December 31, 2011

Today we spent the day preparing - preparing a turkey dinner, preparing for a family portrait, preparing for a flight. All of us were very industrious, including Olivia, who spent the day examining her surroundings. Her vision is improving and we now find her staring at things intently & with amazement. Some of her favorite things to look at, thus far, are bar codes - the bar code on the box of baby wipes, the back of a coupon. Later she discovered the beauty in her burp cloth. Talk about cheap entertainment!

In the afternoon the lovely Abel ladies came over and Jessica took pictures of our newly expanded family. I also look newly expanded in most of them but thank goodness Olivia steals the spotlight in every one. I especially like the ones of her with her daddy looking so proud.

Next on the agenda was dinner. We prepared a modest turkey dinner, Adam's favorite, and promptly stuffed our faces. Olivia sat in her small bassinet and gazed at the Christmas tree lights.

We continued to occupy ourselves with miscellaneous chores for the rest of the day, reluctant to relax too much because we might begin to think about the partings in our immediate future.

After skyping with the family in Connecticut at midnight EST, we tried our best to stay awake for the Alaskan New Year. At about 11:00 it was apparent that we were all fading fast, so we decided to throw in the towel. As it turned out, Adam & I were still awake at midnight and got to listen to the fireworks in town. It was difficult to go to sleep and, since I'm clearly awake again, to stay asleep. I was right. This 'goodbye' is going to be much worse than last May's.