Christmas

We had a great Christmas this year. My family visited on Christmas Eve, but couldn't stay as long as planned due to the weather. I was just glad they could come at all despite the rain and ice we had that day. My sister was able to spend part of the weekend before in Bloomington and helped me make the cut-out cookies and then was nice enough to babysit Jacob Saturday night while we went out on our 2nd date to dinner and an ISU basketball game. She was also able to stay over until Christmas morning and have breakfast with us before going back home and into work that day. Joys of working in the medical field. Jacob has really taken to Sharla and loved having a playmate with lots of energy. She definitely brings out the best in him! Dan, Jacob, and I spent Christmas day by ourselves and were able to relax and just enjoy the day. We spent Saturday after Christmas with Dan's family and had a great time. Jacob did really well with the other grandkids. Watching five children under five rip open gifts at one time was absolute craziness. Wait until next year when there are eight!! We were blessed that the younger children all napped at one time so we got to have some adult time and play games for a couple of hours uninterrupted.

I took 221 pictures over Christmas and have selected my favorites to share. Enjoy the photo album!!

Christmas 2008

Learning to Communicate

This past month, Jacob has really developed communication skills with us. He points to everything and makes some verbal noise like he is trying to say what things are. I really think that he is understanding more and more of what we say to him, which is really fun. I ask him to bring me a book and he says "buh" and than goes over and grabs a book and then sits in my lap without me asking him to, which is so great! He also understands when we tell him it's time to eat or if he is ready for something to drink. When it is bath time, we tell him "it's time to take a bath" or "let's go upstairs" and he goes straight to the stairs and waits for us to let him through the gate. One night he even was ready before we were and walked over to the gate, shook it, walked back to us, and pointed back to the stairs like "c'mon mom and dad it's time for bath and bed!" His teacher at daycare told me today that when he is ready for his nap, he goes over to where his cubby is that holds his blanket and pacifier and points to it letting her know it's time to go down for a nap.

I know that he has a ways to go, but it is so exciting that we can now start explaining things to him in hopes that he understands what we're saying!

Christmas Preparations

The past couple of weeks have been filled with preparing for Christmas. Amazingly, we are in great shape, despite Christmas still being two weeks away. Christmas decorations are up, lights hung outside, shopping near done, wrapping near done, Christmas cards addressed and mailed. Although so much is done, I still feel stressed. I am so lucky that Dan is a great, efficient shopper and he saves me so much time in this area. He has an eye for deals and can shop very quickly. I am slow as a turtle when I shop because I over-analyze everything and can't make up my mind. I have a few things to shop for tomorrow, but thanks to Dan, we're almost finished up.

What is left to do is baking, cooking, and cleaning. I LOVE to bake at Christmas time and this is the only time you will find me making anything from scratch. I usually make TONS of chex mix and cookies and end up with lots left over after sending plates to family and work. I didn't bake last year because I was trying to lose the baby fat, but it is ON this year!! I think that I am going to stay off of the scale from this point forward because it won't be pretty :)

We are hosting my side of the family on Christmas Eve so I need to get the house cleaned and a menu set for that day. Thank goodness my sister will be there to help me get the food ready because she is a whiz in the kitchen. As of now, our Christmas Day will just be the three of us, but I'm looking forward to spending a quiet day with Dan and Jacob. We'll probably celebrate with Dan's family that weekend.

Post-Christmas, I have that whole week off and plan on tackling projects around the house and visiting with some friends I don't get to see much during the year. I am hoping for a day or two of quiet time and maybe even read a book (I started one in August and haven't had time to touch it since). Jacob is going to daycare because we're paying for it anyways and if he was home it would defeat the purpose of getting anything done OR relaxing :)

Anyways, I meant for this post to be about how crazy Christmas time is and how our society has placed so much emphasis on everything except about what Christmas is truly about. I admit, I am completely caught up in all this ridiculous insanity, but I think it is important to take a step back and remember the reason for the season. As Jacob gets older, I hope that we can instill in him that Christmas is not about receiving, but giving back and celebrating the greatest GIFT we have ever received.

22 weeks down, 17 to go

I hit the 22-week mark today and have 17 left (at most) before meeting our little girl! I finally remembered to have Dan take my picture today so you can see how big I am getting! I am starting to feel the pregnancy more-and-more. My belly is starting to get in the way of things. Bending down has become harder and I think that she is already pushing into my lungs. Two nights ago I felt her kick on the outside of my belly for the first time. She's been kicking for weeks but now they are getting strong enough to feel with my hand and are becoming more frequent. She is already 11 inches long and over a pound!