Nora's First Christmas

Nora just got herself down for a nap!  This is a success because though she continues to sleep very well at night, and I have gotten pretty good at getting her to sleep when I can tell she's tired, getting her to nap on her own continues to be a challenge.  We've been working on this for the past week and a half or so, though, so maybe we are finally making some progress.

This gives me a chance to upload a few photos and share some quick thoughts on Nora's first Christmas.  Since Vickie was scheduled to work through the holiday, we had originally planned to celebrate with her on the 23rd, but Vickie wasn't feeling very well, so we decided to celebrate Christmas and her birthday together on the 28th.  On the 24th, Billy's family customarily goes to Nana and Mr. Dick's house to celebrate the holiday with his Dad's side of the family.  I didn't get a chance to snap any photos of that evening, but it was nice to share a meal with everyone and have the chance to introduce Nora to Billy's cousins on that side.  She even managed to keep her party dress on for the whole night, and though we kept her out past her bedtime, she was a trooper about going to sleep when we got her home.

On Christmas Day, we drove to northern Virginia to Billy's cousin Jacelyn's house to celebrate the holiday with his mom's side of the family.  It is always nice to see them, and now that Cash is 3 and Lily is 1, they are more excited about the holidays than ever.  It was a delight to have Nora there with us for the first time and to see everyone take such pleasure in her presence.  Throughout the day, everyone kept telling us that Nora such a beautiful baby and that she is looking more and more like me, so that was an unexpected but nice Christmas surprise.  : )  Part of the reason that she doesn't nap well, I think, is that she is so curious about everything around her.  She constantly fights to keep her eyes open to see everything, so with so many people around, she spent most of the day in a quiet and alert state.  I was afraid she'd get cranky from missing her normal naps, but with the exception of a little fussing here and there, she was great all day.  She even showed off her happy smiley mood a few times throughout the day!

To the right, Billy's Aunt Mary is introducing Nora to Pop's brother, Uncle James.  Uncle James complimented me on "getting my figure back so fast," told me repeatedly how beautiful Nora is, and told Billy he should realize how lucky he is to be with me and have such a beautiful baby.  Those comments were a nice reminder of things Pop would have said to me and to Nora if he'd lived long enough to join us this Christmas.  They also made me think about my baby belly, since last time I'd been to Jay and Allen's house was when I was about ready to burst.  It was fun to think about what Pop would have said about my baby belly.  Knowing him, he would have said some things about how big I got that would have made me laugh even though I would have been offended if anyone else had said them.

When Nora did get visibly sleepy, both of her grandparents were able to rock her to sleep for a much needed nap!  This is a big success because she is such a jiggle baby that rocking her is usually not very effective.  For me, it is always nice to see how much they adore her and how hard they are willing to work to make her happy.

These two photos of Nora with her Uncle Brian crack me up.  He continues to be baffled by how quickly she can go from happy to screaming for no reason at all!

Cash wanted "green shorts" for Christmas, so I was amused to arrive and find him decked out in Oregon gear from head to toe.  When it came time to get a photo of all three little ones together, we left things up to the most experienced baby wranglers. : )

Here are a few of the cuter shots of Cash, Lily, and Nora I managed to capture.  Cash is so interested in "Baby Nora," and especially considering he spent the rest of the day doing summersaults in a ball pit and running up and down stairs, he was so sweet and patient with her.  Lily doesn't talk much yet, but she always has that curious look on her face like she is trying to take everything in and figure it out.

And here is my favorite one of the three of them.  It's hard to imagine how different they will all look by next Christmas, but I'm sure the time will go quickly.

(Naptime is over so I'll have to finish this later. ) : )

We left Jay and Allen's around 6 in order to accommodate Nora's fairly early bedtime, and it was nice to be home with time to relax in the evening.  She slept on the way home, so she was wide awake for about a half hour after we returned, but that gave us a chance to check in with my family on skype.  Everyone was over at Aunt Carrie and Uncle Steve's for the holiday, so in addition to seeing them online, we also got to briefly chat with Mimi and Papa, Aunt Dana, Aunt Kim, and Uncle Craig.  I know all of us probably spent a fair amount of time throughout the day missing Dad, so it was nice to have the chance to check in with them even though it was brief.  After I got Nora to sleep, I also got to talk to Nate, Ashley, and Mom on the phone before calling it a night fairly early.

Yesterday we got to see our friends Erin and Brent who moved to Syracuse a few years ago.  They're expecting their first child in April, so it was fun to introduce them to Nora and talk about what having a newborn has been like for us.  After they left, Billy's Aunt Kelly, Uncle Frank, and cousins Kristen, Frankie, and Katelyn stopped by to meet Nora for the first time.  Unfortunately, she was pretty well tired out from her exciting weekend by then, so they didn't get to see her at her best, but we are still glad they got to meet her.

Today I have spent most of the day trying to get our overtired little lady to catch up on some sleep so she's not so cranky.  Her fussiness comes and goes now, and some days are much better than others, so we are hoping she'll continue to head in a more positive direction!  Today Vickie turns 24, so we can't wait to see her tomorrow and help celebrate her birthday!