The First Kid (We Mean "Blog")

Derek and I have been married for more than a decade. It only took us eight years to have our daughter, Quinn, now 2 years and 10 months.

We are clueless as they come when it comes to being parents. Neither of us had any baby experience, and toddlers are an even bigger mystery. As such, we've relied on grandparent advice (semi-trustworthy, if you ask us, considering grandparents are mere shells of the strict parents they once were - seriously... "Why can't she eat M&Ms for lunch?"), familial tips (also semi-trustworthy, thanks to the growing susceptibility around our family to Quinn's cuteness), and random reference books (Dr. Sears, we have a bone to pick with you about co-sleeping).

We've finally decided to start a blog on our experiences and the many ways we've messed up succeeded.

Fittingly, we're starting with Christmas, the holiday of all holidays. The big one. The one day that can make or break you with kids.

And Quinn, being just a breath away from 3, has become all about getting stuff for Christmas. She's even decided to use Santa Claus, the jolly fat man in a red outfit, to help her get that stuff. Last year she screamed her head off when she was just inches from him. This year she jumped on his lap and told him exactly what she wanted.

Hey, Quinn's pretty smart when it comes to getting what she wants, and, unfortunately, dear Kris Kringle is an effective means to her ends.

Thankfully, Quinn has asked for just three things: Dora the Explorer's Fiesta Favorites Kitchen, Handy Manny's Talkin' Toolbox and Just Dance 3, an addiction she's acquired watching us play Just Dance 2.

It's been an interesting time, explaining to most of our family and friends why we're buying tools. It has nothing to do with a toddler addiction to HGTV. Rather, it involves a cartoon Latino handyman named Manny, as voiced by every mother's dream future son-in-law, Wilmer Valderrama.

This year we're hoping the gifts get a lot of play from our kid. Last year's gifts are buried beneath a mound of stuff or were tortured mercilessly throughout the year.

Also up this Christmas are her stocking stuffers, including Play-Doh (this, we worry, will be the end of us - we can barely keep up with cookie cleanup), a couple of new Berenstain Bears books and some other little odds and ends.

We'll let you know if we're successful with this year's offerings. If we're not, well... Failure is not an option, if Quinn knows what's good for her. After all, we're always just a little bit away from doing the Grinch thing and teaching our little Quinny-Who about the true meaning of Christmas, which has absolutely nothing to do with acquisition.