Christmas in Connecticut

Jack's first Christmas was a wonderful, relaxing day.  Tommy made delicious homemade biscuits and gravy and sausage for breakfast.  After breakfast, it was present time!  Here's our beautiful and very happy Christmas tree:

I think that Jack had more presents than everyone else put together - he's definitely a very lucky and loved little boy.  He probably won't remember much of his first Christmas, but it was a very special day for Mommy, Daddy, Poppy and Gigi.  Here are a couple of photos of Jack with his holiday goodies:

Poppy and Gigi show off their new hat and shirt:

Poppy and Gigi bought all of their children and spouses matching superhero pajamas to wear for Christmas - what a cute idea!.  There weren't any PJ pants small enough for baby Jack, but luckily he already had a superman shirt to match the rest of the family:

The rest of the day was spent together checking out our new goodies and, of course, in the kitchen. Greta made a delicious Cajun pork roast, complete with rice, gravy and corn, and a delicious tomato and feta salad. Yum!!

We're so thankful that Poppy and Gigi were able to be here to celebrate Jack's first Christmas.  We missed the rest of the family we weren't able to see this holiday, but know that we were thinking about each and every one of you!  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

Radio City Christmas Spectacular

On Christmas Eve day, Greta and I headed in to New York City to see the Rockettes perform in the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall.  It was the first time I had left Jack for more than an hour or 2, so I was a little nervous, but I knew he was in good hands with Daddy and Poppy. We grabbed sushi for lunch in Grand Central Terminal and then headed out for a little shopping and window-viewing.  We stopped in FAO Schwartz and Greta picked up an alligator stuffed animal to go with Jack's "Cajun Night Before Christmas" book and looked at the window decorations at Bloomingdales and Bergdorf Goodman.  Like last year, I loved the windows at Bergdorf Goodman - so intricate, avant garde and creative!  I tried to take a picture, but unfortunately the glare from the sun wrecked them :(

I've always wanted to see the Rockettes, so I was so glad when Greta suggested we go see the "Christmas Spectacular."  We both really enjoyed the show.  The precision of the Rockettes dancing is pretty amazing, and the show really put us in the Christmas spirit!  Unfortunately, they made me check my camera as a video camera (even though I don't know how to work that feature and it will only take a few minutes of video at a time), so I wasn't able to take any pictures during the show (not a good day for pictures).  After the show, I did manage to get a couple of pictures of the stage and lobby:

And here is Greta in front of Radio City Music Hall:

After the show, we did a little shopping around Rockefeller Plaza and got to see the Rockefeller Plaza Christmas tree all lit up.  I was amazed at how many people were out and how may stores were open late in the day on Christmas Eve!

We headed back home for gumbo for dinner and to celebrate Jack's first Christmas Eve.  Jack bundled up in his Christmas PJs and Poppy read him the "Cajun Night Before Christmas" (Mhire family tradition) and Mommy read him the original "Night Before Christmas (Bitler family tradition).  We all headed to bed, ready to discover what Santa would bring on Christmas morning.  What a great day!

Meet Poppy and GiGi!

I've fallen behind on my posts, but we've been having a great time visiting with Tom and Greta (aka Poppy and GiGi) since they arrived on Wednesday.  More to come soon about Greta's and my trip to NYC to see the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall and of course about Jack's first Christmas, but I wanted to post a couple of pictures of Poppy and GiGi meeting their grandson:

More to come soon, I promise.  Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!

Jack's First Photo Shoot

We took some photos of Jack today that were too cute not to share.  The first couple photos are of Jack's first time in the snow (we got about a foot of snow last night!).  As you can see, he was not a big fan, but the photos are cute!  Thanks to Aunt Karen for the adorable Santa suit and to the Montags for the snow hat and gloves.  Enjoy!

One Month Old!

I can't believe that my baby boy is one month old already!  We had our one month checkup with Dr. Berkun yesterday.  In case you are interested, here are his stats:

Height - 22 inches - 75th percentile
Weight - 9 pounds, 2 ounces - 25th percentile (up almost 2 pounds from 2 weeks ago!)
Head - 37cm - 25th percentile

So Jack is long and lean, just like he's always been (and just like his Daddy).  The doctor was very happy with how he is progressing - he's lifting his head, kicking his feet and tracking objects with his eyes.  Every concern we brought up (from fussy feedings to slightly crusty eyes to his preference waiting until 3am to fall asleep) were perfectly normal, even though Mom and Dad keep hoping we all will start to get a little more sleep soon!  Here are a couple of comparison photos - the first from the day we brought him home from the hospital and the second on the way to his one-month pediatrician visit:

On our way home from the doctor, we stopped by daycare to pick up Jack's enrollment papers.  I was really relieved when the daycare called on Wednesday and told us they would have a spot for Jack when Mommy starts back to work in February.  The teachers in the daycare really seem to care about the kids, and I'm confident Jack will be just fine when he starts daycare in a few months.  I'll admit that I am a little sad to think that I will soon be dropping him off each Monday through Friday morning and heading back to work.  Right now, though, I'll focus on enjoying each moment of the next 2 months, even those crying, pooping, sleepless moments I'd rather forget right now!

Jack Meets Santa Claus

Yesterday while all of our company was visiting Manhattan, Tommy and I braved the craziness of the Stamford Mall with an almost-four-week-old to get Jack's first picture taken with Santa.  I don't think Jack will remember much of his first meeting with Santa - he slept the entire time - but we have the picture to prove it.  Isn't he cute in his Santa hat!?!

Meet Uncle Austin!

Austin arrived Friday afternoon to meet baby Jack and spend the weekend with us.  I'm afraid we're pretty boring company right now and we don't leave the house very often, but we're so glad he came!  He did manage to make the trip into NYC yesterday to see the tree in Rockefeller Center and some of the Christmas windows and I think we may venture out for sushi tonight, but otherwise, we've just enjoyed hanging out at the house, catching up, and trying to keep warm.  Thanks for making the trip Uncle Austin - come back soon!

 

Jack's First Christmas Tree

Nana and Papa were nice enough to babysit Jack for a couple of hours on Thursday afternoon so Tommy and I could head down to the Christmas tree farm to choose our Christmas tree for 2009.  We wandered around most of the lot before we found the perfect tree.  Tommy cut our tree down all by himself:

Nana made the new bow at the top of the tree and embroidered Jack's name on his new stocking and everyone else helped to decorate.  Here are a couple of pictures of us decorating the tree, and the finished product:

Friday evening we celebrated an early Christmas with Nana and Papa - Jack's first Christmas celebration.  Thanks so much for everything, guys!

And of course, no Christmas would be complete without the posed pictures in front of the Christmas tree:

We tried to get Max and Albert in the family Christmas hat shot, but this is what Max thought of his Christmas hat:

More to come soon.  Happy Holidays, everyone!

Meet Nana and Papa!

Nana and Papa arrived last Saturday to meet their newest grandson.  We'll post pictures soon of all of the fun things we've done while they've been here, but for now, here are the first photos of Nana and Papa with grandson Jack:

More (christmas trees, visits with Santa, Uncle Austin!) to come soon, I promise!

So Much to Be Thankful for

I drove my parents back to LaGuardia this morning to head back to Texas.  I can't believe how fast time has flown!  I'm so grateful they were able to come stay with us for as long as they did.  I'm thankful for the wonderful cooking, laundry help, the help with baby Jack in the morning so that his Mom could get an extra hour of sleep or two.  Most importantly, I'm thankful they were able to be here to share the experience of the past few weeks with us.  Thanks, Mom and Dad!  I love you guys!

The week of Thanksgiving was a hectic, but wonderful time at our house.  Katy and Evan arrived on Saturday evening.  For those who don't already know, my little sister is expecting her second baby this May, so we were all interested to see what Evan would think of having a new baby around. If this picture is any indication, baby Davis better watch out!

(Evan was actually very good around Jack - I know he will make a great big brother!)

Here's a picture of Aunt Katy and Uncle Ian holding their first nephew:

Ian and Fudge Ripple braved the day-before-Thanksgiving traffic, driving all the way from Durham to Stamford on Wednesday.  Yes, that means we had 6 adults, a newborn, a toddler and 3 dogs at our house for Thanksgiving weekend.  Crazy?  Maybe, but I can't imagine holidays without family around and I'm so thankful mine were able to make the trip all the way up to Connecticut to share Jack's first Thanksgiving.

Our Thanksgiving meal was wonderful - Ian prepared the turkey and Mom and Dad made all sorts of traditional Bitler/Heatherly Thanksgiving dishes - cornbread stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn casserole, green bean casserole, and blueberry Jello salad just to name a few.  Dad even ventured into unfamiliar territory and made the Cajun rice dressing that is a staple at Mhire family Thanksgivings.  For dessert, we had pumpkin pie, pecan pie and strawberry cake.  You may have realized by now that you aren't going to go hungry in the Bitler household..  Here are a couple of photos of the yummy meal and table:

And a few more pictures from Thanksgiving day:

And yes, as bad as this will sound to any die-hard Longhorn fan, we almost managed to miss watching the annual Texas/A&M football game.  I really thought the game was on Friday morning.  Luckily I logged onto ESPN.com in time to catch the end of the first quarter and the rest of the game.  Jack didn't get a chance to wear his Longhorn attire until the next day, but, as you see, he was very excited about the Longhorn victory.  Hook 'Em!

On Sunday, we were lucky to have a quick visit from Uncle Greg.  He spent Thanksgiving weekend in New York with his sister and was nice enough to stop by on Sunday before he headed to the airport.  Thanks Uncle Greg!  We miss you!

The Davises drove back to North Carolina on Saturday and as I said earlier, Mom and Dad left this morning.  It will be nice to have a few days to relax as a family, but we're looking forward to a visit from Nana and Papa on beginning on Saturday.  If possible, it has become even more obvious to me this year - we really do haveso much to be thankful for.  Happy Thanksgiving!

He's Here!

Welcome to the world Thomas Jackson Mhire!!

Monday, November 16th, 2009 - 3:07pm
6 pounds, 12 ounces, 20 inches long

Tommy and I are so in love already! (Max and Albert are still making up their minds)

Our birth story is fairly uneventful, but I think that's a good thing.  I started having contractions about 3:30am on Monday morning.  Tommy started timing them at around 5:30 and they were about 4 minutes apart when we arrived at the hospital around 8:30am.  I got an epidural at about 12:30pm and little Jack was born kicking and screaming after about 35 minutes of pushing.

Here are some of the first pictures from the Labor and Delivery room:

Meeting Grandma for the first time:

My dad arrived on Tuesday afternoon.  Here is one of the first pictures of Grandpa and Jack:

We arrived home from the hospital early Wednesday afternoon and have just been settling in since then.

(heading home from hospital)

We have been so thankful to have Grandma and Grandpa here.  They have been such a help making yummy meals, keeping up with laundry and helping out with Jack while Tommy and I try to figure out our new roles as parents.

We had our first pediatrician appointment yesterday and I think everyone fared better than poor Mom.  Jack had lost a little more weight since we left the hospital and I immediately felt like the most horrible mother on the planet.  Fortunately for me, I think Dr. Berkun knew how I was feeling even before I did.  He assured us that Jack was healthy, alert and progressing just as he should be.  Thanks to a few helpful hints from Dr. Berkun, Jack is eating better than ever this morning!

Here are a few photos from Jack's first few days:

Aunt Katy and cousin Evan arrive today for the Thanksgiving holiday and Uncle Ian and Ripple will be coming later in the week.  It will be a busy house, but we have so much to be thankful for this year!