Christmas Parties

Caleb and I got to attend many Christmas parties this year. I am so thankful to be involved in so many groups that allow us to make friends, get out of the house, and socialize. That was one of my concerns of being a stay at home mom, that I would be stuck inside constantly. Now that he is happier and not crying so much and his feeding times have stretched out a little, I am more confident in taking him more places. Like yesterday, we went to Barnes & Noble complete with a vanilla latte, browsed the store, drove to Walmart for some gifts and headed home and out to a party in the afternoon! It was the perfect day! He was so good, cooing in the car, falling asleep in the store. Watching me shop. This is what I hoped it would be. Busy, but good. My mom did share some advice with me that I need to remember, "Live for the moments." The good moments were few and far between the first four months of his life and I had to be happy with a moment of joy when he would smile or meet a milestone. Now there are more "moments" and I am sure there will be another challenging time with fewer moments.
Wow, I got side tracked. Back to the Christmas parties. Let's start with the Premier Army Lactation group. That party was the first one. This group was created by the lactation consultant I saw at the beginning of Caleb's life, Lori, as a support for breast feeding women. I love this group. They are so honest, friendly, and understand what you are going through. They all have children (most their first) under 1 year! We had 13 Moms at the party. Stephanie, the lead Mom, and Lori made the party such a success with handprint ornaments the babies made, a cookie exchange, a gift exchange for the babies, and baby handprints on a framed picture for Lori! It was a blast!
The next party we went to was put on by the Moms Club I am a part of. This is an international group ( I am part of the Northwest Colorado Springs section) of stay at home Moms who do many things (hiking, cooking, playgroups, fieldtrips, fundraisers,etc...). They did a wonderful job with a potluck of food, ornaments for toddlers to make, and even a visit from Santa.
The last party was yesterday. The lactation group (mentioned above) wanted to start a playgroup. So we go to the Air Force Academy and meet in a big room to do fun things with the babies. So far we have done baby sign language, baby massage, and sown "taggie" blankets (well, I didn't sew. A mom and one of the leaders sewed!). Yesterday we did an ornament exchange and let the babies play.
Christmas shopping is done. House needs to be cleaned, presents packed or wrapped, and Christmas cards mailed. Whew! I am excited to share Caleb's first Christmas here in Colorado. We have snow outside and are all cozy next to our fireplace! Here are some pictures from the parties!

Christmas Parties