Courtesy Photo From left, Finn Rousseau, Cruz Rousseau, Katie Rousseau, Ivy Elmer, Thomas Elmer, Miranda Elmer, and Lydia Elmer pose for a family picture in front of their Christmas tree. The photo was taken by KE Photography.

ALPENA — Few things are more precious than celebrating a baby’s first Christmas and watching the little boy or girl react to the sights and sounds of the holiday season.

This year, Katie Rousseau and her boyfriend, Thomas Elmer, are excited to introduce their new daughter, Ivy Elmer, who was born on Dec. 1.

Rousseau said she is excited for Christmas and having the baby take part in family traditions, even though she won’t fully understand what is going on. She said she and Elmer have several other children, and she still revisits the memories of their first Christmases today.

But, Rousseau said, those memories were from years ago, and she is looking forward to making new ones with her youngest child.

“I’m really going to be soaking in all of the little moments that we will have with her on Christmas while she is so small,” Rousseau said. “Our other kids are older now, and it’s been awhile since we have been able to go through this, and it is exciting.”

Rousseau said Ivy has a special Christmas dress that is white with a red bow that gently ties around her head. She said the family has several Christmas celebrations planned with family on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and her grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins are excited to help the baby celebrate the holiday.

“Ivy has a large family, and I’m sure she will be handed around and spoiled a lot,” Rousseau said. “She’ll get to meet a lot of relatives that she has never met before.”

Elmer said he looks forward to helping his youngest daughter open her presents and absorb the holiday atmosphere. He said the baby’s brothers and sisters are eager to make special memories for Ivy’s first Christmas and show her the ropes and teach her more about the family’s Christmas celebration.

“The other four kids are just as excited as we are and ready to share with her who Santa is and what he does and other things associated with Christmas,” Elmer said.

Rousseau said the baby is still getting acquainted with life on Earth and is very inquisitive on what is happening around her and who the people who spend time with her are. She said the baby has become fixated on the Christmas decorations in the house.

“We lay her under the tree and she just sort of stares and watches the lights,” she said.

Although the word “ivy” is often associated with Christmas, Elmer said his daughter was not named with the holiday in mind. He said that, when considering names for the baby, Rousseau would throw out ideas to him and, more often than not, he would veto them, because he feared the child would be poked fun over the name when he or she got older.

When Rousseau threw out the idea of naming the child Ivy, Thomas had nothing to come back with and agreed the name was perfect.

“We went back and forth for quite a while, but I wanted a name we didn’t have to worry about when she got older, because kids today can be very mean,” he said. “When she came up with Ivy, I couldn’t think of anything, and that was it. It is just an added bonus that it blends in with the Christmas season.”