Christmas in St. Louis and Dad's birthday


As I was growing up, it was my family's tradition to travel to St. Louis on Christmas, which just so happens to be my birthday as well. We would celebrate Christmas at home, then drive to St. Louis, and then we would have a birthday party for me in my grandma's house. Then, as my grandma grew older, the party moved to my Aunt Marilyn's house, and sadly just over a year ago, my Uncle Jeff died, which led to the family party moving to my mom's cousin's house. All of this is important because in my mind it shows that even as families change, we can all still manage to stop and find the time to gather together around the holidays and appreciate the love that we have for each other.

This year, just to switch things up a bit more, we decided to stay in a hotel the first night, near the Arch, at St. Louis' Union Station (which is a very impressive building). The hotel was beautiful, and of course, Moira loved it!

Eating her complimentary cheese and crackers when she arrived

Hannah lounging and wearing Daddy's favorite onesie
I have been to St. Louis countless times to visit family, and when I was little, I distinctly remember going up in the Arch on multiple occasions. I wanted to share that experience with Moira. She was fascinated by the little tram, the telephones (of course) that were relaying historical information (which she wasn't really interested in yet), and the westward expansion museum underneath the arch. Moira and Hannah were both very well-behaved on the trip up to the top, though Moira was a little less keen on looking at all the views once at the top of the Arch. Nonetheless, I was happy with how much fun Moira had at the Arch.

Testing out the tram seats in the lobby of the museum...

She *loves* talking on the phone

Waiting for the tram to arrive

Looking out the windows at the top...

Aren't they cute in their red outfits?

Moira exploring the museum

She loved all the animals

It was a beautiful day

Walking back to the car to head to the party
After the Arch, we headed to Norm and Ann's house. Moira took a good nap, and shortly after she awoke, family began to arrive. Moira had a great time playing with Connor and Maddie. Highlights included the doctor's kit that Maddie had (Moira was going up to everyone to check their ears, their hearts, you name it--it was very cute) and watching E.T. at the end of the night with popcorn and a little bit of soda. She also loved playing "chase" around the house, but unfortunately it ended with Moira slamming into a chair and getting a bad rug burn on her chin (I was happy that the outcome wasn't worse)!
Moira putting on her doctor's gloves to check out Connor

Opening presents!
They thought this singing snoopy was hilarious!

Watching a movie...they were having a good conversation too...

Cuddling the next morning before we left.
After a great breakfast at Norman and Ann's, we departed for Indy. When we arrived in the early afternoon, we celebrated Daddy's 34th birthday! Moira and Hannah had a great time sitting on Daddy's lap and singing. And afterwards, Alan and I had a nice dinner out while Grandma and Grandpa watched Hannah and Moira. It was a long but rewarding weekend!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Random Moments

Image
I am still playing catch-up from all the photos we took over the holidays, and I have a few random ones that I want to share! Here they are: Moira's first official haircut. She was so good. I wasn't sure she would sit still, but she did. The stylist did a great job of keeping her entertained! Moira walking around in her "shoes." Moira is fascinated with shoes. She loves taking our shoes on and off. And she loves walking around in adult shoes. We went to the Eiteljorg on Martin Luther King day and Moira had fun exploring the Wild Wild West. You may recall that Moira's 2nd birthday party was pretty entertaining because Moira fell asleep in her high chair, and then she was completely overwhelmed by everyone singing Happy Birthday. Since then, we have had lots of family and friend birthdays, and she has mastered singing Happy Birthday. At this point, she sings Happy Birthday to just about anyone and anything--babies at a restaurant, the light, the birds......
Read more

To Hannah, With Love

Image
Hannah, You, my darling baby girl, are growing up entirely too fast. By the time you were one, here’s what you were up to: On the Move Well, truth be told, you haven’t been that interested in moving.  You’re quite content to reach both arms in the air and look imploringly at mama or dada to pick you up. By the time you were 5 months, you rolled over, and by the time you were 10 months, you finally decided to crawl. Since then, you’ve become a very quick little girl on your knees, and you’re just starting to consider standing up and walking on your own. One of the cutest things you do is crawl while holding onto a baby stroller—it is quite a feat! I predict you’ll be about 16 months old before you walk, and that is fine with me. What did you say? Hannah, you are a talker. At a year old you have a few words in your vocabulary. They include the traditional words like “mama” and “dada.” Your very first word, however, was “Mo-ra” in honor of your big sister,...
Read more

Time flies!

Image
It's hard to believe Moira is already 5 weeks old (today)! Here 's a quick recap: October 14th, 9:32am, Moira Joan Mackintosh came into the world. She was a healthy 7 lb, 14 oz, and 20.5 inches long. My labor was fast, but delivery was slower than I would have liked. On the whole, neither Moira nor I can complain . October 16th, we came home. I discovered after a couple of sleepless nights that Moira would only sleep for about 15 minutes in her bassinet. She preferred sleeping on someone or sleeping in her little swing. The first few weeks went by in a complete blur. We were all trying to get used to a new kind of normal. Moira and I spent a lot of time trying to figure out her preferences for eating and sleeping. Alan spent a lot of time trying to help his girls get as comfy as possible. We've had fun discovering the little things about Moira. She has dimples and so much dark hair. She has the cutest high-pitched hiccups. She loves it when her Dad holds her and paces with...
Read more