Last week we finally made the hour and a half drive up north to see the aquarium.  The grounds were really nice, with a playground, misters (seen in the bottom picture), great views, and some tanks with manatees and turtles.  I guess they were too nice, because we never made it inside.  Max had a great time on the stairs and asking daddy to run him through the misters in the stroller, but we couldn’t convince him to go inside.  Maybe next time…

Also, it was nearly seventy degrees, not near-freezing as Max’s jacket and blanket suggest.  He just likes to be cozy, and we’ve lost all tolerance for cold.  

Baby P is a… GIRL! We are so excited to meet her, and Max is pretty happy to talk about his baby sister.

Everything is still looking good. She moves and pokes me all the time, which I (usually) don’t mind. I am still running and lifting, though only 2-3 times a week. She’s due the day after my birthday (just three more months!!), but I’m hoping she takes her time in there and comes in her own good time. It’s such a beautiful privilege to be pregnant and I want to soak it up as much as possible.

Eventually we’ll change the name of the blog and this place will be more than just pictures of Max!

Our first Christmas with just the three of us.  We missed being around family, but we took advantage of the slower pace and no travel to really focus this season and cut through distractions.  We did a Jesse Tree advent calendar to learn about the genealogy of Jesus and the prophecies leading up to His birth.  

On Christmas morning, we had cinnamon rolls and read Luke 2, then opened a present before church.  Since he had an extra string of Christmas lights to play with, it was several hours later by the time he opened his other presents (some books and some rain boots).  The baby was nice enough to stuff Max’s stocking with a skein of yarn and a roll of tape.  This was easily the best present, which cost less than $2.  I’m trying to remember this lesson for next year.  

Later that day, we FaceTimed with family and took a walk around the neighborhood to find places to plug in his lights. 

It was a slow, peaceful day, and I’m so grateful I got to spend it with these two. I am in awe of God’s good gifts to us, and how much the season still speaks of joy and hope even an ocean away from our families.  

Christmas Eve after service, checking out the Christmas lights in American Village.  Max had a lot of questions about the lights and how they were plugged in and how many were there and were any out?

We put the presents under the tree after Max went to bed, but it turns out we needn’t have bothered.  He was way more interested in an extra string of lights than opening any presents.