Oh Christmas Tree

The day before my 29th birthday, Lee brought home a beautiful Christmas tree. It was a bit tall for the room, but we managed. Next year, my shopping list will include more ornaments, more wooden beads, and more lights to decorate our tree. Lee has a habit of getting bigger trees every year.  Cora was terrified of the tree for the first 24 hours. After I showed her the ornaments, she connected Christmas and the tree. She really enjoyed hanging ornaments resulting in most of the ornaments being hung on the lowest branches on the tree. Somehow they eventually migrated further up the tree?

Daddy bringing the tree inside.

Cora showing off some sap on her fingers.

Decorating time!

When we tell Cora to put her hands down, she always does the opposite.

Every ornament needed a kiss.

Surprisingly, or not, there are no candy canes left on the tree.

My birthday dinner. Cora wore her dancing skirt and did a show for me at the restaurant. It was the best birthday dinner ever.

Cora took about 20 pictures of Daddy that night.

Cora didn't last long after leaving dinner. Dancing tires a little body out.

Christmas Eve was spent making sugar cookies and listening to Christmas music. We took a drive to look at Christmas lights in the evening. Lee and I got a good laugh at all the crappy lights. Canada needs to work on their light displays as a whole. There were a few gems, but not many. Cora didn't get to enjoy them because she fell asleep within minutes of being in the car.

Christmas morning was great. Cora is starting to understand Santa Claus, so she was up bright and early to see if Santa visited her. She woke up around 5:45am but laid quietly in bed until 6:00. She finally got fed up and sternly said, "Follow ME Mommy and Daddy"! We drug our tired bums out of bed and did what she said. She stared at her presents for a good minute or two. I think she was a little bit in awe that Santa truly did come and visit while she was sleeping. She got a stick horse, guitar, and stocking full of nail polish, lip gloss, bows, DVDs, and pears from the Jolly Old Man himself. The only problem we had was persuading her to keep opening her presents. She wanted to play with each toy as she opened them. I think if she would have had her way, she'd still be opening gifts right now.

Horses were a major them for both Christmas and her birthday this year.

With all that unwrapping, Cora had to stop for an early morning fruit break.

Back to the giant gift bag from Grandma Jo.

Santa's Little Helper in her incredibly cute Christmas jammies.

Snug as a bug in a rug.

Art supplies from Grandma and Grandpa B!

Her first My Little Pony from Aunt Anne. Cora told us it was "soooo pretty".

Baby Boy Blue

We had our ultrasound last week and found out we are expecting a baby BOY!! I really didn't have the "mother's intuition" that everyone seems to talk about. There haven't been hardly any differences between this pregnancy and my pregnancy with Cora. I haven't been overheating, and this baby kicks harder. That is it. Everything else is exactly the same. Fatigue has been my only complaint both times. I am even gaining weight at the same pace.

Lee and I were so excited to find out we were having a healthy baby boy. Cora did not share our excitement. In fact, she started crying. She wanted a baby sister. We explained to her during the ultrasound that she would have had to share a room with a baby sister for at least 10 years, share all of her clothes, and ALL of her toys. A baby brother means she gets her own room, has her own clothes, and only has to share SOME of her toys. She almost immediately started loving her baby brother. In fact, she now rubs my belly and sometimes give my stomach kisses. It will be a lot of fun once this little boy enters the world. I am really anxious to meet this baby, and I still have 20 weeks to go!

This first video is only 1 second long. However, if you pause it about half way through, you get a really good look at his handsome little face. He is a bit meatier than Cora was at this stage. I also truly believe he looks nothing like Cora. Cora looked remarkably similar in "real life" and her ultrasound. This makes me feel like we have already met this little boy and somewhat know what to expect. It is a little creepy having a sneak peek, but I LOVE it! And, I LOVE our little boy.



These next two are longer and show him moving around. Amazing.