For Lua's first Christmas, we flew back home to see our families on the East Coast. It was such a wonderful trip! Lua grew so much during her time in California (from 6 weeks to five months), so it was exciting to bring her home and show her off. She'd become a real little person, with a personality and everything!
We spent a total of ten days on the East Coast. The first four days, including Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, we spent with Dan's Mom in New Jersey. The next two days, including Christmas afternoon, we spent with Dan's Dad and the rest of his family. Our last four days were spent with my family in Pennsylvania. The whole trip was a whirlwind of commotion: hugs, dinners, chats, games, and people holding Lua. Looking back, it's all a big blur.
The bottom line is-- It was so, so nice to be back home. It was so nice to share Lua and watched her be admired and loved. It was nice to go on a date. It was nice to have babysitters and grandparents and great-grandparents and aunts and uncles all around.
I find that I miss the East Coast more than I thought I would. Though Dan and I were perfectly content to live halfway around the world for two-plus years without our families-- that was before we had a baby. Now that Lua's here, I find the distance to be painful. I miss my mom more than I ever have in my life. I miss my grandparents! I miss Dan's mom and dad and my brother and my sister.
So while we're thankful for Dan's position in grad school-- while we're so thankful for warm winters and new friends here in California-- this Christmas also taught us to be thankful for our wonderful family.
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| Lua and Pop-Pop (Dan's Grandpa) |
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| Dan's Mom, Lua, Dan, and Pop-Pop |
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| Dan, Lua, and Grandpa Bob |
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| Slinging Lua into her carrier |
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| Dan, Grandpa Bob, Lua, Caitlin, and Ryan on the beach at Atlantic City |
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| Grandpa Bob and Lua on the beach |
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| Grandpa Bob, Lua, and Mimi |
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| Dan, Lua, and Grandpa Bob |
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| Caitlin, Lua, and Ryan |
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| Caitlin and Lua |
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| Mimi, Lua, and Grandpa Bob |
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| Dan and I were there, too |
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| Dan and his father's family in Atlantic City, NJ |
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| Nate and Vicki in Mountaintop |
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| Mom, Lua, and Dan in Mountaintop |
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| Playing charades with the family |
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| Lua opens presents! She didn't understand the concept at all, but she definitely wanted to eat everything right away. |
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| Aunt Amy |
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| The siblings (in Mountaintop) |
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| Lua plays with her new toy car |
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| Lua meets the Christmas tree |
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| Lua and the tree |
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| Lua, Dan, and the tree |
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| Lua reads her new book with Grandma Doralyn |
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| Sisters |
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| Amy, Lua, and Lisa |
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| Family portrait: Lua's learned to stick her tongue out! |
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| Dan, Lua, Lisa |
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| Lua with Grandpa Jim at the breakfast table. |
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| Actually,sitting on the breakfast table |
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| Lua in front of the Christmas tree |
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| Haha. Just making noise! |
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| Smiling! |
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| Making more noise! With Grandma Doralyn |
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| Grandma Doralyn and Lua |
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| Family portrait: All tongues in |
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| Four generations! |
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| On our last full day in Mountaintop: So tired! |
Merry belated Christmas, everyone! We miss you all already.
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