the Christmas one, one month later

Five months ago today our sweet second born entered the world!

At about 13.5 lbs now (she was 12 lbs 15 oz, 24 inches at her 4 month check up in Dec) she is just as happy as ever and seems to really love life (except when she is hungry).

She also REALLY loves her big sister, who has a knack for making her smile, laugh, and squeal!

Today also happens to be Aunt Laura's birthday (the person for whom Baby L is named - Happy Birthday Aunt Laura!), and one month (to the day) since Christmas.

Thus, I figured an update (errr, uh...catch-up) post was in order.  Here we go...

A mere five days after having Beebs' tonsils and adenoids removed we drove down to Gardnerville, Nevada, which is where Aunt Laura, Uncle Eric, and cousin Gil currently dwell (having moved there this summer from South Carolina).

 
They live in the beautiful Carson valley, nestled near the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains (just down the mountain from Lake Tahoe, in fact).

Besides spending quality time with family, one of the highlights of our trip for me was getting to see Lake Tahoe for the first time.  It was beautiful, and I look forward to seeing it again (without having to be bundled up)! [we didn't actually go to the shoreline, it was, after all, a bit too cold for water sport!]

Ben's parents also drove out to Nevada (from Tennessee), so for the first time since 2006 (i.e. pre-Beebs) the Fischer side of the family celebrated Christmas together in person!

While getting her to open more than just the first gift took some prodding (I think she'd have been content with her stocking/backpack), Beebs was nonetheless excited when she realized that the really BIG box was a play kitchen of her very own!

[we'll not dwell on the fit that soon followed when her mean parents broke the sad news that because the fully assembled kitchen would not fit in the car she could not actually play with said kitchen for another couple days; and, in the future, we will think of a different strategy than the "give and take away" approach because, seriously, were we expecting her to think that delayed gratification was a good plan?]

Baby L turned 4 months on Christmas day!

While her first Advent/Christmas season will not likely stick in her memory, she was a fan of the ribbons!

In addition to celebrating her first Christmas on our trip, Baby L slept in a draw for the first time.  We found that, in a pinch, a large dresser draw actually works quite well as a baby crib (good thing she wasn't yet trying to roll over in bed!).

Our week in Nevada went far too fast (just ask the grandparents) but we hope to return very soon!

From the Vault (a look back) - 

Images of Christmases past!

 Beebs in 2008 - her only gift from us was a set of rubber duckies and she LOVED them!

 Christmas 2009 - she was very excited to get a baby cradle from Grammie Ann/Grampa Bill

Coming soon - our trip to WA state to celebrate our 8th anniversary and Baby L's latest tricks (spoiler alert - she is rolling over like crazy and likes to squawk and squeal ALOT)