We made the LONG drive home to Philadelphia to spend christmas with our families.
First, all my friends from high school and my great friend from college all came over to visit with us and meet Ansley!
We spent Christmas Eve at Uncle Fran and Aunt Mags House. All the Doyle's, Lazurs, and Millers were there to meet Ansley.
Christmas morning was spent at my parents house. Ansley slept great that night and took her nap in the travel swing we bought with us while we opened our gifts. That morning my grandparents, Sandy, Steve, and Lilly came over. They all got to meet Ansley for the first time!
Dustin's grandma Wayda, Aunt Denise, Uncle Chuck, and cousin Denise traveled all the way from the Chicago area to share Christmas with us and meet Ansley! We felt so blessed to see them. We had a lovely Christmas dinner with Dustin's family and were able to spend a few more days there with the Fricke's before they went back to IL.
One of the best parts of being in Philadelphia was that Ansley got to meet some of her great-grandparents. Here is her with 2 of her great-grandmoms.
All in all, Ansley's first Christmas was so special! She got tons and tons of gifts (especially from the grandmom's). Ansley was so lucky to have so many people who love her showering her with cuddles and attention the whole time!
While were were in PA, we planned to also get Ansley baptised. On the Sunday after Christmas, Ansley was baptised at Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Lansdale PA. It was a nice ceremony. We had a lot of family there to support us. Clayton is Ansley's godfather and Nicole is Ansley's godmother.
We drove home, making it in time for New Years. Being brand-new parents, we didn't have big plans. We were able to go over to Nick and Tessa's for a couple of hours, but were home by 10:30pm (and I fell asleep on the couch about 11:45).
Since the holidays, Ansley has changed so much. She smiles constantly and is such a happy baby. She loves it when people talk to her and give her attention. She has long "conversations" with us everyday. She rolls from her tummy to her back and is really close to rolling over onto her stomach. She grabs onto rattles and holds them tight. She even sometimes holds her bottle up! She loves it when Dustin plays the guitar for her (and I love it too). We've been able to take out a lot more toys for her now that she is interested in. She still loves her gymini, but also loves playing in her Baby Einstein entertainer and sitting in her Bumbo chair. She also loves a red baby doll that my cousin Kelli gave her when she was first born.
On January 26th, I had to return to work. It was a really tough week. It has gotten easier as time has gone by, but I still wish I had more time with her. The lady watching her everyday is fantastic. We just couldn't be happier with her level of care for the kids! It is adorable to see Ansley laughing at the other kids when I pick her up each day. I try to get home each day as quickly as possible so I can spend a few good hours with her before her 7:15 bed time. Here are some pictures from the last few months.
This was an unusually really nice day in Atlanta in January, so we took Ansley to the park for the first time. We walked along the pond and saw the ducks, went on the swings, and went down the slide.
When she is wrapped up in her swaddle, we call her our "little Burrito".
Sitting up like such a big girl in her bumbo chair.
Ansley loves to look at books!
Here is Ansley with all of her stuffed animals. She blends right in :)
A picture from a "photo shoot" my mom and I had while she visited in early February.
My mom has a baby picture of my brother, about Ansley's age, where he has a blanket on top of his head. I love that shoot and wanted to try to recreate it with Ansley. I love the way it came out!
Just being happy :)
On Valentine's Day, my mom was here visiting, so Dustin and I were able to go out. We had a great evening. Here's Ansley in her valentines Day pj's.
It's been an exciting, exhausting, and AMAZING 4 months since we've had Ansley. She brings Dustin and I joy so many times a day. We are the luckiest parents in the world :)
I promise I will try to blog more often. Thanks for reading!
Erin
