One week left!

Addison is finally over being sick, although Matt has a lingering hacking cough. It’s probably just viral, so there’s nothing he can do about it, but it sure is driving him nuts. Also, baby Ryan has had a stuffy nose for a couple of weeks now. He can barely breathe sometimes, which leads to excess fussiness. But he is still a pretty good baby. My dad came to visit for three days this week, and Ryan changed so much just in those few days - he is talking and cooing a lot more now, and tracking us across the room better too. He is only waking up once to eat in the night at about 5 a.m., and then he wakes up for good at 7. I think after Christmas, if he is still waking up, I’m going to start letting him put himself back to sleep for those last two hours instead of eating, so that we can finally get on a sleeping-all-night schedule. He’s getting so big and heavy!

I’ve been doing well. I am having to admit to myself that I just can’t do as much as I used to, in terms of planning shopping trips, activities, etc. I do pretty good most of the time, but then things start to pile up around the house, which drives Matt and I crazy. I never really understood it when people talked about all the laundry they have to do, because it didn’t seem like I had to do a whole lot more with Addie, but now it seems like there are two huge loads to do every day! And by the time I get them folded and put away (usually a couple of days later), I have mounds and mounds more to do. I don’t wear that many clothes, and neither do Matt and Addie (Ryan is a different story), so I need to see where all the clothes are coming from. Also, I want to make banana bread for our neighbors, candy for friends, cookies for moms’ groups, etc. And it is really hard to fit it all in, plus Christmas shopping for lots of people too. I know this is just a busy time of year, so I expect things to calm down some. I’m not really stressed out, but I do need to learn to have a little more patience and realize that I am going to have to NOT do some things this year. The kids are little and don’t know or expect anything, so I should cut myself a break while I still can!

We went up to the Woodlands Waterway this week with my dad to check out the lights and decorations. We were actually pretty disappointed with the display – there was just a small section that had the Christmas scenes all lit up. It was cold and blustery and we had Ryan all bundled up in a thick padded winter Winnie the Pooh snowsuit/footed sleeper that he got from his grandma. He was so cute! And warm!

My mom came down for one night last weekend and watched Addie while we went to an awesome Christmas party with our Sunday school class. The couple who hosted has a beautiful house and had tables set up with china and decorations everywhere. It was catered by Macaroni Grill, and the food was fantastic. I made a tiramisu that turned out pretty good - I left out the Kahlua and rum, but maybe next time…..

Tomorrow we go to Matt’s parent’s farm to do Christmas with his family. I’m going to a wrapping party tonight with my MOPS group to get all the presents ready to go. Then we’re driving to Dallas on Christmas day to spend time with my family. My grandpa turned 90 in October, and we’re having a big celebration with all the out-of-town people on the 27th. Also, my brother and his wife will fly in from New Mexico and I will get to meet my precious new niece for the first time!

Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas – our digital camera stopped working two days ago, so maybe Santa will buy us an early Christmas present this year (Matt, are you reading this?).