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A little more dexterity and this kid’s gonna be trouble.

If you’ve ever met Bailey, you probably wouldn’t call her gentle. She gets way too excited to see you, and expresses that excitement with jumping and licks. But around Charlotte, Bailey falls somewhere between tranquil and comatose. Here’s a photo from a recent snuggle session.

With her other toys, Bailey is not nearly as kind. The idea behind this toy is genius—dogs like water bottles, but they get all pointy and dangerous after too much playing. So you stick a water bottle in this canvas shell and create the perfect toy—for two days, at least. Bailey finally got what she was after, then lost interest. All that’s missing is a chalk outline.

And here’s Charlotte with her second dog friend. Because sometimes Bailey needs a rest.

[See Part 1 here.]

Next stop on the Christmas tour, Grandma Lynn & Grandpa Chuck’s house in Wayne! Click below to see all the great pics.

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Thursday’s photos were just a taste of Charlie’s first Christmas. Click below for a complete recap.

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Charlotte’s first Christmas was a success by any measure. Especially “presents received.”

On Christmas Eve, we bribed Santa and his reindeer with milk and cookies and carrots.

(It worked.)

We thoroughly documented Charlie’s Christmas activities, and I’ll be posting lots of pictures over the course of the next few days. But right now, all we want for Christmas is a little extra sleep. So I’ll say this to you even though it sounds trite: Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

It was a lounge-around-in-your-track-suit kind of day.

With a hint of disdain in her eye, Bailey looked on.

But Charlie didn’t let her dog friend get her down. Here she’s dancing.

Maybe Santa will bring matching outfits for Mom and Dad.

Clockwise from top left, here are Bailey’s annual Christmas photos – 2005, 2006, 2007 and, at bottom left, 2008. Those are some good looking Flor tiles. Nice curtains, too.

It’s been five whole months since this website made the transition to full-time baby photo gallery. (You can re-live those first few hours here.) Traffic-wise, having a baby was a brilliant move. Charlotte is a much bigger draw than my NBA predictions.

Charlotte and I celebrated by sneaking off to the mall to pick up a few small Christmas items for Ellen. And by practicing fist bumps.

Bailey’s present was letting Charlie play her dog like a furry piano.

Now we’re bracing for her first big snow storm. Maybe Bailey can pull us around on a sled in the backyard.

We snuck in and took this picture of Charlotte during a nap.

She was not amused.

Here are two pics from last week’s baby/dog photoshoot.

Don’t worry about those rosy red cheeks. We gobbed on the Vaseline and she’s back to her normal hue.

And here’s a random shot of Bailey, working from home.

Today Ellen and I visited The Mall at Short Hills to have our daughter photographed with their high-end Santa. Since she’s not yet skeptical of costumed strangers, Charlotte was full of holiday cheer.

We chose not to attend The Mall’s ‘Santa Paws’ pet pictures event. Bailey is plenty skeptical of strangers, costumed or not.

The holiday action continued for us the Friday after Thanksgiving. We headed down to the Jersey Shore to my parents’ house in Belmar.

Grandma Helen entertained Charlotte with her fancy front-loading dryer. Even I enjoyed watching the laundry for a bit.

Great Aunt Laura bought Charlie a pop-up book, which (really good) Aunt Karen walked her through.

My cousins Ally and Samantha entertained Charlotte with a singing doll, who invites you to sing a counting song with her, then goes ahead and sings it whether you’re on board or not.

The doll is now on Charlie’s car seat. Yesterday, Ellen accidentally pressed the “talk” button while in a miserable line at the Post Office. Shockingly, nobody ordered her to leave.

On a separate trip to the Post Office, Charlotte and I were approached by a woman who wanted to know if we needed a nanny. An older woman also informed me that her kids were always loud wherever they went, and so she appreciated my daughter’s silence. I did, too. A third woman held the door for me, and said she felt obligated to help because she’d left her kids home alone.

When I’m running errands by myself, nobody ever engages me in conversation. The baby and I have some big holiday shopping plans next week. We’ll see whether we remain magnets for strangers.

Let’s relive all the magic of Thanksgiving ’08 by looking at Charlotte’s latest photos.

This batch is from Thanksgiving Day (Proper). We celebrated at Ellen’s grandfather’s place.

Charlotte was right at home, and her only cries were strategically timed to coincide with the fourth quarter of the Tennessee-Detroit game. We retired to the other room to eat and watch.

While it wasn’t much of a game and the outcome was long since decided, my fantasy football fortunes are tied to the Titans defense. It was fun and festive to see them knocking around the lowly Lions.

Her baby shoes were a big hit.

Ellen and I were scouting potential babysitters. Cousin Emily passed her exam, which mainly consisted of not dropping the baby.

Cousin Molly was also a pro. If we’re ever in Scranton and need some time to ourselves, we’ll drop Charlotte off in the dorms.

Next up: Thanksgiving II photos

We need to invest in better lighting, and perhaps hire an editor. But here are the highlights of a recent chat between Charlotte & Bailey.

People often ask how Charlotte and Bailey get along. When Charlotte’s spitting up, she’s Bailey’s favorite food source. When Charlotte’s not eating, Bailey mostly leaves her alone.

But now that Charlotte’s growing more aware, she’s becoming a bigger fan of her dog friend.

Bailey also makes a good foot rest.

Coming soon: Thanksgiving pictures.