A traditional portrait with Annalee

When her first child celebrated her first Christmas, Fran Williams took a picture of the baby with a doll.

That was 1976. The baby's name was Wendy, and the doll's name was Santa Claus. It was made of wool felt with a hand-painted face, the hallmark of a company called Annalee.

For baby's second Christmas, Williams took a picture of little Wendy with the Santa doll again. Ditto for the third through sixth Christmases. And then, in 1983, her second child was born.

Williams bought Lisa a Mrs. Claus Annalee doll and took a photo of both girls with both dolls. She did the same thing each following year, despite a few protests of "do we have to?" along the way.

In 1998, when grown-up Wendy got engaged to Dave Frate, Williams bought him an Annalee elf to welcome him to the family and took a picture that included both girls and Dave with their dolls.

And the pattern continued.

In 2004, when the first grandchild was born, Williams bought her an Annalee Christmas mouse and took a picture of both girls and Dave and little Jacqueline with their dolls.

In 2006, the second grandchild was born, and Williams bought her an Annalee reindeer and took a picture of both girls and Dave and both granddaughters with their dolls.

In 2008, the third grandchild was born, and Williams bought him an Annalee elf and took a picture at Christmastime with both girls and Dave and two granddaughters and one grandson with their dolls.

"I'm kind of a person of tradition," Williams said recently, looking at a table in her Virginia Beach home where 34 years of photos of family and Annalees were spread.

Last year, Wendy and Dave and their three children moved to Iowa. Three months ago, a fourth grandchild - Mason - was born.

"This Christmas, I'm going to Iowa," Williams said, holding up a brand-new Annalee elephant, "and guess what I'm going to do!"

Diane Tennant, (757) 446-2478, diane.tennant@pilotonline.com