Visions of Christmas

Here are some photos of Claire's first Christmas.

Merry Merry Christmas Eve

Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem asking, "Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We have seen his star as it arose, and have come to worship him."

Matthew 2:1-2
Merry Christmas! I love saying Merry Christmas. It is a glad tiding that seems to have fallen out of fashion but I'll be unapologetic about wishing it. Christmas is a holiday that has changed the meaning of my life. It is because of Jesus, our savior, being born in human form to a virgin that we celebrate this day.

Christmas is my favorite holiday by far. It is a time of family and memory making as well as a time to celebrate the birth of the one who has saved me.

It isn't even Christmas yet and we've been blessed with lots of Christmas memories. Last Thursday Claire had her first trip to San Francisco. She spent most of the day napping, apparently unimpressed by the sales at Union square or the giant Christmas tree and ice skating.The Smith side of the family paid us a visit over the weekend. Claire got to meet her great grandma Doris visiting from Illinois.

Snoozing on Grandma Janice.

The Smiths at Broadway Plaza in Walnut Creek.Scoping out the Sea Lions at Pier 39.
Posing for a photo with an out of service cable car.Claire visiting the Golden Gate Bridge.
Claire and great Grandma sharing a moment at Crissy Field.

Sick as a dog...

Upon waking up yesterday morning, Josh and I discovered that we were both feeling pretty crummy. Within twenty minutes of one another we were presenting the same symptoms. The conclusion? The Flu or Food Poisoning. With no fever and the the onset of the symptoms being identical and literally within minutes of one another we concluded food poisoning. I'll leave the details to your imagination.

Being down for the count with a child in the house brings out a whole new set of challenges. We decided to divide and conquer. Josh also has a cold which we are trying to keep Claire from catching so he took Lola, I took Claire. It was a long day. Fortunately Claire is still in a stage where she will sleep a lot if things are low key around the house so sleep she did which allowed us to rest and move as little as possible.

I am thankful yesterday is over. I am trying to figure out how those with multiple children work the whole sick thing. I have new admiration.

A check up

Today Claire and I went to her two month check up. We were lucky enough to have the company of my grandmother. We did have to correct a few people who assumed that Grandma was Claire's grandmother. They were astonished to find out that no, it was her GREAT-grandmother. I think it was the girl at whole foods who commented, "oh wow...you look great." I quite agree.

Alright, I digress. So Grandma, Claire and I went to the doctor. I was a little apprehensive about the experience because we were going to be giving Claire her first vaccinations and Josh and I have decided to do an alternate schedule. I wasn't sure how the doctor would feel about that. While he seemed to prefer that I do the regular kaiser schedule, after a brief talk on the benefits of vaccinations and their safety he agreed to the vaccines that Josh and I had previously decided to give her.

Claire was a champ at the doctor. Her eyes got really wide during the shot and she let out a little "aah" but that was it for the crying. Currently she is dozing in her swing hopefully feeling relatively little pain as she has been given baby tylenol. She weighed in at 10lbs 14 oz and 23 inches. So she's gained about three pounds and two inches since birth...go girl!

Joyeux Noel

I love December. I love Christmas. In our families Christmas is a time for family and giving thanks. We will spend a lot of time with our families this year. Its also a time for starting new traditions as our little family unit. I am excited to read to Claire the Christmas story and share with her what Christmas is all about. As I decorated for Christmas this year I pulled out the Nativity scene that my parents had at our house growing up. When I was a little girl, my parents let me "play" with our Nativity scene. Consequently Mary and Joseph's noses are sort of missing because I used to make them kiss when I was younger.

The other night while Josh was in class I attempted a Christmas photo shoot with Lola and Claire. I don't have the same talent for photography that my sister does and attempting with work a dog and infant was a challenge. I guess you could say I'm learning that especially as a parent, things don't always go as planned. I rearranged the furniture so I could get Claire and Lola in front of the Christmas tree. I found this hilarious little elf hat and holly collar (all felt) at Target for Lola but she freezes when I put it on her. Literally she becomes a poseable dog. You'd think that is helpful for a photo shoot and perhaps I should have been grateful but I found it difficult to work with a dog that becomes a statue. I tried taking pictures during Claire's fussy time and because she can only sit up when propped she kept falling over into Lola the statue dog. Anyway, I did get some laughs about the whole thing.

Claire and Lola..the statue dog.
Here you can see poor Lola's shaved neck. She plopped down right next to Claire. She loves her Claire. When picked Lola up on Sunday from our friend Chris' house, Lola ran right past Josh and I hunting for Claire. I guess we don't matter as much anymore.

Brieanne and Brandon came over the other night, she was much more successful at getting pictures of Claire but refused to shoot Lola in her elf outfit. She didn't think Lola liked the hat. Perhaps its because Lola looks a little sad and pathetic right now. She got a little infection on her neck and so part of her neck is shaved and now she has this big scab. So, I guess lucky for Lola she didn't have to wear the hat again.

Expressive little girl!

The lovely Lola relaxing on the rug.

Trying to keep Claire from crying during our photo shoot.

The pacifier was the only way to keep her happy.

Auntie B with Claire in her sleepsack...

Brandon relaxing by the tree to Christmas music.

Claire loves sticking her tongue out.

Ah...Lake Tahoe

Ahh..Lake Tahoe. Such a soothing, peaceful place for me and for Josh, its like returning home. We love Tahoe both for the atmosphere and for the environment. We decided while there is still no snow to speak of, that it was time to introduce Claire to Lake Tahoe. (never to young to indoctrinate her). So Friday morning we loaded up the car and headed off. Claire was dozing off before we even pulled away.

First stop, Ikedas in Auburn. A Moreira/Taylor/Smith family tradition. We have been stopping at Ikedas for as long as I can remember. If you are ever in the area, their pies are incredibly delicious.

There was lots of dad and daughter bonding on our trip.

Brr..our stroll around Tahoe City was a chilly one. Josh kept Claire warm and content with an in the coat snuggle. She would have nothing to do with the stroller. This is somebody's science experiment that we found in the microwave. I think it was once called coffee...Ick... Studious Josh worked on homework for his Horticulture class.

Saturday we strolled around south Lake Tahoe. We of course visited the Patagonia and North Face stores.

Claire's first time out of State... she walked all the way to Nevada!

She wasn't even tired!
Ice had formed at the shoreline of the Lake.

Happy Two months to Claire

Today we celebrate Claire's first two months with us. Some of the new tricks she has learned this month: grabbing my hair, sticking out her tongue, making all sorts of noises and getting inordinate amounts of fuzz trapped between her fingers.

Josh and I marvel at how much she changes and grows on an almost daily basis. How is the transition to parenthood you ask? At times overwhelming, so far almost always a joy, with lots of laughs and laundry. Claire has one outfit (pictured below) that I pray when I dress her in it...everytime she wears it she blows out her diaper. I kid you not EVERY TIME but I love it and can't bring myself not to dress her in it especially because she's almost outgrown it length wise. Knock on wood and thank you Lord, we are spoiled with a very mellow, easy baby. Not that she doesn't cry because boy oh boy come fussy time can she wail but she has been sleeping (9/9:30 ish to 5:30/6ish). Here is her two month old photo. Claire snuggling with her meme (my mom).

Saturday evening we hung out with my parents and Josh's parents for a little Mexican Train Dominos. Josh was the victor of the night.

Claire got to meet her cousin from Nevada, Clint.