Liza's First Christmas

So this Christmas was exceptionally special as it was Liza's first.  Of course she is no where near old enough to realize what Christmas is, but that's not to say she still didn't make out like a bandit.  The holiday season became official when I put up Liza's own hot pink Christmas tree in her nursery, complete with lights and decorations, which Uncle Thomas and Aunt Kathy had given to her when they came to visit us in the hospital.

 The Precious Moments Nativity set was a gift to Molly from my mother from the Christmas before and it came in handy for Liza's tree.

 This was a Liza's first Christmas ornament that was given to her by Aunt Susan and Uncle Bob. 

 Another first Christmas ornament that was given to her by Molly's old high school softball coach Marilyn Brody.

This year we split the holiday between families and we did Christmas Eve with Molly's family and then we went to Grandma Sally's for Christmas day.  Christmas Eve each year the Baptist church puts on a service in the opera house in town, so Molly, Liza, and myself went with her parents and grandparents to the service.  Liza was a perfect angel during the entire service, she never made a sound and slept soundly.  Following the service we spent the remainder of the evening with her family at her grandparents house where Liza entertained everyone and opened her Christmas presents from her Aunt Nancy, where she received a Indianapolis Colts onesy and a stuffed soccerball.  At this point we knew that Liza was our daughter because no sooner did we put the ball at her feet, she started kicking it(such a proud moment).  From there we returned home where Liza slept peacefully, not waking until Christmas morning, to see what Santa had brought her.  We all woke up at about 7 that morning where Liza was greeted by a coffee table of presents (our living room is a little to cluttered for a Christmas tree).  We first opened presents from Uncle Richard, Aunt Barbara, Owen, and Ben, then continued to open presents from Molly and I and Meme and Pepe.

Wish I could say she was thrilled, but we were definitely thrilled enough for her.  As we opened gifts, Liza's Great Grandparents came over to spend the morning with us, opening presents followed by a Christmas breakfast.

Following breakfast it was time to load up the car (in the end there was little to no room for passengers) and it was over the hill and through the woods to Grandma Sally's house we go.  Molly, Liza, Meme, Pepe, myself and even Miyah went to Grandma Sally's for Christmas to spend the day with Grandma, Aunt Nancy, Uncle Roger, Aunt Ivonne, Kobe, Uncle Thomas, Jeremy, and Taylor (we would get to see Aunt Kathy the next day).  We arrived to Grandma Sally's house and were welcomed by Grandma and Aunt Nancy and not long after the rest of the family arrived.  From there we did presents, and let me say Liza received so many gifts, I wasn't sure how we were going to pack everyone and everything in the car.

So where to start?

So where do I start?  Since Liza has been with us for almost 10 weeks now I have a little catching up to do.  First thing is first, Liza was born Monday 11/15/10 at Valley Regional here in Claremont, NH.  She weighed in at 6lbs 15ozs and 19 1/2 inches long.  She was an absolutely beautiful baby who came into the world without making little more then a peep.  Of course I was there for the birth while Molly's mother, father, grandparents, and friend Joey anxiously waited for the news.  Fortunately both Molly and Liza did very well and both were given clean bills of health.  The following day Grandma Sally came over with Uncle Thomas and Aunt Kathy to welcome Liza into the family.  Throughout the rest of the week family and friends visited us in the hospital anxious to see Liza and see how Molly was doing.  I have to admit it was the most exhausting week of my life but well worth it.

We were finally able to bring Liza home that Friday, it was a long week in a very uncomfortable pullout sofa.  Although we had spent the entire week in the hospital with Liza, it truely did not sink in that we were officially parents until we placed her in the carseat and drove a cool 20 mph down the road avoiding every bump and pothole.  Of course Miyah (our puggle) was the first to greet her, since she had sniffed me all over on my daily trips home to pick up clothes she knew someone or something was coming home.  Liza adjusted nicely to her new home, eating, followed by a 3 hour nap, followed by more eating.  Likewise we adjusted well to Liza's schedule waking up for her feedings and sleeping when she did.

Following in Richard and Barbara's footsteps

Given that our family and friends are scattered all over the country, I decided to follow in the footsteps of Richard and Barbara and construct a blog focused on Liza.  Hopefully I can stay on top of the blog as Liza is changing everyday and there will be so much to share with everyone.  Since we were also generously given a camcorder by Richard and Barbara, I will also be able to post videos of her.  So I welcome all family and friends to keep up to date with Liza and all the memories that we will make with our lil' peanut princess.