Christmas, Part II

This past weekend we traveled to visit my family and celebrate a late Christmas as well as my dad's birthday.  It was great to see everyone, especially my little 2.5-month-old nephew Dane, and my younger brother who is still in the Army and often deployed.

Once again, Otto proved to be the luckiest unborn baby around.  From my parents, he received a beautifully written and illustrated book called The Night You Were Born.  I wasn't familiar with it, but I loved it right away and can't wait to read it to him.  Or her!

To our amusement, my parents also gave him another cute Notre Dame onesie.  This kid is all set for football season next year, and he's not even born yet!  Girl or boy, Otto will definitely get good use out of all the ND gear!

He also received some great pyjamas by a company called Hanna Andersson from my older brother and his wife.  She swears by these PJs -- they are super soft, thick, and made from organic cotton.  My heart melted when I held them up; they were so small, and it really hit home that soon I'll have a baby that size.  Wow!

MJ received a juicer for Christmas, which is exactly what he wanted, considering his uber-healthy lifestyle this last year.  I only mention it on this blog because I realized it might actually come in handy with Otto, too.  Once he is old enough to drink juice, I'll be able to make it for him myself.  Then I can ensure his juice is 100% natural, with no additives, chemicals, sweeteners, or other nasty stuff.

We tested it out during MJ's snow day on Monday, with fairly good results.  The first recipe we tried was called "Healthy Men" and consisted of yellow squash, asparagus, tomato, and celery.  It tasted a bit like mild V8 juice.  Not too bad.  But the other recipe we tried was pear, carrot, and banana.  That one was surprisingly good, with just enough sweetness!

One of the best Christmas gifts I received wasn't even a gift -- it was a giant bag of maternity clothes that my sister-in-law is letting me borrow.  Hallelujah!  Best of all, she had a pair of maternity jeans that fit me perfectly!  Thankfully they have an under-belly band, because I had just come to the realization that the full-belly panel pair of jeans I have are too uncomfortable to tolerate anymore (at least at this point in my pregnancy).  This borrowed pair will save me from having to buy another.