Nesting

For the past two weeks I've been busily preparing my life and home for the arrival of our new little man.  Those preparations have included things any normal person would want to do before they have a newborn: shopping for all those little essentials I'll need on hand, laundering and organizing the baby clothes, deep cleaning the house and car, and checking off all those to-do's that I've been putting off, well, since we moved here.  When I explain this to people who ask what I'm up to, they  give me this knowing smile and say, "oh, you're just nesting."

Nesting? I didn't think so.  Nesting is for "crazy pregnant ladies" who sporadically start redecorating the nursery, entire house, buying all sorts of useless junk, etc.  The nesting comment irked me for some reason because I knew my activities have been completely rational, normal, and necessary.

But in the moment I found myself using a Q-tip to clean those hard-to-reach crevices of my washing machine it hit me that somewhere I had crossed over that line between normality and something else.  Let's just say I don't normally swab my laundry room with Q-tips, nor do I normally keep a book about cleaning by my bed to read once I am too tired to clean.  Yes folks, I nest.

Yes, we did celebrate Christmas

So I am behind on posting this, but here is a quick update of some of our Christmas adventures. 

Esther dressed in her best international attire (courtesy of my parents currently living in Russia while my dad works for our church) for a Christmas-around-the-world dinner and carol singing with some friends from the ward.

For me, Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without home made gifts and lots of sewing.  My mother has been known to wake up at 2 or 3 am to sew for Christmas while we were still asleep.  Her creations were quite spectacular in the creativity of design and the sheer volume she produced.  I am starting quite small, but it's been fun beginning. Especially since I have also recently stated knitting and am a wee bit obsessed.  I have a lot to learn so don't judge too harshly.  Anyway, here is how it went:

Esther's silk Christmas dress with flower hair clip. (She was sick the day I took this picture...poor girl)

Knit cardigans for nephews Nathan and Daniel (sorry about the terrible quality of the pictures.  I could never be a professional blogger. Alas)

 Knitted Christmas stockings for the family.  Cream for mom and dad and red with cream cuff for Esther. Sewed Esther's fleece sweats...she looked like a round Christmas elf.

These are technically wedding gifts, but I gave them at Christmas time so they count. Right?  We have started a tradition of giving his and her's aprons as wedding gifts.  The yellow and gray set was for my friend Nina whom I met on our study abroad to Paris.  The blue and yellow set was for our dear friends from North Carolina, Charlotte and Asa.

We spent a warm and relaxing Christmas with the Crittenden's in Arizona.  I took embarrassingly few pictures, but we had a memorable time...in a good and not-so-good way. The best part was being together with family, watching Esther immediately reconnect with her grandparents and cousins Bristol and James, and loving our two new nephews Nathan and Brecker.  The entire family was there and we had a great time together.  We played LOTS of games, ate LOTS of great food, went the the Phoenix children's museum, had a grown-ups night out to see Les Miserables, and had a steady supply of sunshine and fresh citrus in the back yard.

On the other side of the spectrum, we almost missed our Christmas Eve flight due to our "ghetto-fabulous" long-term parking arrangements, and wondering if I would go into labor on the flight as I'm having lots of contractions as we ran through the airport (hauling bags with our Christmas gifts just in case the checked luggage didn't make it).  Fortunately both we and our bags (but not a new baby) arrived in Arizona ready for a great time.  We also brought with us a respiratory virus that lasted about 2 weeks, and then the stomach flu made it's way through the entire household except perhaps the newest baby and (thankfully) myself.  I credit my stomach's resistance to my highly sanitary childhood with horses, ducks, chickens, and I distinctly remember washing my hands in the mouth of our Saint Bernard dog, Chopper.  Lovely.

cousin Bristol and Esther...only 1 month apart

"shopping" at the children's museum

We went to the lovely wedding of my friend Nina and Landon in the Mesa Temple. It was such a beautiful ceremony and a happy reminder of was marriage is all about.  

We spent New Years with my brother Rick and his family, but sadly I forgot to take a picture.  It was so fun meeting little Daniel and seeing how much their kids have grown.  We can't wait for them to move to Idaho and be closer!We even got together with my dearest cousin Whitney who lives in Scottsdale.  We grew up around the corner from each other and it was SO happy to spend time with her again.  Love you!