Pre-Christmas Fun

I really had a great time this holiday season. I'm not sure why, but I bet it has something to do with Matthew not destroying the tree. He's such a good little dude all-around. He has a whiney side that can drive me crazy in a matter of seconds, but over all he's very easy-going and compliant. I'm glad of that because it seems that we will be adding to the family some time next summer and I'm going to need all the easy-going toddler I can get. I have a feeling that things might be a bit different by then, but we're all very excited about the coming attraction (i.e. an enormous belly, I mean BABY)!This pregnancy is quite different than the first, with lots of nausea, pain, and fatigue that I wasn't prepared for. Things have ebbed somewhat in that department for now, and I'm looking forward to getting back into blogging and taking pictures of Matthew, two things that seem to slip my mind when I was so sick. There were lots of funny things to write about in the days leading up to Christmas, like the time that Matthew beheaded a flock of light-up, Christmas penguins at the Coast Guard holiday party, but I guess I haven't had it in my to share. I appreciate your patience and hope that I'll have some more to post in the coming weeks. For the first time in 5 years, the end of the holidays doesn't mark the end of the chaos. You'd think that a new baby coming would be enough the get used to for one family, but in the true style of my family we are stepping it up a notch on the transitions. In the spring, we'll be moving to Florida (We hope!) to start a new chapter in Jeff's career. We're so looking forward to being back in the south (sort of) and closer to family and friends. We are not looking forward to 10 hour plane rides with a 30+ pound 18 month old and a 6 month pregnant mama. Nor are we looking forward to the first few months after the new baby's arrival when we struggle to survive without the nearby help of close friends or family. Still, I like to think that we'll manage better this time. Won't we? Maybe the reason that I'm so into the holidays this year is that I know this marks the last few months of calm before the storm of planning, packing, shipping, travelling, searching, and settling begins. I knew that something was different when I thought to myself sometime early in December, "I should download some Christmas carols to listen to." Fifty-three carols, and countless hours of listening later, I still can't get enough. Poor Jeff and Matthew have had to endure this craziness, but they've also reaped the rewards in the form of homemade gingerbread, Christmas Eve melt-in-your-mouth pot roast, and brownies!

My favorite Christmas tradition is our tree. First of all, I love having a real Christmas tree, falling needles and all. I love the smell and the look and the ritual of picking it out. For ornaments, we only use handmade ornaments of things that can fly. Right now, we have 6 birds from our first Christmas together, a bi-plane and a flying fish from a couple of years ago, and a butterfly from this year. I can't remember when this tradition started, but I'm pretty sure that the theme comes from Jeff's love of flight. We have many ornament-designs in our heads that we haven't made yet (roaches, bees, kites, reindeer) and I can't wait until Matthew wants to make Superman for the tree. Above is a picture of the ornament he made this year. It involved markers, pipe cleaners and a cookie cutter. Isn't it cute?
So I guess that's about it for the few weeks before Christmas. Matthew is as cute as ever, though he has developed a very nasty habit of biting and hitting us when he doesn't like something we've asked him to do. Of course, he's also developed the very sweet habit of touching gently when he's saying he's sorry for letting his emotions get the best of him. And he likes to scream at the top of his lungs when his blood sugar spikes. That's a lot of fun when we're eating out. Hope you all had a wonderful holiday!