Nov-Dec 2013

November
Dad and Jil came to Australia to visit for a couple of weeks! So excited to have visitors…it's been a while since someone made the big trip over! :)
Kai and I went to go meet them in Melbourne. We spent a few days on the Great Ocean Road and in Melbourne. We had a great time! We watched the Melbourne Cup in the plaza at Federation Square - great outdoor viewing area. When they came to Sydney, we kept them busy here too - we went to Featherdale Wildlife Park, did the Spit to Manly walk and had a bbq with some friends. As always, the visit seemed to go by way too quickly.

We had our annual Thanksgiving dinner at Leah's. So yummy (like every year)! I'm always impressed by how much preparation and work goes into Thanksgiving dinner. I don't think I could do it myself, but Leah makes it seem so easy. All my favourite foods - turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, cranberries, and lots of pumpkin pie!

Kai and I had a date night at the Opera House. We went to go see a Dutch symphony. It was really good, and I'm glad we went then, before I got too big to be comfortable.

On the baby front, we started our childbirth and parenting classes. They're at the hospital 1 night a week. The teacher is funny and keeps it interesting, and we're learning lots. I think it definitely helps us to feel more prepared…even if we're not. :)

The summer seems to have started early. (Not that I'm complaining!) It's very warm for November, so we've started to make swimming at the North Sydney pool a weekly thing. It's good exercise for me too. I've also started taking more prenatal yoga classes. They're more about breathing and relaxing than stretching, but I'm enjoying them. I'm also meeting a few other preggo women that live in the area, so that will be good once the baby gets here.

December
December seemed to fly by in the blink of an eye. We had quiet birthday celebrations for us, and had a small baby bbq with friends at the house. Over Christmas we did all of our baby shopping. We got pretty much everything we'll need for the first few months, and we packed our hospital bag. Kai's getting really excited about it now…it's so cute. :) He couldn't wait to take everything out of the boxes and start assembling things. We feel like we're almost ready…just need a name now!

Christmas Day was rainy this year. One of those days when it just rains all day long. Pretty miserable actually. We couldn't even get out of the house for a walk, so we just did the best we could - we watched A Christmas Story, baked Christmas cookies, and listened to Christmas songs. Boxing Day was much better though…nice and sunny. We went over to Jess and Trey's for a bbq. Their little boy, Travis, is getting so big! He's only about 8 months old, but he's a chunky little thing. :)

The weekend after Christmas, we went to a baby bbq for my friend, Kylie. She lives in the States now. I haven't seen her in ages, so it was really nice to see her again! We couldn't believe that we were both having baby boys around the same time next year.