Christmas, New Year's & BIRTHDAY!!

Happy New Year!  I can't believe that the last time I posted was Christmas.  I've been pretty swamped for the past month, but I still don't see how it's taken me until now to update the blog.  Even though it's February 2, I want to recap Christmas, New Year's and Maggie's birthday because they are definitely worth mentioning.  Bear with me - there are a lot of photos for this post...

Christmas Eve was special this year, not only because we had Maggie's first Christmas, but also because we went without Chris & Jen, my grandparents, and Annie's grandparents.  Chris & Jen were spending the holidays with Jen's family, my grandmother had broken her hip and was still recovering/rehabilitating from the first surgery (she had a second), and Annie's grandmother was not feeling well that night.  Anyway, instead of the usual family dinner at our house followed by the late service to ring in Christmas, we flipped it around this year for the kids' church service and then dinner.  Maggie definitely enjoyed looking around at all the other children.  We even had to hold her back from playing with the hair of a little girl sitting in front of us!  Nevertheless, it was very cute to see her experience this for the first time:

"Look at that little boy back there."

Maggie's attempt at looking attentive.

...and back to the observant, ever moving head of Maggie.

"Look at that up there!  Daddy says it's structural."

Dinner time at the Barden house - Midlothian:

Maggie needed a cracker to tide her over since dinner wasn't quite ready yet.

That's a girl!  Take pride in that chair!

We didn't have turkey for dinner, but Maggie sure looks tired in this pic.

After dinner wrapped up, we packed up the car and headed over the river and through the woods to my parents' house.  After finishing the last blog entry, we all headed to bed.

CHRISTMAS!!

Maggie awoke to a fun-filled morning, complete with the introduction of present unwrapping.  She really didn't know what was going on, except for the fact that the event was really fun!  Once she got the hang of it, she was helping everyone open gifts!

"Anyone want a biscotti?  What the heck is a biscotti anyway?"

"Check out my sweet kicks!  Mom & Dad got them for me last week!" 

The happy grandpa videotaping Maggie.  This is his usual look every Christmas, complete with camcorder.

Stocking time, courtesy of my parents!

More Gerber snacks for the solid food eater...

Desitin: the best in baby butt care.

Baby wipes: the other necessity in baby butt care.

Grandmommy & Maggie are talking to Uncle Chris in Canada.  Maggie waved at the phone a lot. :)

After breakfast and a little lounging, we packed up and headed back through the woods and over the river to Annie's parents' house for Christmas dinner.  After dinner, we had the family gift exchange, and Maggie really enjoyed helping her Gigi with the oversized gift bag:

First, it was just the tissue paper at the top...

Then she wanted to get out all the tissue paper...

She threw her whole weight into the bag...

And then she was IN the bag!!! It was hilarous to watch. :)

With Christmas behind us, we counted down to Maggie's first birthday, but first a little time to play and reflect:

Maggie's new "Learning Train" is really cool!

 

Snow became a fun fascination for Maggie.

She was also checking in on her doggie with Mommy's help on the stool.

New Year's Eve morning.  Maggie started her last day of being less than one year old by hanging out in the jump-up.  These days, she tends to just lean back and lounge rather than jump though.

After a busy day, we put Maggie to bed.  This photo, although grainy, was our last photo of Mag-pie before her birthday.

New Years Day and Maggie's birthday:

The day started with Annie sleeeping in and Maggie and I spending some morning time together, but the morning was cut short when Maggie fell asleep mid-cheerio!

She literally dozed off while chewing her last cheerio.  Don't worry - I made sure she had swallowed it. :)

Once we got ourselves put together, it was party time!  Maggie was definitely ready to shake, rattle, & roll.

I'm not going to narrate too much for the next series of photos. So, without further ado, CAKE PHOTOS!

Maggie didn't know what to do at first...

...but after a little coaxing...

...cake and icing were everywhere!

"CAKE IS DELICIOUS!"

"I don't know where your cake is."

"My cake is right here!"

"This cake is so yum...oh look at the light."

Clean up crew.

"No, Gigi, you blow out the candles like this."

"Birthdays are fun!"

So, after the long-awaited and anticipated end-of-the-year wrap-up, I'm struggling with whether to continue the blog or conclude it at the year mark of our little girl's birth.  For those of you out there that are still following along with our adventure, I'd love to get your opinion. 

Thanks for following along on our blog, and the adventures to come are sure to be exciting!

Cheers,

Peter