Gaz's first Christmas and sundries

(First: I'm really, really, REALLY far behind on thank-yous and holiday cards. I swear I've got stuff to send and I hope to have some time to work on that this weekend, baby willing. I'm not trying to be rude I'm just overwhelmed!)

'Twas her first and 'twas lovely. We spent it down in E-ville with my family, per our holiday rotation, slightly amended due to last year's blizzard. I'm sure the folks down there ended up thankful for us not being able to come down last year since all they would have gotten was a sleepy, nauseated, newly pregnant me. Gaz is way more fun than that.

The teething had abated somewhat (still lots of chewing, but less fussing than usual) so Gaz was in generally good spirits apart from when we first got into town around 1:30 am. Then she just needed a full tummy and time to adjust to Grandma Cel and Grandpa Charley's house and she was right as rain again.

Gaz received some really great clothes from Aunt Hillary and Uncle Sean, as well as some from the Great-Grandparents Rizen. There were also some new books (a fuzzy puppy book, a Five Little Monkeys book + finger puppets, and the Complete Tales of Peter Rabbit) and toys (a FP stacking ring thing that plays classical music). While we were down there Mom and I went shopping for Gaz-sized turtleneck onesies (no, no explanation for my obsession with those things) and we ended up finding a doorway jumper for cheap. Score!

The night driving was fairly successful but the day driving really bit. We had to stop more often and had to play her special Gaz-soothing CDs much more often. Looks like we'll have to organize road trips so that all the driving is done after bedtime.

All these holiday trips make me wish that we lived closer to family. It's so great to see everyone and we miss everyone horribly when we go. So you all have to move to Chicago, okay? ;)

Yesterday on my way into the office I saw a fellow with his five-week-old son. He was carrying him in a carseat just like the one we just left in E-vill (thanks to the best Christmas present ever--a carseat big enough to safely contain our big girl) and I commented that I liked the car seat and oh I remember those early days. I got a good look at the little guy and he was pretty big, probably as big as Gaz was at five weeks. I got all nostalgic and told the guy to enjoy these days before they get too chaotic. Nostalgic already! Beware of introspective me in August.

The only drawback of having to upgrade the carseat is that our Snap 'N Go no longer works. For a stroller we've got just a little umbrella stroller (which we wouldn't even have if my Aunt Alice hadn't surprised us with an off-registry item) right now. I've found my dream stroller, complete with shopping basket and rain hood and pockets and things, but jeez are those things expensive. We thought we'd have plenty of time to run down bigger-baby items well into the future, but big baby accelerated our bigger-baby needs timeline. What we've got now works just fine for baby transport, but since I tend to overpack and carry too much stuff, I do miss that handy basket under the seat of the Snap 'N Go. It's a high class problem but I complain still.

Anyway, we're looking forward to a New Year full of fun new developmental milestones. Solid food soon, and crawling too looks like it's not far off. For now I just need to survive this work week.

Happy holidays to all!