A Cooper Christmas, Part 1

Well, we were cruising through the holiday festivities with determination and cheer. A busy December and a very pregnant mama is a challenging combination!  But we were doing it- dominating the month, getting it all done before our focus could shift from holidays to baby.

We made a gingerbread house...

We celebrated Christmas with Max's preschool with an adorable performance of Christmas songs...

And Lucy's class celebrated Christmas too...

And then there was the Sleep Shop employee Christmas party...

And, of course, a tech rehearsal, a dress rehearsal, and three performances of The Nutcracker Ballet for Lucy...

 

The whole family attended the Saturday night show...

Lucy and my niece Ellee danced so beautifully, and we were so proud!

And then it was finally Christmas Eve.  I went to the doctor that morning, and we scheduled to induce labor on Monday 12/30.  But I was having contractions and I was dilated to 3, and Devon was convinced that I would not make it through the holiday without a new baby in my arms. Nah, I thought; I would make it through Christmas. After all, I'd worked so hard on Christmas this year, getting all the gifts in order, planning for our first Christmas as California residents rather than California visitors... and a Christmas baby just wasn't part of my plan!

We went about our day, and the kids got to open one gift from under our tree...

The Christmas spirit was in abundance.  The kids had kept a Christmas countdown since Thanksgiving, getting a little more excited each day as the 25th got closer.  So, I was a happy mama on Christmas Eve as I filled the stockings, went to bed, and hoped that my belly would stay put for at least another day.  But, at 12:45am, my water broke!

To be continued...