OK, let me start from when I last blogged! Dan's birthday. The celebrations continued after his birthday as we had our parents over to celebrate. As I write this blog it is impossible for me to believe that a few weeks ago we were able to stand outside for pictures without coats! One of Dan's birthday wishes was to take a picture of the 3 generations of Greenfield men in their Notre Dame and Yankee gear. The Notre Dame was easy - the Yankee was a bit challenging. You see, our only Yankee outfit was a t-shirt my good friend Lisa sent us as a gift because she knows how much Dan loves the Yankees(She lives in PA so Yankee stuff is easier to get). The only problem was that Shane fit in that shirt over the summer - it was a 3-6 month. However, we squeezed him in and got the pictures. The shots are not great because patience is not a trait of the Greenfield men. I will work as hard as I need to to get the perfect shot, Dan is less patient & will have me just take the picture after a few minutes. His dad is way less patient than Dan so there was no time to get the perfect shot or even a smile. Here are the best two.
After we took the pictures, we had cake and hung out for a while. Here are a few more pictures. If Dan's birthday went on for a week, I can just imagine what Shane's will be! :-)
Thanksgiving! We are so thankful for so many things this year, but we are especially thankful for our Shane! He is just the best! There is not a day that goes by that one of us does not comment on just how perfect he is or say, "I can't believe he is ours!" He is just so happy and so full of excitement and joy that we can't help but be happy when we are around him. We are also so thankful for our families who love Shane and allow him to feel so special. Aunt Geri had a special Thanksgiving place setting for Shane and he had his own plate, bowl& silverware to eat with! She also gave him a pair of snuggly pjs and a Christmas & Hanukkah book. Yes, she spoils him rotten! He is going to want to live at Aunt Geri's house! When we got to my cousin Andrea's she surprised us with a baby food grinder and even ground up some of her delicious turkey for Shane to eat! Andrea, Brad, Eric, Alex (even though he is in Australia - we know he had a part in the family gift) and Aunt Joan also had Hanukkah presents for Shane - more on that later because we did not let him have any gifts for Hanukkah until yesterday (The first night of Hanukkah). Now you are probably ready for all of our great Thanksgiving pictures. Well, they will be here soon, but I have no idea what they will look like because we forgot the camera at home and bought a disposable one at Walgreens.We need to get it developed and once I get the pictures on a cd, I will add the pictures. I now know how much I rely on the ease of my digital camera!
The day after Thanksgiving Dan and I actually had a night out without Shane. We had a Cotillion for one of Dan's former students. It was a really nice event and it was the first time I ever attended one, so I am so glad we went! Dan was asked to MC the introductions! The students chose to do a Phantom of the Opera dance in honor of Dan who loves the play and helped the class perform it as an 8th grade show last year. His students love him! Shane was invited, but a 7 PM start is way too late for Shane who is in bed by then! Luckily for Shane & us, 'Aunt' Debbie came to babysit! She is the best!!!!!! Debbie came over around 4:30 and fed Shane so we could get ready. Of course, she came bearing gifts for Shane - Is he not the luckiest kid in the world? She brought him some blocks that he LOVES! Here is a photo I snapped as we were running out the door! THANKS AGAIN, DEBBIE!
The next day was Shane's first visit to Santa! We were so excited and dressed him up in a holiday outfit and his Santa hat! Unfortunately, Shane did not love old St. Nick! I was expecting him to be all smiles since he was flirting away with one of Santa's pretty elves right before the picture. However, Shane had other ideas! I started to shoot a little video on my camera and it became apparent that I better start snapping pictures before he loses it. He lost it before I got my picture in, but the store got a picture right before the crying started and I purchased the digital download of that one. Here is the video.
and now the pictures!
The next morning Dan, Shane and I attended our first "Under 5s" meeting. The group is made up of parents like us who are interfaith and who are choosing to raise their children in both faiths. It is run by a woman who is Irish Catholic and who married a Jewish man. They decided to raise their children in both faiths even though most clergy told them it could not be done without messing up the children. She has since studied the issue and discovered that it can be done. Her children are all grown now (and very well adjusted) and her husband has passed away, but she continues to run the group! She is terrific! She took this picture of us all at the meeting. Shane's baptism/Jewish naming ceremony will be held on February 7th at Old St. Pat's church downtown and will be co-officiated by a rabbi & a priest! Very cool! We are hoping to meet more families like us and will be attending their holiday party tomorrow morning.
We had to go to a meeting for his Baptism/Naming Ceremony and Grandma Carolyn & Grandpa Bob came by to babysit. I left them with the camera and asked them to take some pictures! We are so lucky to have grandparents for Shane that are so willing to come over and watch him! He sure is a lucky boy!
Shane is still not officially crawling, but he gets where he wants to go by performing a combination of scooting and rolling. He can go from sitting to rocking on all fours now, so I do not think crawling will be far behind! Shane loves the Christmas tree and has a great time grabbing at the branches.
He is also really reminding me of his daddy - especially in some of his mannerisms! Look at him chilling out on the couch after a diaper change!
Yesterday was a big day for us! It was the first night of Hanukkah and it was the first time Shane got to bake Christmas cookies with Grandma Carolyn! Dan's mom always baked her holiday cookies with her good friend Maureen. When Maureen died, she started having her granddaughters over to bake. Dan really wanted his son to bake cookies with Grandma every year as well. Though Shane was too little to help and too little to eat the cookies, he enjoyed hanging out with Grandma, playing with her measuring spoons & watching the cookies get made. Unfortunately Shane was in a bad mood - not sure exactly why - I thought he napped on the way to Grandma's house and he was happy when we got there, but as soon as we put him on the floor so we could bake he let us know he was not pleased! In fact, he was only happy if one of us held him. We tried to put him down for the nap, I even set up the pack & play for the first time by myself, but he would not sleep. He was fine on Grandmas lap so there he played. When she needed a break, I held him and she did the cookies. It was great to see her and to start a new tradition with Shane. Here are the two best pictures from the day. Unfortunately, you can't see the yummy cookies in the picture!
Last night we lit the Menorah for the first night of Hanukkah! Our Menorah is so beautiful! Dan gave it to me as a gift and it is made to look like tulips, my favorite flower. Here are some pictures of us by the Menorah!
Shane also got his first Hanukkah present. I can remember being a child and waiting anxiously for my dad to get home from work so we could light the Menorah and get our presents! Shane loved his present for Andrea & Brad so much that he did not open any others! This was the present they gave him on Thanksgiving, but Dan is a rule kind of a guy and he said that Hanukkah presents are for Hanukkah so we put the present under the tree ( a true sign of a blended family!) and waited to let Shane have it until yesterday. Dan and Shane loved to play with it! It is a jet that lights up and makes sounds! Shane will be able to ride it, push it, and play with it. There are even different shaped blocks that are stored under the seat and that fit into slots on the side of the plane. He loved it so much that we didn't give him any other presents (Aunt Joan, we are saving yours until next Thursday when we see you) ! By the time we looked at the clock it was 15 minutes past his bedtime! Thanks again, Andrea! Shane LOVES his first ever Hanukkah present! Here are the pictures!
Here is one last picture of Daddy and Shane cuddling before bed! Look how tired Shane was from his big day!
Finally, Shane wants to wish his cousin Joey a happy birthday! His birthday was the 6th! Other December birthdays include his cousin Bill, his 'Auntie' Lisa, his buddy Connor, his buddy Auggie and 'Uncle' Jason!
