My due date, November 18th, arrived along with family members from across the West Coast. Elizabeth joined our world in a matter of seconds. (http://thedalefamilyblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/new-adventure.html) Then we rolled right into Thanksgiving, cherishing new life and saying thank you for our health and togetherness. In a matter of weeks, Christmas showed up and disappeared just as quickly. Now it's the last day of 2011.
 |
| It's Lizzie, but hard to distinguish from Maddi at this age |
The year's most valuable memories are not those of new iPhones and iPads or finally fitting into skinny jeggings. It's not even the promotions at work or finishing law school. Sure, those are major milestones (fitting into skinny jeans included), but this was a year of family for me and Elliott. We learned a lot about our families; we spent a lot of time with family; and we developed relationships with friends who essentially became family.
I was reminded most of this when we hopscotched around southern California this past week to visit our family. The homes we visited were overflowing with relatives, delicious food, gifts and more gifts, and holiday cheer. We were all so happy to be together.
 |
| All the grandkids |
We spent our first two nights with my sister Jamey, her husband and two kids. Our parents were also there and we celebrated two nights of Hanukkah together, including one at our grandparents. We sang the blessings (together), lit candles (together), played Dreidel (together), and feasted on brisket a la Irv Weinberger (together). Did I also mention that we played Just Dance on the Kinect (together)?
 |
| Everyone opening gifts at my dad's. |
Early on Christmas Eve, we packed our bags into our rented Ford Edge (which is a nice cross-over SUV) at 9am to get to my Dad's in Huntington Beach. It was a miracle that we showered, packed and got two kiddos ready so quickly. Let me see if I can count the number of people who greeted us at my dad's ... my sister, her husband, three kids, and in-laws, my other sister, dad and step-mom. It was a full house! We texted back and forth all the way down - I'm turning on Crest, turning on 10th... Finally we're here, and I'm leaping out of the car before Ell has time to perfectly parallel park. It's hard to describe the excitement and thrill of seeing family you haven't seen in months.
We got to have this feeling of excitement over and over -- every time we entered another relatives' house.
From my dad's we headed to Uncle Butch's to await the traditional afternoon arrival of Santa Claus, and feasting on takeout Mexican food. My dad even grilled a delicious turkey that had everyone talking for days (he is from Misourri after all) Dozens of family and friends were there enjoying a warm Christmas Eve on the back patio.
Lizzie stole the show. Everyone asked for a turn to get a fill of baby-snuggles. They remarked on her beauty and her thick head of hair. Some of them knew about her Down Syndrome and others didn't. As a mom, I thought to myself - I hope everyone dotes on her like this even when she's older.
Today, no one would guess that Elizabeth has Downs, but that will change in one year if the books tell the story right. They say her facial features will change, and there will be delays in speech and motor skills. I guess I fear the unknown and shouldn't. I am enjoying today and I love how our family and friends embrace Elizabeth with every bit of love possible. I'll bet that's how it will always be.
The family visits continue .... next stop The North Pole! Just kidding. Actually, we headed south near Temecula to see Chris, Sarah, and cousin Samantha. And this is where the real Santa visited overnight as we slept. Samantha is just a year older than Maddi, and they are two peas in a pod.
The girls were careful to layout treats for Santa and then off to bed without a fuss.
No comments:
Post a Comment