Holiday parties near and far

Happy New Year! The last few weeks have definitely been busy. Moira has officially made her debut into the world. Honestly, up until the holidays, I hadn't taken her out of the house very often because the doctor recommended we keep her away from shops and crowds. But we have made up for lost time. Moira has had all kinds of "firsts" in the last few weeks:

  • Her first get-together with her mom's high school friends. Everyone came home for the holidays, and we had a great time celebrating Angie's baby shower and Lauren's "night in white." Take a close look at all of those babies in the picture. They have all been born in the last 5 months. I'm amazed at how much of a difference a few weeks makes in the development of a baby (Moira is only 6 weeks older than Ruby, Katy's baby to the left of Moira). I know it makes a difference in my head, but it's surprising to see the difference in a photo!
  • Her first car trip (to St. Louis to visit family). She did remarkably well and slept all the way (a 4-hour trip). We saw lots of family at my Aunt Marilyn's party, and Moira was quite content laying on the floor and looking at all the Christmas tree lights. Marty (my cousin) has a dog named Dobber, and he was a little jealous of Moira. When she left her spot on the floor where Marty had been playing with her, Dobber went right over and sat down in the exact same spot. It was pretty cute. While in St. Louis, Moira also spent her first night in another person's house (my Aunt Carol was a very gracious host), took a trip to her first diner (owned and operated by my Uncle Jeff), and went to the mall for the first time.
  • Her first plane trip (to Virginia to visit family). It was quite an adventure to travel with a 3-month-old, but I decided it would be good practice before we make an international trip to visit Alan's family in the U.K. My mom and I flew with Moira from Indianapolis to Richmond. The hardest part for me was getting used to the amount of gear I now have to take with me wherever I go! I went from being a carry-on traveler to checking a 50-pound bag with all kinds of stuff inside! Despite some delays on the first day of flying, everything went relatively smoothly. Moira traveled really well.

    We had so much fun in Virginia--time passed much too quickly! We walked through Colonial Williamsburg, played with my cousins' children, had a lovely lunch in Yorktown, and shopped, shopped, shopped! It helped that the weather was really mild while we were there (in the 60s/70s). We also were spoiled by my Aunt Jean's excellent meals and hospitality.
  • Her first Christmas Eve party at my parents' house (an institution since I was a little girl). We went to Christmas Eve mass and then had fun catching up with all of our old friends from Holy Spirit grade school. My favorite picture of Moira was taken right before we went to church in my mom and dad's living room. I think she looks adorable, and for those of you who live far away, you can get a good idea from the picture about her size right now.
We had a wonderful first Christmas at home with Moira. All the other events were great too, but there was something so special about just Alan and I being at home with our new daughter. It was during those few quiet moments that we realized just how much our lives have changed, for the better, because of Moira.

Comments

Becky said…
Oh my, can she get any cuter?! You look fantastic too, Marie! Looks like you had a great holiday!
January 6, 2009 at 2:13 PM
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