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The Crane family was quite a buzz as December rolled around, and they most certainly had a good reason to be extra merry and bright this year. The family had two little ones who would be experiencing their first Christmas, and it had been a long time since the family had such a delight.
The seven-month-old girls were certainly the picture of the lyric “tiny tots with their eyes all aglow” especially when it came to the Christmas lights. This was the first year since Niles was a child himself that his tree had sported multicolored lights. He was rather opposed to the idea at first since white lights were more pristine, elegant, and crisp. But Daphne, knowing her husband quite well, argued that their daughters would appreciate the colored lights more. “Darlin’, you know how colors have been fascinatin’ the girls lately, what with Katie loving blue and Mia loving red. Imagine their sweet faces when they see a colorful tree with their favorite colors displayed throughout with the rest in such a beautiful, almost magical way.”
Daphne was correct in using that tactic because Niles agreed, and this was the first year his tree held a lot of color: lights, ornaments, and ribbon with a lovely, glowing star on top. There was still some of Niles’ touch in the decorations because there were hints of gold accenting the festive colors. “Gold is a Christmas color after all,” he argued, “and one of the first three gifts. Helps break up all the color too.”
“I think it’s lovely, Niles,” Daphne said as she admired the unlit tree while the girls played on the floor nearby. “I can’t wait to see it lit up! Can we do it now?”
“Yes, I think we’re ready for the big reveal. Let’s get the girls in position.”
They collect Mia and Katie, both on their hands and knees rocking back and forth trying very hard to crawl. Katie’s face is scrunched in great concentration as she stares down at her hands, and Mia is grunting in frustration, bothered by the fact she’s not moving like she wants. As her mom bent over to scoop up Mia, the little one let out an upset whine over being unsuccessful at crawling. “Ohhhh, I know, Mia baby. You’ll get the hang of it before you know it,” she promised with a kiss to the baby’s temple before Mia tucked herself more into her mom’s embrace.
“Mamamamamama,” Mia babbled softly as she snuggled in.
“That won’t get old any time soon,” Daphne told herself as she gently rubbed Mia’s back.
Niles picked up Katie, chuckling as his daughter let out a huff at not being able to crawl either. “Don’t you worry, princess, we’ll be chasing you soon enough.”
Katie hasn’t quite figured out Mama or Dada yet, but she made specific baby noises that the parents have figured out mean something to her. She would try very hard to talk to them - when Mia wasn’t filling up the time with her own chatter - and would be very intent on what noises she made. But this time, Katie hummed out, “Daaaaaaaaaa,” as she too snuggled into the embrace.
“That’s right, princess, it’s Dada,” Niles confirmed with a soft smile as he rested his cheek against Katie’s head. “You and your sister are so very clever.”
They regroup by the tree, each holding a baby so she could see the Christmas tree properly. Until Niles and Daphne realized they all couldn’t wait for someone would have to actually plug in the tree. “Oh, here,” Niles offered as he held out Katie to Daphne so he could plug in the lights.
She adjusted Mia so she could hold Katie too - both parents are now masters at holding two babies at a time after all - and when she did take Katie, the girl greeted, “Maaaaaaaaaaa.”
“That’s right, Katie dear,” Daphne chuckles. “It’s Mama. We’re really going to have to work on your second syllables. I’m not inclined to be called Ma .”
“Oh now, Daphne, she’ll get there. Besides, ‘Ma’ is a more common slang in Europe than the southern United States, so it can’t be that bad.”
“It can be if you’re English. Ma and Da are Irish slang, and very Irish slang at that. Mama or Mum is just fine for me, thanks.”
“Well, I’m rather enjoying Da. I wouldn’t mind that all,” Niles commented as he picked up the plug in for the lights and moved towards the wall outlet.
“Don’t worry, Katie dear,” Daphne mutters softly to her daughter, “we’ll work a little extra on those second syllables. You’ll get it.”
Niles plugged in the lights, and the Christmas tree glowed a soft rainbow of colors, accented by the ornaments scattered throughout the tree. Daphne laughed in delight as the twins turned their full and complete attention to the tree, Mia letting out a little, excited, “Ooh!” as she did so.
“Oh, Niles, it’s beautiful! The girls are absolutely loving it! Look at them, they’re delighted!”
“Oh I’ll say,” Niles agreed as he returned to his place by Daphne and took Katie back from her. “You know, it does look rather nice, doesn’t it?”
“It’s lovely, darlin’; you did splendidly.”
Mia and Katie completely agreed with the statement, both giggling and reaching for the tree in awe.
It was a good thing the girls could not crawl yet because they wanted every pretty thing off the Christmas tree, and since there were lots of pretty things on the tree, they eyed the strange and magical tree every chance they got. Niles and Daphne often took them over to the tree to let them look at it, taking the opportunity to teach colors to them since there were ample varieties of them to point out. Although, one parent was giving a little more advanced lesson than the other.
“See this color, girls? This is green . Greeeeeeen. But one day you will know it as pine green which is different from this green on the drum ornament. That shade is called emerald green,” he explained, pronouncing the word slowly for them. They were sitting on the floor right by the tree so the twins could practice sitting up by themselves while they received a lesson in color names. “And see this color? That is red. Reeeeeeed. It’s actually a cherry red, while the red on this heart-shaped ornament is more of a candy apple red.”
Mia reached for the heart-shaped ornament, and while Niles’ attention was on keeping Mia from grabbing it, Katie had managed to get her hands on a blue disc ornament with silver writing on it.
“Ohhhh no you don’t, my sneaky princess,” Niles stated as he took the ornament from her before she could shove as much of it in her mouth as she could. “You’re not big enough to properly hold this one yet. Besides, these hooks are very dangerous. Daddy only accidentally poked himself once this year, and that’s a good year.”
Not wanting his daughters to be left out of the full fun of the Christmas tree, Niles bought them their own toy tree. He was very excited over his find, and he all but burst through the door with it, a wide grin on his face. “Daphne! Look what I found for the girls!”
“Niles,” Daphne whined, “we agreed no presents until Christmas.”
“Yes, but how can a Christmas tree count as a present when it’s essential for Christmas?”
“Are you giving it to the girls? Ya know, like a gift?”
Niles thought about that one for a moment, clearly mentally working his way out of this little spot he was in. “Nooooo. It’s mine…that they can play with.”
“S’that a fact?” Daphne crossed her arms and asked, “Didn’t I just hear you say, ‘Look what I found for the girls’?”
Niles remained quiet again for a moment before shrugging in defeat. “Oh alright, yes, I got them a gift, and I’m sorry. You’re right; we did say no more gifts until Christmas, but pleeeeease can I give them this one? Please please please,” he begged like a little one asking for something he wanted.
Daphne couldn’t keep the charade up any longer, and her face softened as she said, “Oh alright, just this one. I’m rather curious what kind of tree you’ve got anyway.”
“It’s amazing!” He pulled it out of the box, and there it stood almost three feet tall with child-friendly ornaments to be set in little notches so they don’t fall out unless knocked off. There was even a little star on top. “Look at it, Daphne! It’s perfect for our babies to play with, not just this year but the next few years. They have their own tree, and the entire family’s can be protected.”
“Oh, Niles, it is rather darlin’,” she agreed with a warm smile. “They really are going to have lots of fun with it.”
“I certainly think so.”
Niles set up the Christmas tree so the girls could see it when they woke from their nap, and when they did - and after they’ve woken up enough - Mia and Katie oohed over the tree, delighted by this new thing in the house. They set the girls right beside the tree, and the girls looked up at it in awe, almost as much as with the real tree. Niles gave Mia a red ornament to hold, and Daphne made sure Katie had a blue one. Mia squealed with joy while Katie giggled, and two proud parents watched as their girls played with a tree that was safe for them.
As many families know, ornaments highlighting a baby’s first Christmas can be an important part of the Christmas season, and know one knew that better than Niles. It was exceptionally important to him that he and Daphne have first Christmas ornaments for Mia and Katie. The problem was there were too many lovely options to choose from! Ohhhh the choice options were staggering for a man like Niles; it was rather overwhelming. Little angels, birthstones, animals, handprints, footprints, baby shoes, ones with the baby’s photo, onesies, Precious Moments, Nativity scenes, wreaths, Christmas trees, the list went on and on. It was extensive.
He wanted them to be a surprise for Daphne, so he enlisted Frasier and Martin to select the best options in the store. How unprepared they were for the options awaiting them.
“I had no idea there were so many selections,” Niles exclaimed as they roamed through the store for a few moments. “A little heads up from the more experienced fathers would have been nice,” he added, giving his family the side eye.
“I didn’t know!” Martin replied with a big shrug. “Your mother picked out yours. And to this day, I still don’t know where she managed to find one that listed all your measurements and vitals.”
“Our vitals?”
“Blood pressure and all.”
“Well, Dad, the necessary doctor’s appointment for that information aside,” Frasier stated, “nowadays, it’s more common to find ornaments with something along those lines, though far more mild than blood pressure.”
“Still, the point is your mother did this part, and I got to be the surprised one.”
“Well, I want to surprise Daphne with these. Frasier, what did you and Lilith do for Freddy’s first Christmas?”
“ Lilith did very little in terms of first Christmas celebrations. I , on the other hand, did a lot to commemorate Freddy’s first Christmas, including finding a sculptor to create a mold of Freddy’s handprint with his name and date of his first Christmas.”
“That sounds charming, Frasier, but why did Liltih not want to do anything?”
“It’s Lilith ,” Martin supplied in a deadpan tone, as if that was answer enough.
Frasier sighed. “Well,” he bobbed a bit before finally answering, “frankly, I believe she saw it more as an opportunity for a study. She thought the next few years would be more interesting since Freddy would be more aware, so instead, she wrote a paper on my behavior.”
Niles blinked in surprise. “She did? I didn’t know that.”
“A Psychological Study of New Parents at Christmastime, yes,” he confirmed as he nodded.
“Ohhhh geez,” Martin shook his head.
“Well,” Niles paused, wondering how to continue on from that, “there won’t be any papers written this year, and I want to commemorate my princesses celebrating their first Christmas–oh! I wonder if there are princess-themed ornaments?”
“How could there not be?” Martin picked up a baseball-themed ornament and smiled at it. “There’s tons here. How are you going to pick something suitable for you and for Daphne?”
“I think what would suit us most would be something that is suitable for the girls. I mean, something that reminds us both of our daughters, that when we look at it, we’ll know it’s Katie or it’s Mia.”
“I think you’ll think of them no matter what you get, Niles,” Frasier commented as he scanned the ornaments.
“Not everything,” Niles corrected as he picked up a Western ornament with his fingertips to show his brother, who looked at it in alarm before shaking his head and gesturing for Niles to put it back.
“None of these are personalized though, Niles,” Martin pointed out, “do they do that for you here?”
“Yes, and if we purchase today, we will still be in the timeframe to have them completed by Christmas. So we better get going and make some decisions. Shouldn’t take very long.”
“Shouldn’t take very long” took roughly two hours because the next idea seemed better than the last, and Niles wanted them to be perfect.
Martin whined, “Niles, we’ve been at this for hours, and you’re nowhere near making a decision.”
“I’m sorry, Dad, I just want this to be perfect,” Niles replied as he held up two options and looked between them.
“Look, son, you have babies. Surely, you’ve seen by now that nothing ends up perfect.”
“ They’re perfect.”
“To you and to Daphne because they’re yours and you made them. But they’re not perfect. And that’s okay! It’s a good thing.”
“That doesn’t really sound like a good thing.”
“Dad,” Frasier said quietly, “you’re talking to the same man who held Daphne on a pedestal of perfection for seven years.”
“He did, and he had to learn to take off the rose colored glasses, didn’t he?” Martin turned to Niles, who was of course listening, and asked, “And what did you learn when you did?”
“That…that things were better than I imagined them.”
“That’s right, and the sooner you realize that can relate to life as a father, the better, the happier you’ll be.”
“But, Dad, this isn’t me worshipping from afar this time. I’m an involved dad, and I’m not putting Mia and Katie on the same pedestal as I did Daphne.”
Frasier cut in here and said, “Niles, Dad’s not saying anything like that. We both know you’re a very involved father, and you take care of them well. I think what Dad is trying to say here is there is a - a,” he verbally paused, trying to word it correctly, “a beauty in the imperfections. Sometimes when things don’t go as perfectly as you want them to, they end up better.”
Martin nodded adamantly. “That’s right! This has nothing to do with what kind of dad you are or how you view your daughters. This is about striving for perfection. Perfection in this world doesn’t exist, and sometimes if you try too hard, that just makes things worse. Relax, Niles, and let yourself find the -” he snapped his head toward Frasier, “how’d you put it? Oh yeah, the beauty in the imperfections. Sometimes that’s the most memorable, in the best way.”
To his credit, Niles contemplated the words for a long moment before asking, “So what do you suggest I do now?”
“Gut feeling, son. Which ones would you and Daphne appreciate the most? On the count of three, you have to answer. One, two, thr–”
“A giraffe and an elephant,” came the answer before the countdown was complete. And the realization the answer came that quickly brought a smile to Niles’ face, as well as Martin and Frasier’s.
Martin nodded in approval. “Those are great choices, Niles.”
Niles found a baby elephant ornament and a baby giraffe ornament where the girls’ names, the date, and their birthstone would be added and delivered two days before Christmas.
Christmas morning, Mia and Katie, dressed in very cute Christmas onesies, were up by 7:00, and they could tell something was up. Their parents were extra cheerful and bright, even at seven in the morning, and Daphne and Niles showered the girls in extra “good morning” kisses, making the babies giggle. They were changed, given breakfast, and then taken to the living room where the Christmas tree was all aglow.
Daphne turned on some Christmas music, set on a low volume, and the girls squeaked their approval. They loved music, and Christmas music had a spark that the normal music didn’t seem to carry.
“How do you think we should do this?” Niles asked Daphne as he glanced between the twins and the presents.
“Oh I think if we each hold one and give them a gift one atta time, I think they’ll get the hang of it pretty quick.”
They all sat in the floor by the Christmas tree, and Daphne pulled out two gifts from underneath, one for Mia and one for Katie. Daphne had Katie in her lap, and she helped the seven month old take an edge of the wrapping paper and pull while Niles did the same with Mia. Mia babbled excitedly over the fact they could rip what once they couldn’t touch, and Katie simply gasped in awe over how fun this was. Much like Daphne predicted, it didn’t take the girls long to figure out how opening presents worked. The parents just had to keep the babies from chewing on the paper or getting into presents not for them, especially sneaky Katie.
Before it was all said and done, Katie was looking through a baby book with giraffes in it with Niles, and Mia and Daphne were playing peekaboo with Mia’s elephant blanket. Both were now sporting new bows that were their favorite colors, and both had also stolen a pair of Niles’ new socks he got for Christmas and held on like each sock was their own.
Katie and Mia also had quite a ball playing with all the used wrapping paper, laughing and squealing over the peculiar ripping sound or the crinkling sound the paper could make. They were especially fascinated as they watched Daphne form a little ball of wrapping paper and tossed it at Niles, and they clapped when Niles and Daphne placed Christmas bows on their own foreheads.
There was still an hour left before they needed to get ready and go to Frasier’s for lunch, and the family was just relaxing in the living room and enjoying the peace and simple joy of the moment. Niles and Daphne were sitting on the couch, curled up, while the girls were playing on the floor with their new things and the Christmas tree Niles got for them to play with.
As the parents quietly wished each other a merry Christmas and sealed it with a kiss, Niles was surprised to feel a tug on his pajama pants. There at his feet practically crawling up his leg was Mia, and lo and behold, Katie was not far behind and moving fast.
“Dadaaaaaaa,” Mia called as Niles reached down and picked her up.
“Oh my God!” Niles laughed as he looked between Daphne and Mia. “Daphne! Did you see?” He looked down at Katie, who was now at his legs, and added, “Are you seeing this?”
“They’re crawling! They’re crawling!”
“Daaaaaaaaa,” Katie whined, not wanting to be left on the floor. “Mamaaaaaaaaaaa.”
“Oh!” Daphne reached down and picked up Katie. “You said Mama! And you’re crawling! What clever girls you two are,” she exclaimed before peppering Katie with kisses.
Niles peppered Mia with kisses too, and he smiled proudly at his family. “This has got to be my favorite Christmas to date.”