Happy New Year (plus much more)!

It is long past time to post about a month in the life of the Shires. The holidays brought a needed rest for me, though work has been stressful the past 10 days as I try to get caught up. I don't know if it's possible, but I am trying!

Christmas for us started December 20th with a visit to the Schnitz to see Jesus Christ SuperStar. Andy was thrilled to see a familiar actor play the part of Jesus. I was a bit put off by the fact that he was visibly too old for the role at 64. He won me over with his astounding vocals though.

We had our family pictures taken before we left. Here's a sample. It's hard to get Donny to hold still long enough to look at the camera, not to mention smile while doing it. I picked a picture that Andy and I looked good in, and settled for Donny in whatever state he was in!

 

Next, on December 21st we went to my parent's place in Junction City, Oregon for family Christmas celebration. Donny was well loved. He was the youngest of the Whittaker clan for one last time. My sister Beth was due to deliver her second baby on January 23rd.

 

I love this picture of Donny with new jammies from Auntie Jo (Auntie Heather is holding him). It reminds me of getting my new jammies every Christmas - they always had room to grow into, just like these!

 

Here he is in his "fort" that his Uncle Timmy built for him:

 

And Cousin Jack helping him with his pacifier.

 

On the 23rd we began our 16 hour journey from our front door to the home of Andy's Aunt Linda in Yellville, Arkansas. We flew Southwest, and ended up on one of those "carpool" flights. We touched down in Oakland and Phoenix on our way to Little Rock. We didn't get off the plane on those stops, but just worked our way up to the front row so we could wrap our little burrito baby an lay him on the floor in front of us to sleep. He did pretty good on the flights, with just one horrifying moment when he shrieked for ten minutes before we boarded. Once we got him fed and swaddled, he did well. We landed in Little Rock and were met by Andy's Uncle Ron and his girlfriend, Sandra. They drove us the 2 1/2 hour drive to our destination at about 4 a.m. Central time. We crashed (as in, went to sleep) and slept until 11. Donny slept that long too! What a blessing!

We spent the next week with the Shire side of the family. They had not been all together for Christmas in 15+ years, so this was a treat. I had only met Andy's immediate family and grandparents, so it was great to get to know everyone else. I have lots more insight into Don, Julie and Andy after meeting the rest of the clan! 

Here is Julie and I the day we arrived:

 

And Julie with Andy:

 

Here's proof that we love each other still...

 

Dinner was really good, complete with the famous rutabaga (I tried to like it, but couldn't really eat something the consistency of mashed potatoes that tasted like cauliflower - ewww!) A few of us made the mistake of putting ham glaze on our turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes like it was gravy. It was delicious for about two bites, then just weird. I was relieved when the gravy was found in the microwave, and permission was granted to start over with the proper toppings!

 

Donny was, as usual, adoreable:

   

He, and his 9 month old cousin, Lindsey, played together very nicely - neither of them knew how to fight over toys yet! So they just contentedly played and watched each other (when they weren't waking each other up from naps).

 

Andy's Dad (extreme left), Aunt Linda, Uncle Ron, Aunt Susan, and Aunt Charlene:

 

The same siblings with Grandma Donna and Grandpa Don:

 

The whole family:

 

The Four Dons (Don Shire Sr., Andrew Donald Shire, Donny Shire, and Don Shire):

 

I was the designated photographer for the week because I had the nicest camera. It was fun. But my favorite photo shoot was of the babies. Donny wasn't the only infant at this gathering. His second cousin, Jackson Foster (4 months and 16 pounds) and his cousin Lindsey Russ (9 months and 16 pounds) were also there. Donny, if you are interested, was the biggest of the babies. At 6 months old and 20 pounds, he was not as easy to cart around as Lindsey, so the young teen cousins spent more time with the feather weight Lindsey. Fortunately, he had no shortage of admirers to take care of him!

 

Great Grandma Shire dotes on babies, and never let me take care of him in the morning. The minute he woke up, she was waiting with open arms to change, feed, and entertain him. She would greet me in the hall with the instructions to go back to bed. I obeyed!

 

Grammy Shire spent a good amount of time with Donny on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day since she had to go home to fly out for a tour on the morning of the 26th. Donny loved her, and acted as if he knew her well. Grammy isn't a stranger!

 

Andy used his time of freedom from responsibility to play Guitar Hero III with his cousins - particularly his cousin Phil. We also convinced him to play Dance Dance Revolution for a while... you should see him dance!

 

We finished our vacation with Influenza B. I guess we should have had our flu shots! Here is Andy with his oldest niece, Laura Russ. Both sick, and Donny with his Grandpa Shire - also sick (though Donny barely showed he was sick). 

  

Andy and I ran fevers of 103, had chills, dizziness, stuffy sinuses, headaches, and a cough. Donny had some of the same, but a milder case - his fever was never above 99, and did well on the flight home even though his Daddy and I were miserable. Fortunately, the flights weren't full, so we were able to carry on his carseat and strap him into his own window seat. That helped us all fly happier.

Here is our sweetie at his first hotel stay in Little Rock on New Year's Eve. This was just before our excursion to the Whole Hog Cafe to have authentic Southern BBQ - The best I've ever tasted!

 

And here is Donny's 6 month photo with his girafferoo:

 

As of today, Donny has crossed a couple of other milestones. 1. he is able to hold his bottle (though he doesn't understand holding it at the proper angle yet, so we have to help him) 2. he is sitting up unsupported (though he still falls down after a couple of minutes) 3. he is eating baby food and loving it - today he added carrots to his diet (last night he chewed on lemons for a long time at the restaurant too - cried when we took it away. Thank you, Aunt Julie, for the good advice!) 

 

And now, for my final update of this incredibly long post: My sister, Beth, had her baby two weeks early. Katherine Pearl Twist joined our family on Jan 10th. She was 7 lb and 19 in - the same size Donny was at full term! She joins brother Jack (2) who calls her "Nonny." We think this is because he thinks she is Donny - or maybe because he thinks the word for baby is "nonny" after spending time with Donny at Christmas. We are going to meet her tomorrow. We'll have to see if Jack is confused when there are two babies in the house at once, or if he figures it out. I can't wait to hold a newborn again!

    

By the way, I figured out how to compress my photo files down to make this easier to load for those with slow internet connections... but for the benefit of those who want to make prints, just email me with a request and I will send you the full sized photos for better quality prints.