Update

Christmas is over and we are all recovering! It was wonderful actually and we had a lovely relaxing time. My grandmother and Beloved's parent's joined us for a lovely day. I got a bit carried away with gifts for the children and three each ended up a bit of an over-kill, but they are all good quality and most of them are played with by all of them. Christmas Dinner was roast turkey (I dried it out a little bit, but it wasn't too bad) with baked veg, steamed veg and salad so fairly simple. We also had pudding and fruit skewers for dessert.

Erin:
has loved having family around and thrived on the excitement of Christmas. One of my most favourite memories of the day is Erin making Christmas Pudding with her grandmother and great grandmother. She also threaded grapes and berries in skewers for after-dinner fruit skewers. She took great pride in her contribution to the Christmas meal! Somehow she has grown up again. I think she has gotten taller, but that isn't really what I am talking about. She has just somehow grown up. Something in her manner has matured and I sometimes see glimpses of the young lady to come. Part of me is so proud of her and her many accomplishments (she read the sentence "My mosquito bites will stop being red and itchy in a few days" today with very little help!) and part of me just wants to wrap her up and cuddle her tight to keep her safe. My little bird is growing plumage and I can see one day she shall fly.

Billy:
had difficulty containing his excitement with the day and the visitors, but he did still enjoy himself immensely. Apparently he crawled into his Nanny's lap and wanted to pray for her. He has also said grace quite a few times. When Nanny had to leave the table to have a rest, he desperately wanted to say grace again for dessert. We explained that we had already asked a blessing on the whole meal, but he insisted. So we bowed our heads (Poppy got a stern look when he didn't down cutlery IMMEDIATELY for prayer! LOL) and what followed wasn't a blessing on the food but a long, heartfelt prayer about Nanny resting and needing rest and needing healing etc. It caused me to tear up!

Christopher:
has taken CONSECUTIVE steps (only two at a time, but still) on more than one occasion. We will have a sprinter soon enough. He is perfecting the art of the dummy-spit but it still rarely if ever gets him anywhere. It can be difficult to stifle the laughter when he throws himself on the ground, fake cries then looks up to see if you're looking at him! He has loved having the extra people around over the holidays and crumpled a little when anyone left. I think he has similar social tendencies to his sister. His special delight is trying on the hats that I bought Billy for Christmas. The pirate hat looks best, but the knight's helmet, the fireman's helmet and the racing bike driver's helmet also look smashing!

The New Baby:
is just fine. My ankles have swollen up to elephantine size over the last few days though so I am on strict instructions to rest with my feet UP. This is not easy to do as I have a million and one things I want to do and other than feeling a little tired, I feel just great. I need some more tests (a 24 hour urine collection which should be fun - not!) to rule out pre-eclampsia, which could end up with me not only birthing in hospital but having a few days on bed rest (possibly in hospital) or being induced which I really don't fancy! I am not too worried at this stage as I believe the protein in my urine is simply a UTI which I usually have when pregnant (antibiotics don't seem to shake it for more than a week or so) and slightly dodgy kidneys. The unusual swelling I put down to the hot weather and Christmas with 3 kids under 4 and a half. It is best to check these things out though and I am again asking for your prayers. Bub is perfectly happy though and settled ready for exit. I am getting plenty of movement, even though there isn't as much room in there (my mother-in-love played the jungle drums on my belly last night!). I tickle the feet of my little one through the side of my belly, I compulsively check the contents of my birth bag just to look at the tiny nappies and clothes (not too tiny - I'm yet to have a REALLY tiny baby!) and day dream about those precious newborn noises, the smell, the warm weight, feeding a little one again, those precious night-time hours when the house is asleep and all you can hear is the tiny gunk-gunk-gunk of the baby swallowing through a sleepy haze.

The house:
still has the remnants of Christmas strewn about and the kitchen looks like a bomb has hit it. Resting with my feet up means there isn't a whole lot I can do about this! I think this is the most frustrating part, being unable to get into the nesting and organising. Before the resting though, I almost finished re-arranging the lounge room so at least as I lay back in my recliner the view ISN'T of boxes and junk..

The Garden:
got a bit of weeding thanks to my MIL and my great-grandmother. I was getting them to help me identify some of the flowers that had sprung up and one thing led to another - we didn't over do it but it has made a huge difference. We found sweet williams, pinks, dianthus, and a hot pink rose.

Exercise:
has been curtailed by the swelling and needing to keep my feet up unfortunately. I had hoped to keep mobile up until delivery but the best laid plans....

Jess