Rory's First Christmas

Today, Rory celebrated her first Christmas. If fun can be measured in smiles, then Rory had an amazing day at her Grandma's beach house. But what is she thinking in this picture?... How to squeeze even more gifts out of this holiday? That would be hard, since her family showered her with new toys and books and clothes. The road to Christmas started in the wee hours of Saturday morning, when Rory's daddy slipped her out of her crib and into her car seat while Rory still slept. And slept she did, as her parents drove from Alexandria to Richmond, where Rory's Great Grandma awaited! Rory awoke as we knocked on the Masterson's door at 7 a.m. Rory's Great Grandma was helping her Great Aunt Janet in the kitchen. We joined the Masterson clan for breakfast, and Rory had the pleasure of conversing with the matriach of her daddy's family. And Great Grandma had the joy of holding her tenth great grandchild.
We said goodbye to the Richmond gang, and we loaded into the car for the rest of journey to Beaufort, North Carolina. Rory did great, and six hours later we arrived. Judy and Paul's home is beautiful! On Sunday, Christmas Eve, we cleaned up for a quick picture in front of the tree before heading to ...
... Rory's first Catholic mass. Despite the bad lighting in the picture, you can see that Rory had a good time at the service.
Later that evening, we enjoyed our family gift exchange and our "white elephant" tradition, while Rory had fun with the wrapping paper.
On Christmas day, Rory was surrounded by her daddy and mommy as she gathered Santa's gifts around her.
Rory had as much fun unwrapping her gifts as she did playing with them ...
... and her family had as much fun watching Rory as they did opening their own gifts!
Rory made an adorable addition to our Christmas.
Rory is also getting very good at helping me with the blog!

Rory's Belly Laugh

Pictured above is Rory with three of her closest friends ... Gretta, Aidan, and Dahlia (from left to right). The four babies entertained themselves last Sunday while their parents enjoyed wine and cheese at Dahlia's house (Rachel and Josh). As you can see in the picture, Rory has become our class clown. In fact, she gave her daddy the most perfect gift on his 33rd birthday on Tuesday ... she decided that it was the right time to showcase belly laugh, as this short video demonstrates.

In other news, Rory had her four-month check-up this week. At 11 pounds, 11 ounces, she is a confirmed peanut (as you can see in the picture above). She is two feet long, so she still cuts a lean profile.

The First Day of Chrismukkah

On Friday, Rory celebrated the first day of Chrismukkah in grand style. While the day ended with a reverent home ceremony ("Ate My Dreidel" t-shirt optional),
Chrismukkah began with Rory putting on her new holiday dress! Okay, this may be the cutest picture of my daughter yet. (A close second is Rory in her Uggs.) I know. I know. I once made big speeches about not wanting to dress my daughter in pink, but this one is just adorable. And that smile!
Dressed to the nines, Rory and Sarah attended a holiday party thrown by Ali, a friend that Sarah has made through the "new mommies" groups.
Sitting to the left of Sarah is Jill (and Jenna), an acquaitance from college whom we just happened to run into at an infant CPR class a few months ago.


More friends -- Tracy (and Ryan) and Courtney (and Calder).

Sarah and Rory have really tapped into a huge network of new moms and babies.
And, of course, Rory does exactly what her daddy feared she would do in that cute dress. She found a boy to flirt with!

After a long day out and about, Rory enjoyed some quality time in her new jumper!

On Saturday, we are heading down to North Carolina to see Rory's grandma (and the rest of Tim's family), and then we are headed to Seattle to celebrate New Year's Eve with Rory's Nonna, Pops, and Aunt Sydney.

Rory at 4 months

Ah, how the rhythms of life have certainly changed. We awake to Rory's cooing from the nursery instead of to the ringing of an alarm clock. We count the passage of time in dirty diapers instead of dispatched days. We scrutinize every arm movement and belly laugh for signs of development. She is our evening entertainment, and she is our joy. At 4 months, Rory has started teething, she sits up with only the slightest support needed, she loves to be lifted into the air like superwoman, she likes to snuggle for 10 minutes before going to bed, she proudly wears her Stanford tee ...
... she takes in her world with tremendous focus (pictured here examining her feet), and we think her eyes are starting to turn from grey-blue to hazel.

Preparing for the Holiday Season

Rory got herself in the holiday spirit by taking her parents shopping for a Christmas tree ...
... she opted for a smaller tree than we have gotten in past years, but it was a perfect size for our little girl. She picked a living tree, one that will grow with her over time. We'll see which of them gets to five feet first! (My money is on Rory, given how quickly she is adding inches to those long legs of hers.)
And to truly get in the holiday mood, Rory donned the Christmas antlers -- an O'Hara family tradition. She also insisted on her pink, fleecy, snowman pajamas. (Doesn't Rory have a mischievous look about her?... Probably preparing her long Christmas present wish list.)
Also this week, we attended a holiday party with several of the new moms (and their families) that Sarah has met through her mommy-and-baby support group. Together, we all attended the Scottish parade that Alexandria hosts every year.
We were also lucky to be joined by Rory's Nonna and Pops, who were in town on Friday and Saturday! They were nice enough to give Rory's parents time on Saturday afternoon to see a movie together, only the second trip to the theater that they have made since her birth. We saw the new James Bond movie!

Mommy Takes a Break

Being a mommy is exhausting! But a nice bottle of white wine can take (some of) the cares away, just don't fall asleep before you've finished your glass. Perhaps having such a talkative daughter (see the video) tires a mommy?!