Christmas #2

This year we celebrated Christmas Eve and day (and a few days on either side) in Concord. We had so much fun with lots of family and friends. We were especially lucky to spend so much time with Grandma Ness who was there with us. Helen and Chase had never spent so much time with her and we really treasured it (despite an inability to capture Chase and Grandma on film!)

We started on Christmas Eve:

Chase and Owen in their matching "choo-choo" sweaters.

The boys snuck away while the adults were eating to play cars.

Chase loved Grampy's vintage rocking horse.

We attempted a family picture....

Plus we found out that Baby 2.0 is a Boy! And that was all just Christmas Eve.

Christmas morning, Chase slept until 8am (well, Mommy gave him a bottle at 5am and then snuggled with him)

"Did Santa come?"

(by this time Chase had figured out that Carol was not the only one to leave gifts)

Stockings on the mantel

He did come! And he left lots of presents!

But first thing was first. Chase needed "appo juice" and to put the final puff on Santa's beard.

(template from here)

Then it was time to get to work on his stocking, which was filled with lots of fun surprises!

...like a ball that Chase tried to throw at to Grammy.

After that, everyone opened presents. Apparently we did not take any pictures of present-opening, so don't let the lack of pictures make it seem like we were not spoiled-- we definitely were!

Then Chase and Daddy monkeyed around for a bit...

After Chase's nap, Amelia, Owen, Geoff, and Carrie came over and more fun ensued.

Cute cousins picture

Then the cousins opened presents together

 And Chase finally posed (sorta) for a picture with Grandma Ness!

During dinner, Chase had such a good time at the kiddie table- who knew he'd enjoy it so much?!?

 Cheers!

Throughout the entire visit, Chase idolized Owen. He followed him around and asked for him all the time, even first thing when he got up in the morning.

The next night the Andrews came over for dinner. Chase wanted to be just like Owen, so he sat up on the pool table while opening his present from Aunt Lisa.

 A crazy London taxi from Harrods- Wow!

Merry Christmas #2!

Christmas #1

We celebrated Christmas at home with our little family on the Sunday before Christmas. First up was playing elves...

Surprisingly, it took us less than 2 hours to build! Not bad for first-time elves.

The next morning, we told Chase that someone special had come the night before and left something for him. He smiled and shouted "CAROL!" (his old nanny). We tried to convince him otherwise, but he was still excited about Carol when he came downstairs and found his gifts.

Now what?

 Wait, what's this?

 Wow! A cell phone. Chase was happy with just that.

 Mommy had to start the unveil to get Chase interested.

 (You can't see the huge smile on his face)

 One more big gift...

 Basketball!

 Dunk!

Chase loved both of his big presents and cooks for us everyday!

21 weeks!

With our holiday travel, I skipped 20 weeks which is ironic because among pregnant women it's considered a big milestone (halfway mark!). But my hands were full with a toddler and work and the holidays, and traveling so like the rest of this pregnancy (and despite my frequent posts) these milestones have become less important.

How far along? 20 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: I haven't weighed myself at home lately. I was up 10lbs at the Dr's office which really means 6lbs.

Bump showing? Yes-- see below.

(this was post-dinner so slightly larger than usual. Also notice the lovely flowered wall paper in our guest bathroom- that will be coming down before Baby Boy arrives)

Maternity clothes? Yup- Thanks to our family members for so many beautiful maternity clothes for Christmas. I was starting to run out of things to wear!

Movement: In the past two weeks I've started to be able to feel Baby Boy from the outside. Stephen still has not felt him (but that's mostly due to a lack of downtime, not a lack of movement)

Sleep: Pretty good-- Chase is getting back onto his schedule and my bladder has been holding up until morning.

Best moment of the week: Dr's appointment on Monday- Baby Boy (confirmed as a boy) measured slightly ahead as he has throughout. This was the anatomy scan and everything looked great. All of his measurements were on or slightly larger than target for his gestational age. He was moving around (thank you apple juice) and gave us some cute profile pictures (more to come). The Dr said everything with me was good too.

Miss anything? Champagne on New Years!

Cravings: I've been eating a lot of chocolate, but not craving it per se.

Anything making you queasy? Not really.

Gender: Baby Boy

Mood: Pretty good, although work is wearing me down.

Looking forward to: Family visits this weekend!

Other updates: We've put together our to-do list of things to accomplish before Baby Boy arrives in 4 months and 10 days. Luckily, the nesting instinct has kicked in so I am ready to start organizing, cleaning, picking paint colors, shopping for furniture, and everything else that is on our list. Hopefully his Daddy is as well because I have a feeling he will be doing most of the tough work.