Kitchen Table Tales - Wake up, baby!

My grandmother Dean (Bam) was the oldest of 10. Her name was Mary Medina Breeding. (also spelled Madina)
Her siblings were
Louise Antoinette
Robert (a girl)
Florence Crozier
Ida Louis (Louis is correct)
Clarence (another girl)
Margaret Cecilia
Alice Elizabeth
Arthur (only boy)
Laura

Margaret and Florence never married, and Louise (widowed twice) and Rob (widowed) all lived in Carlsbad, NM, where Daddy was born. Louise had married into money and had a nice house I remember visiting - mainly because she had several layers of Oriental carpet nailed to the floor. Her sisters all lived in a little house in the poor part of town that lacked paint and maybe indoor plumbing. This was probably the old family house from their childhood. Louise didn't like to share.

At Christmas, Daddy would go, or send Bobby, to pick up the great aunts and have them come for the family celebration. He always bought corsages for all the ladies, including babies. Your age and status decided your corsage. Mother and the grandmothers got huge purple orchids. The young ladies got cyndibium orchids, younger ladies got gardenias and babies got carnations. The carnations got pinned on the babies' backs, so the pin wouldn't stick them. The old great aunts fell into the young lady category.

I'm pretty sure my grandmother wasn't best thrilled to have her sisters there, but Daddy loved having the whole family around.

Anyway, Elizabeth (the first grandchild) was about a month and a half old that Christmas and the aunts were there. Bobby's favorite story of Louise is her saying "This egg nog is too strong! Gimme another cup!"

Elizabeth was asleep in the old infant seat which would get you arrested for child abuse today (soft plastic with a metal stand hooked on the back) on the floor of the living room when Louise noticed her for the first time. She poked Elizabeth with her cane - "Wake up, baby. Wake up!"

There is also a great photo of the aunts all sitting on the couch in the living room with their legs a little spread - leading all of us younger generation to relate to the dicta - You aren't old until you sit with your underwear showing!