Merry Christmas!!

"Look! It's SANTA behind me!!"

So much to be thankful for!

Less than a week after our little girl turned 9 months old, we gathered for our first Thanksgiving as a family. We've had a lot of family firsts over these 9 months, and there are plenty more to come, but this one was pretty special. Although Christmas will surely be the most noteworthy holiday for us, I like to think that Thanksgiving is the most family-focused. No gifts, no decorations, no nauseating songs, just good food and lots of relatives. And pumpkin roll.

Miranda started her vacation the previous Thursday, so we'd had lots of great time together by Thanksgiving, which was very nice. When the day came, we got up early, as usual. After a delicious homemade apple tart breakfast, Miranda and I decided to try starting a new family tradition: watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I've seen parts of it, but never watched the whole thing. That didn't change. Turns out, the broadcast of the parade contains very little actual parade footage. Maybe they show more later in the broadcast, but we didn't stick around to find out. We were so bored with the filler "entertainment" that we all decided to take a nap.

Then, of course, we skipped lunch to prepare for the coming feast. Once we were all packed up and ready to go, we headed down to Morgan Hill for the annual gathering at Uncle Danny and Aunt Patty's house. It was a classic scene: relatives that hardly ever see each other, football on TV, and a turkey in the oven. After a couple hours of talking and drinking, dinner began around 4. Nothing says Thanksgiving like 2 dozen people sitting at a table (or in our case, 3 tables) to share an amazing meal. This year, we got to bring a new addition to the group!

Now that Hayley is 9 months old, she can have meat, so she got her first taste of turkey. Turns out she would rather just eat the sweet potato pie:



Much like many of the adults, she enjoyed an after-dinner drink, then passed out:




In all seriousness, I think our first Thanksgiving with our baby girl was a great success. We had a wonderful time, and there really is so much to be thankful for: a loving family (immediate and extended), good friends, a safe home, nice weather and a big TV. What I am most thankful for is this: not only is Hayley alive and thriving, she seems to be a genuinely happy baby. As Miranda said, that's what we wanted most for her.

You'll always be my baby, right?

When I was pregnant I spent 9 months envisioning a life I'd share with my child. I day dreamed for hours about what my little girl would look like, about starting our own traditions and about seeing my husband become a father.

Then my little Hayley joined the world and all of my hopes came to life. I thought that once she was here my day dreaming would end but I continue to look towards the future and have spent the last 9 months still excited about what that future may hold.

Last Saturday Hayley turned 9 months old and I just can't believe how much she's grown in such a short amount of time. We took her in for a check up and found out that at 22lbs 9oz and 28 1/4", Hayley has grown into a perfectly healthy little girl. Her development is right on track and she continues to learn something new everyday. For example, on her 9 month b-day she waved bye-bye to grandma for the first time!

I'm so proud of my little munchkin. She's smart, beautiful and funny. But most importantly, she's happy. And with all that day dreaming I've ever done for her, that's all I've ever wanted.

Hayleyween

Today we celebrated our first Halloween together as a family. We did so by dressing up as another family: the infamous Three Bears. You can probably guess which of us was Papa Bear, Mama Bear, or Baby Bear:



Of course, the classic story isn't complete without the home-invading, porridge-eating miscreant Goldilocks:




Hayley was feeling a little under the weather, so we started our day of festivities later than originally planned. Once we picked up Aunt Kati in the afternoon, we piled into the car in full costume and headed out. First stop: Starbucks! The cashier got into the Halloween spirit and labeled our drinks with our character names:



Sufficiently energized, we arrived at a pumpkin-carving party hosted by Miranda's boss. Miranda encouraged me to join in the fun, despite the fact that I can't even remember the last time I carved a pumpkin. So I gutted a small one and drew on my design, a common one among gamers: Pac-Man chasing some ghosts. However, my skills being nonexistent, Miranda took over the actual carving. Turns out she is pretty darn good!




Afterward we headed back to Grandma's house where Hayley took a nap and had a bottle:




At this point, we sent Goldilocks on her way (the punk sat in our chairs and slept in our beds!) and went to our usual final destination of the evening, the annual Haunted Holiday in Redwood City. Fun and treats were had. We called it a night and brought Hayley home for her bedtime. Apparently, she saved a trick for Papa Bear:



By the way, if you ever want to be a bear for Halloween, but you don't want to buy a whole bear suit, all I can say is good luck. For some strange reason, simple bear ears are extremely hard to find. We ended up with some cat/mouse ears from the internet that we passed off as bear ears. Who knew such an item would be so rare?

The sweetest sound

It's been a while since we got Hayley laughing on camera. She gets into a giggly mood so randomly, but when she does, she doesn't hold back. Tonight, Miranda took off her leg warmers and she thought it was the most hilarious thing ever. So I grabbed the camera:



I love that sound!