December Review

December had less family and travel but more things going on (I think this is when the bulk of the doctor's appointments and dental visits happened!) so it flew by. 

-Decorating the Christmas tree and starting our Advent calendar was a real joy!

-I got more pregnant! I mean that's kind of how these things go, but I have also been too busy to really keep track. 

-Miri and I have done a bunch of waiting on the front porch for Niko to get home from school, and one day we took a picture:

-My library has this cool (if a bit sappy) sign up and I really like it:

-Niko found these ginormous pinecones when we were in SC and thought it would be fun to bring them home and decorate them as Christmas trees. We made it happen one day and it was great fun.

-I made some wall art from old Moldovan bills and added some embroidery. 

-This is typically how my desk at work looks. I think I spend most of my time moving piles of books around, and replacing them with new piles of books as soon as I'm done with them. 

-For a different program, we decorated mugs with paint pens and made flavored hot cocoa mixes. It was fun and I loved what the kids came up with.

-I think 25 weeks was when I started looking like I was hiding a volleyball under my sweatshirt (side note: I've stopped wearing this sweatshirt because I love it so much and I'm terrified of stretching it out! I should have bought 4 in Moldova!)

-Jesse and I took advantage of our local friends as babysitters so we could see a late showing of Star Wars after the kids were abed. It was GREAT and we loved it and loved having a date!

-We invited said friends and some other new friends over for dinner and a game night (with 6 adults and 7 kids--exciting!) It was a little chaotic but also really great, and I hope we can do it again soon.

-Miri and I took a nap in the grownup bed one Sunday afternoon (because I was too exhausted to fight with her to sleep in her bed!) I woke up before she did and admired her sweet little profile:

-Niko's school had a winter concert, and hearing Niko sing a song about snowflakes landing on his nose made me so joyful. He is growing by leaps and bounds in Kindergarten and I feel privileged to get to be part of it. 

-Prepping a storytime craft project at work. Basically I got paid to cut out cardinals and tissue paper. Being a Children's Librarian is the best.

-Several of my family members have been taking DNA tests lately, and we've gotten some surprising results! For instance, we had no vague idea that we have ancestors that were Ashenazi Jews, but our DNA keeps coming back saying that, so apparently we do! Now we need to do some family history work!

-I decided to replace the embroidery of our last name that I made when Jesse and I were first married. The new pattern I made is pretty elaborate and is taking a lot of time, but I'm really loving both the process and how it's turning out. 

-The kids and Jesse were in a Christmas pageant at church and had a great time. From left to right we have: adorable angel, cowboy cow, and Head Shepherd. 

-We made a whole bunch of Christmas cookies and I promise Niko did not lick his hand like this the whole time.

We had a great Christmas together! We had a lovely morning and received some lovely things from lovely people. Here's my excitement over a pair of slipper socks, which I have worn every day since:

-The kids were suitably excited for Christmas morning. Sharing these moments with them is incredible.

-At the end of December we were all struck with a terrible cold (except for Jesse!) Niko came down with it first, with a rough cough and sinus infection. Here he is in the waiting room at the doctor's office, looking like a bit like a sad puppy in a cone as he wears the mask I made him wear and wishing he could play with the blocks like Miriam (who hadn't yet been struck with the cold):

-I think this happened one day when we were all sick and watching lots of TV (I'm not sure when, but it is my favorite photo of them ever):

-And finally, here's a random photo of me feeding my kids a bunch of unhealthy food as a special winter break treat (isn't it astounding what can be a treat when you do it rarely?):