Baby Sprout Sawinski is growing (according to big sister Kiera) grande grande grande. This pregnancy is a testament that not all pregnancies are the same! I am carrying much lower, feeling physically much different, and even noticing how different the kicks and jabs feel. It is a treasure to share this experience with Kiera, who is so proud to kiss mama’s belly and say “Buenos Dias Baby, I love you!” Although we still have until beginning-ish of March, Martin is readying his business to be able to take off a little bit of time to spend with his growing family. What a beautiful time of year!
The Christmas festivities are in full swing! Kiera can’t stop talking about Santa, the reindeer, and THE North Pole. She has overdosed on the book and movie The Polar Express and is still spinning with glee about her visit to see Santa AND the reindeer. She is also very excited to make Santa some gluten free cookies and leave out some almond milk, along with a treat for the reindeer too!
We spent the weekend in the cities. Friday night was as usual, sitting in front of a fire and going to bed way too early. Saturday was the annual Maxwell BINGO game. This year we pooled our money together and gave it al to Grandma Ellen. She has done so much for us all over the years, it was the least we could do! Kiera had a blast playing kitchen with Marissa and opening some fun gifts from Grandma Ellen.
Saturday night Martin and I were able to hang out with some Duluth friends. They are beautiful people and we love having them in our lives!
Sunday was a total hang out day. A few presents, lots of random food, Martin and Tim duking it out on Wii, some more Polar Express, and a little gingerbread house making… very satisfying!
As always, here are some cute pictures, with the rest being on flickr.com/thesawinskis.
Kiera and her snowman
4 generations
Colie and Kiera
Kiera and Unky
Kiera, Zannie, and Tom in Duluth up for a quick visit last week
Kiera passed out on the couch at 10am Monday morning after a busy weekend!
We finally had our first blizzard! Freezing cold temps (high of -6F today!), white out conditions, 6-10 inches of snow… it was a delight! This is why we live in Duluth!!! The stores and bus line shut down and all the schools are canceled for today. A yummy time to be inside (or out for that matter!) with friends and family.
Our dear friend Courtney and her daughter Nika (almost 18 months) came from Honduras to play with us for a few days. It was so sweet, and as usual, time flew way too quickly. We did a lot of hanging around and catching up, a ton of eating (surprise surprise), and a fair amount of avoiding the cold.
We love our dear Court and Nika and wish them the best in everything they do. They are strong, beautiful, and corageous women. Although they are geographicly far away from us, we hold a warm spot for them in our hearts everyday.
We lounged around in bed all day as an extension of my birthday, tomorrow. We had a special breakfast meal; apple fritter, “smoovie” (not just any kind of rhubarb smoothie), thick cut bacon, etc. We didn’t really venture far from our bed this morning, mainly because it was the warmest place in the house.
We munched on pretzels, almonds, crackers and such shortly before falling back to sleep for a 2 hour nap. We were convinced to do something with our day so we got up and dressed and made our way to the living room.
We continued our “Burn Notice” session from last night (great show by the way) until 430 when we decided the falling snow and the cooler weather was all too enticing for us to simply look at over the top of the computer screen.
We emerged from beneath our comforters and blankets and we bundled up in all of our warmies. We did our best to convince Kiera that it would be worth all the hassle. Six layers later we ventured into the winter wonderland. Marley, the neighbors dog, greeted us in the front yard. Kiera is in love with Marley and expects to play with her every time we walk out the front door
As Sarah and I shoveled the sidewalk and stairs, Kiera was sliding down the hills on a plastic shovel. We romped around the yard and frolicked in the snow. We ate the fresh snow and gave Kiera her first “white wash” our walk down the block to look at the Christmas lights. A walk was the last thing that Kiera wanted to do. Luckily she was easy to drag in the snow down the sidewalk.
As we approached the house with the lights, Kiera covered her eyes so she couldn’t see as we exclaimed “Look Kiera, aren’t they pretty?” She continued to skreech and wail and all she wanted was to go home because her legs were tired because they wanted to rest. After walking to the front of the house to see the lights we promptly made our return home. When we were within sight of our home, Kiera shouts out
