Apparently this blog is turning into monthly updates! Between working full time and falling asleep so early in the evening because of the pregnancy my blog time has rapidly decreased...
To kick off November, we decided to share our baby news with the kids. A little earlier than most people do, but we had a blood screen at the end of October (at 12 weeks) to check for chromosomal abnormalities (due to my "Advanced Maternal Age"). All was good (yeah!!), and we also found out that we're having a boy! Since Oscar was hoping for a boy and Livi was hoping for a girl, I knew Livi was going to be upset. I prepped our TV room with appropriately colored balloons, and got the kids their favorite candies to sweeten the deal...
I took pictures to responses IF it was going to be a girl....
Or a boy....
And the winner is...
Oscar did a happy dance, while Livi started crying. I brought her into the living room and told her that just meant it was only going to be us 2 girls and that would be extra special. She liked that idea! Oscar, the ever caring big brother that he is, brought out her candy bar to her and that made her smile too. Since the first night, she's come around, and talks to the baby and kisses my belly. I think she'll be just fine with a little brother!
Oscar took us out to an awesome birthday dinner for me at this little secret place only a few minutes from our house. It'a actually a bed and breakfast, and they serve 4 course meals every night of the week. We practically had the place to ourselves and the kids had the run of the place. The owner was there and designated Livi as the Queen!
The second week in November Oscar and I headed out to the annual Marine Ball Birthday celebration. It's a back tie affair, and fortunately the dress I got in the states before we left still fit, with a little baby bump just starting to make it's appearance! It was a lovely cocktail hour that neither or us could really enjoy (Oscar working and me being pregnant) followed by a yummy dinner. By 10pm we were both exhausted, and called it a night. The dancing went on until 1am but we were fast asleep by then!
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| With our good friends the Matt, Colleen, and Bobby |
November closed out with Thanskgiving of course! We planned a relatively mellow dinner with our next door neighbors. I ended up cooking a ton, simply because I wanted to make sure I had my Thanskgiving favorites... basically all the traditional fare like turkey, mashed potatoes, homemade stuffing, pumpkin pie, and cranberry sauce from the can! I also had the kiddos help me make mini-cherry pies which are little Oscar's favorite. Dada said they looked a little Canadian, but I was really just going for a fall leaf motif.
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| proud helpers! |
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| Hands off until it's time to eat! |
The best way to close out Thanksgiving weekend is to decorate for Christmas! We brought out the bins and turned on the Christmas music. The boys were good "directors," but Livi loves to decorate even more than I do and she was an excellent helper! When it's 70 degrees out and you have a fire going, clothing is always optional.
We rediscovered all the Christmas movies and kicked off the season with The Grinch. I found a dosa mix at our local grocery store and the kids got to relive their India days. They definitely weren't as crispy and perfect as the ones we had in Chennai, but they scarfed down the whole batch while enjoying one of our Christmas favorites!
Moving right long, school and work continue, we've had a few get togethers, and the kids have been busy playing. The first weekend in December we went to a Christmas Party at the Swedish School with some friends. The school is fairly small, but Oscar really enjoyed his introduction to Glogg (a Swedish drink with mulled wine and vodka) and Livi took full advantage of the free camel rides. What says Christmas better than a camel ride?!
