My first Christmas...

...And my first trip to Kentucky! Well, that is, if you're only counting my out-of-the-womb trips.


Mommy, Daddy, and I are finally back in New York after a long, wonderful 2-week trip to Kentucky to celebrate Christmas and ring in the New Year with family and friends. With the car loaded with a kitty, a baby, and all of my "needs", we jetted out toward KY a day early to beat the noreaster headed our way and made the trip in 21 hours (it typically takes 14 hours, but apparently Mom and Dad don't usually stop every 2-3 hours to eat and change their diapers). It was exciting to get to see so many new places on the way. Here's a current list of all of the states that I've been to. I'm turning into quite the traveler! There are even rumors that I might get to go to England this summer, too!


States visited while in the womb:
New York - January 08
Massachusetts - February 08
Connecticut - April 08
Kentucky - May 08
Vermont - August 08
New Hampshire - August 08


States visited while out of the womb:
New York - September 08
Massachusetts - November 08
Pennsylvania - December 08
Maryland - December 08
West Virginia - December 08
Kentucky - December 08
Ohio - January 09

I was so excited that Mom and Dad had packed my Jungle Gym and my Mobile so I could feel more at home and get to play with my familiar friends. I just LOVE that monkey!! During my time in KY, I started grabbing it off of its hanging place on the Jungle Gym and putting it in my mouth. Mmmmm...monkeys taste good!

For some reason, I think this yellow creature is hilarious. I laughed out loud for the first time on the night on the 26th while watching this mobile friend go 'round and 'round.

I got some fun new toys, too. This ball flashes lights and plays music. I'm still not quite sure what to do with it, but for now it sure is fun to stare at!

Grammie made me this beautiful pink dress (with a matching blanket and booties!)

It was great to get to spend so much time with family! I was glad to get to meet so many of my cousins and aunts and uncles.

Here's a picture of "the girls" - Me with my cousins Clara (9) and Maggie (5)

I wish Clara lived closer so she could babysit me!

My cousin Tyler and I hit it off well, too. He may be 11 years older than me and a football player, but he also has long hair and I have an incredibly strong grip. HEHEHE!

During my time in KY, I discovered the television set. Let me tell you something - watching people play Guitar Hero for hours and hours into the night is REALLY exciting! Tyler, you will always be my Guitar Hero!!

My cousin Syndey (9) got me this puppet book of Horton Hears a Who. Sydney was even kind enough to read it to me! I sure hope Elli isn't jealous of my new elephant friend!
Sydney and me:I loved snuggling with my aunts!
And as always, HOORAH FOR GRANDPARENTS!

Here's me teaching Grammie the sign for "grammie" in ASL.
Gram sure knows how to make me smile! (And I think I know how to make her smile, too!)
It was great to get to meet my Grandpa Rawert. It turns out that we have a lot in common; for one thing, we both like taking naps!

Daddy and I got to spend a lot of quality time together, too!

For Christmas this year, I gave Mom one of the best gifts of all - the gift of dairy! Once we got to KY, Mom and Dad couldn't pass up the opportunity to get their hands (and mouths) on some Papa Johns Pizza. Four pieces of pizza and several cheese sticks later, Mom fed me the "danger milk" and everyone waited to see what would happen. And guess what? No screaming baby! That's right - I'm over my sensitivity to dairy now and so Mom can have milk, cheese, and butter again. And it was just in time for Christmas cookies! (Although my Aunt Monica had graciously made some dairy-free goodies for Mom).

Here's me pretending to eat a cookie. Oh, if only I had teeth...

On New Year's Eve, we spent time with some of Mom and Dad's friends from high school and I got to meet Baby Lily! Then, Mom, Dad, and I went to visit Grammie who was working at Walgreens that night.

I also got to meet some of Mom's friends from college while we were in town. After Mom and Jacqueline spent almost 2 hours sharing traumatic childbirth stories, we're pretty sure that we've scared Betsy and Ryan into never having kids. Sorry, guys. Just remember, it "usually isn't like that".
I did great on the trip back. We make the trek back to NY in one day (in 16 hours!) and only stopped 3 times. We had a wonderful time in KY and wish we could have seen even more friends and spent even more time with people. Merry Christmas and Happy 2009 to all of you!!!!