way through presents before being sent off to change into holiday clothes.

While Rebecca made final preparations for the family onslaught I took a drive to Costa Mesa and picked up Yahir, my Little Brother (OC Big Brothers organization). Yahir grabbed a miniature remote control car set on his way out the door. It was a big hit with Ben.

Don’t you think Ben “cleans up” nicely. You’ve gotta love that tie? Wait till you see Destiny’s festive dress (coming up). Way to go Amy.

If you’ve been reading earlier posts you may recall that Yahir showed a real passion for photography on a field trip to the LB Aquarium of the Pacific. That made the choice of gift easy. In the picture above Rebecca is helping him with his new point & shoot camera.

In the meantime family started arriving fast & furious. Here we see Kyle “zipping” into the garage with his new Suzuki 600. He loves the new motorcycle jacket. It’s a present that  will get a lot of use.

Daisy & Doug showed up. It’s clear someone remembered her favorite color. Daisy has committed to using the $$ gift to further her college degree.  We’re certain she will do just that.

Shannon & Dan had a XMAS moment or two (or three) playing with Nathan. This snapshot has to rate as the best Normal Rockwell picture I’ve ever bagged.

We did a few “arranged” (dare I say posed) photos before Amy & the kids headed out to visit the in-laws. Check out that dress – Destiny is just too cute.

It was tough but we were also able to get a photo with both “first-timers” semi-happy, semi-erect and looking in the direction of the camera (mostly) at the same instant.

By early afternoon things were winding down. Roman held up a wall with his eyes (mostly) closed. He ended up  joining Daisy on the sofa to “surf”.

But the day was far from over. Rebecca’s sister and family were due to arrive soon and, when they did, the tempo and fun picked up again.

It was getting late when the now-annual Skype phone call to Rebecca’s brother (& family) in Tennessee was connected. Everyone took turns “talking to the monitor” and XMAS greetings were passed over the ether.

So, as you can see, it was a long, family-filled, memorable XMAS day with multiple generations present – just the way we like it. We hope you had a similar holiday with lots of time spent with family & friends.

Rebecca and I would like to offer our best wishes to you and yours for the remainder of the holiday as well as going forward into 2012. We hope our paths cross soon.