It's Christmas time in the city....

I love this time of year, especially in NYC. I am sad because I haven't been able to enjoy the weather and the Christmas festivities as much as I would like to, since little Hunter occupies much of my time and doesn't let me get out much.

I am hoping once Pat gets time off of work that we will be able to explore the city more as a family and we will be able to enjoy the magical feeling the Christmas brings to this wonderful city that we live in.

Of course one of the downsides to a Christmas in New York City is the size of the tree and having to be creative on where to put it! Every year I am convinced that we won't be able to put up our tiny tree because we have no room. However, without fail Pat always finds a way. This year he found the perfect spot on top of our small bookshelf!

Every year I look forward to putting up the ornaments on the tree. It is always fun to reminisce on years past. I can't believe how quickly time flies and this is the fifth Christmas Pat and I have spent together. 

This year, I had some "new" Christmas ornaments to add to the tree that I am especially fond of. When my mom came in October she brought a handful of ornaments that belonged to my grandparents. They are so charming and take me back to my childhood of Christmas Eve's spent at my grandparents home set in the Oakland Hills. 

 

One ornament in particular brought back a flood of memories -- the knitted Reindeer heads. When my mom brought them I got excited because I remember always going up to my grandparents tree and checking to see if there was a special treat inside these reindeers. If I got to them before anyone else, I would find a hershey kiss waiting for me. The funny thing about this, is my mom had no memory of the purpose of these reindeer so when I popped open the mouth of the two reindeer ornaments she brought me, guess what I found!!! Two hershey kisses! The funny thing is from my calculations the hershey kisses were probably over 12 years old!

Christmas is a time for family and traditions. I am excited start my family and to continue old traditions and start new traditions of our own!

Announcing the birth of Hunter James

My last day of work was Friday, September 28th. It was a bitter sweet day. I knew I would miss it over the next four months during my maternity leave but I was also excited for the next phase in my life--to become a mom.

On Monday I made plans to go out to brunch with some other girls that don't have the regular 9 to 5 jobs. I was excited to have a full week off of work before my actual due date on October 8th. I even thought I might get two weeks off before the baby came because I was convinced that I was going to be late because I was feeling so good.


I had so much planned that week in order to get ready for the baby, as I hadn't done much in the way of preparation because I thought I would have a whole week (maybe two) all to myself.

I made a to do list for the rest of the week, crossed a bunch of stuff off but still had a lot to accomplish before the baby came.

However, at the conclusion of my first day off from work, on October 1st at 11pm, my water broke. The labor and delivery was not the easiest and didn't go how I thought; however, it was all worth it when baby Hunter was born on October 3rd at 1:49am. 

The first night we brought him home was surreal. I kept checking him crib every 15 minutes to see if he was breathing. It is a crazy feeling to be responsible for another human being and for his crib to finally have an occupant after being empty for so many months.