Technology for the win.

From the people person who brought you the gift version of "Holidays away from home," I bring you "Christmas via technology."

Elle and Daddy chat with Grandma.

On Christmas Eve, we attempted Skype-ing with Tim's family because they had celebrated Christmas that day and it was Tim's birthday. Tim's brother's family got their parents a Web cam so we can chat with them and they can see Elle more. Unfortunately, there were some technical difficulties and were unable to get it to work ... but on Tuesday we tried again and were successful!

Elle and I often iChat with my parents and brother, and we've Skyped with my sister - she's no stranger to the video chat. This time, she and Tim chatted with his mom, brother and nephews. Elle was a little overwhelmed by the new faces on the computer screen, but she warmed up quickly and was hamming it up in no time.

Later that night, we tried out the Facebook video chat for the first time with my family. Elle chatted for a while before she had to head to bed. She had talked with them on Christmas, but she always has something new to babble about :)

Having our new laptop makes video chats a lot more portable and impromptu - there's no parking ourselves in front of the desktop, and it just feels like we have the capability to be more spontaneous. (Yes, I know, I'm lame.) Elle can walk, crawl all over the couch, grab a toy to show, etc. Either way, I'm appreciative of the technology that allows us to see our families - it definitely makes the 1,000 miles between all of us seem a little smaller and helps them see Elle grow up from afar.