Almost Christmas!

Well folks, I have been tired. I have about a week (give or take) to go in this pregnancy, and I am tired. And, my 2 y.o. is sick. Coughy, snotty, can't breathe, can't sleep kindof sick. And so, we generally haven't been sleeping, any of us.

Somehow last night it all caught up with us, and we all slept, including the sick toddler. He slept for nearly 12 hours. Groaned once or twice, and we heard a couple coughing fits over the baby monitor, but he never really woke up. My husband actually went in and got him up just before he left for work. Poor little guy.

But this post isn't really about sickness, though that has figured prominently at the house recently.

This post is about cuteness.

My son, who is two months shy of being "Two and a HALF", loves Christmas carols. All music really, but Christmas carols figure prominently in his repertoire. His favorite is "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing". I have been singing that to him as one of the lullaby rotation, since he was born. He now knows the entire first verse, and some of the other ones. He sings it atonally, but at the top of his lungs. We, of course, think it is terribly cute. No one else really knows about his penchant for carols, but check out what he received for an early Christmas present from a friend of mine: a plastic snow globe that plays Christmas carols at the press of a button. For five days he has carried it everywhere with him, on errands, into bed for naps, etc. To nearly all the carols, he sings the words to "Hark". Except for Jingle Bells, to which he sings at least part of the first verse. All of this is quite funny. We have a video for posterity. One of these days it might actually get downloaded to the computer!

Another vignette:

My husband puts Jonathan to bed at night. Once he was weaned, Marcus took over. First there is the bath, then the bedtime stories, then the prayers and songs. It all takes about 45 minutes. I am so pleased that Jonathan and his dad pray together. Marcus told me last night that for several weeks, after the obligatory "Now I lay me" prayer, he does a general, "God, please take care of Mommy and Daddy and Jonathan" prayer. And Jonathan has been adding names (and things, like cars) to the list for Marcus to pray about. But last night, Jonathan made it very clear that daddy was not to pray, that "Jonathan [would] do it." And this is the prayer that Marcus recounted to me, "God, take care Jonathan and Mommy, and Daddy and Mommy. And the peoples, and the girls and the girls and boys. And the cars and the fire engines. And Miss Judith (babysitter). Amen."

Priceless.

I don't scrapbook, so this blog will have to do for some memories.

Christmas for us is going to be very low key. We did go to a living nativity the other night, so that we could see the "baby animals". We have a Christmas tree up, and a winter wreath on the front door, and a small nativity scene. And that is it. Jonathan has enjoyed the large-ish Mary and Joseph and Baby Jesus scene at his preschool. We are looking forward to the Christmas Eve service at church. We may get take out for Christmas dinner. There are some presents for Jonathan, but we are saving most of those for when the baby comes. Some of this is the theory that we don't want to train him to expect presents at Christmas. Part of it is sheer laziness/tiredness on our part. We want Christmas to be about the Christ Child, and about family, not "stuff."

We are still in our own personal "advent", waiting with expectation for the arrival of this second baby, and that has eclipsed most Christmas preparation, especially since all of our family will be elsewhere, and not making a special trip until the baby comes. Also, we tend to celebrate Christmas, starting Christmas Eve, and continuing for the twelve days following. This year that nicely coincides with the expected arrival of the baby, so celebrations will be had later.

I will be trying to update this blog when the baby begins his arrival, so y'all can check here. I will also send an email. And, if you are desperate for real time info, you can follow me on Twitter. Merry Christmas everyone!