Merry Christmas

I know that I have been very, very bad about updating the blog since we got home from China. I really did have good intentions, but I am also realizing how little free time I have these days. I am selfishly putting a nap for me in front of updating the blog... but I will try to do better.

We have had a very busy few weeks, and it feels like things have been non-stop since Thanksgiving. We spent Thanksgiving at Jess and Mark's, and dinner was wonderful. Everything was made from scratch, and it was yummy. Hana sampled most everything, but I think the stuffing was her favorite.


The following weekend brought a little snow and a visit from Jess and Mark, who were going to meet Mark's parents for lunch on Sunday. We tagged along and introduced Hana to the Nelsons, who brought her a rubber ducky, which has made her bath much more fun.

By this point, I was ready for a bit of a break, but the next weekend was a big one... Hana's first birthday party! Unfortunately, she got sick the week before her birthday, so she wasn't quite herself for the party. In spite of being a little sick, she seemed to have fun at her party. She didn't really mess in her cake too much, but I can't say that I was too disappointed by that. She actually got more icing in my hair than in hers. I think she is a little young to get really excited over the presents, and she didn't really know what to do. Luckily, her cousin Micheal was there to help her out, so that made it go a little faster. She enjoyed all the company, but by the end, she was exhausted and went down for a nap.


The next weekend, which was the last before Christmas, brought with it lots and lots of snow. I got home around 4 on Friday afternoon, and I noticed the first flake hitting the mailbox. It started to accumulate within half an hour, and the snow continued until the next night. We got a total of 17.5 inches, which finally melted with the rain we had yesterday.


Well, that brings us right up to Christmas, which we hosted this year. My parents, Ethan, Jess, Mark, Megan and Michael came up for Hana's first Christmas. It was busy, but it was good. Hana still didn't really have the hang of opening gifts, but she did know how to play with them. Michael had his own gifts, so he wasn't able to help as much this time, but he did open one of hers and was quite disappointed when he pulled out a dress. He was clearly willing to hand that over to her! Judy and Sally came by for a bit to visit on Christmas day. I didn't get to visit much since I was in the middle of Christmas dinner, but they did get to spend a little bit of time with Hana, which is good. Dinner was a little later than planned since the turkey took longer to cook than I expected. Shocking... the internet was wrong! I made Jess and Mark a little late to get on the road, but at least the turkey was good. Of course, like Thanksgiving, the stuffing was still her favorite, but she seemed to like the mashed potatoes too. All in all, she had a pretty full day with lots of excitement and stimulation. By 6, she could barely keep her little eyes open, so we put on her PJs, and she was asleep in no time. I think that she enjoyed her first Christmas, which we have been looking forward to for such a long time. But she was definitely worth every bit of the wait.