Happy New Year and Lately

Happy New Year Bloggies!!

I'm not going to sit here and write out my resolutions for the year.

Instead I'm going give you guys all a quick update on what's been shaking here in Casa de Stephens.

For starters we continue to have all sorts of visitors. 

Family, friends and more friends.

Now that the holidays are over it will be interesting to see how life rolls out.

Brad and I are both off for maternity and paternity leave right now so things are pretty easy.

Having 2 people to help take care of a newborn is a good thing.

I FEEL.VERY.LUCKY!!

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I also feel very lucky to have such great friends.

Gifts continue to roll in for Miss Priss including these precious hair bows sent by her friend Dylan.

 And this adorable package from our friend in Virginia.

 So creative!

She went as far as to write little notes with each item.

Thanks a TON!!

Brad's best friend from Northern Virginia drove down over the weekend to meet Shelby.

I left those 2 alone to take care of her while I enjoyed my first girl's lunch out complete with a little Falcor Chardonnay to get my party started!

Shelby continues to be a great baby and great sleeper!

 She's also gotten to where she'll chill with Mommy and watch a little Real Housewives! 

LOL!

The only time she really gets fussy is when she is hungry or simply trying to fight her sleep.

We have had a few rough runs of it but overall she's been great!

On New Year's Eve we gave her, her first bath.

She wasn't crazy about it at first because it was cold but she loved when the warm water would hit her.

We made sure to keep the bathroom extra nice and warm for her

Brad is praying she likes the water as much as he does.

New Year's Eve also included a little time addressing Shelby's birth announcements and I'm happy to say most of them have been mailed!

More on her pictures in tomorrow's post. 

Later in the evening we stopped by a friend and neighbor's house for a NYE pre-party.

 We weren't sure how to take Shelby but at the last minute we decided on the Baby BJourn.

She's still a little small for it but overall she did GREAT.

After the pre-party we came home and Brad whipped us up a nice dinner.

 Roasted red pepper pasta and veal Marsala.

 

 A quiet New Year's Eve at home.

PERFECTION.

I actually cried when the clock hit midnight.

What a year we had!!

All of our dreams came true.

New Year's Day we accepted an invitation from our neighbor's Bryan and Shannan for a traditional Polish meal.

 Pork, potatoes and sauerkraut, and another neighbor brought black eyed peas.

 Shelby joined in on the party too by snoozing in her Rock N Sleeper.

 I can't say how much I enjoyed our meal.

It was a PERFECT way to start the new year.

Good food, good friends and a good baby!

 To end this post a look at Shelby taking a nap in her crib for the very first time today.

She's exactly 3-weeks old and we figured we would try it out.

I don't think I've hardly taken my eyes off the monitor and she's only one floor up!

Life is grand and I'm so excited about 2013 and seeing our daughter grow and change.

Cheers to a GREAT year!