A Very Nice Christmas

The Hawkins family is still alive and well! We have had such a busy last month or so, and blogging was (obviously) way down on the priority list. We've made it through Christmas, two sets of house guests, my long-term subbing job, and several more weeks of pregnancy since I last blogged. I am getting back to a normal routine now, so I thought that I would try to catch up on my blog a little bit.
Our first set of Christmas guests was my parents. They arrived the weekend before Christmas, and we had a great week with them. I was still teaching while they were here, so they took one of my teaching days and made a day trip to see some relatives in Ohio. During the other half day that I taught, my dad had a guy day with Drew, and my mom went to school with me to help me with my class Christmas party and to help me get all of my things out of the classroom. That afternoon, I had an ultrasound and doctor appointment, and my mom went with me to see the ultrasound.
Baby is still measuring in agreement with the new due date, so we have a c-section scheduled for Valentine's Day! Because of the discrepancies between the early and later ultrasounds, I will have to have an amnio the day before the scheduled c-section to check baby's lung development. If everything looks good there, we will go ahead with the scheduled date. If not, my c-section will be pushed back a bit.
While they were here, my dad painted the baby's room a very pale green. It looks so pretty, and I was quite thankful not to have to do the painting myself. Their last evening here, we watched "Polar Express," had cookies and hot chocolate, and opened gifts.

Our next Christmas celebration was with Jim's side of the family at his sister and brother-in-law's house. We tried to get a group picture of all the children, but Drew kept covering his face.

Drew (and all of us, really) got spoiled, as usual.

One of Drew's favorite gifts was a Cars 2 race track. He couldn't wait to get home and set it up. He and Jim have been having fun racing with it.

On Christmas morning, our little family opened gifts together.

Drew had a bad cough and runny nose, so he and Jim stayed home from church that morning, while I went to work in the toddler nursery. Since Jim was home, he took over some of the household duties, including baking the ham! He found a recipe for a glaze on-line, and he made it. It was delicious!

Drew used his festive straw at lunch.

Jim's mom came for lunch, and we had a little gift exchange with her. She got our family a Wii for Christmas, and Drew has become obsessed with the Wii. He has a sports game and a Cars 2 game. He loves to drive in the Cars game (even though he is terrible at it!), and he really enjoys the sports, too - especially the bowling. Jim and I can rarely beat him at bowling!

My sister and brother-in-law arrived Christmas afternoon (our second set of house guests), and we had a great few days with them. While they were here, Nora drew and painted a tree on the baby's wall. We love how it turned out! We plan to hang some shelves on three of the branches.

Topher, Jim, and Drew played a lot of Wii. We also did some thrift store and Christmas clearance shopping and went to the Little Caesar's Bowl game while they were here.

Now that all the Christmas excitement is over, we are getting back to normal at our house. We are working hard to get ready for baby's arrival, and this week marks the beginning of twice-weekly doctor appointments for me. Between Drew's school schedule, my doctor appointments, and work at home, we are keeping busy!

I hope that everyone had a great Christmas, and I am looking forward to posting a few other little updates and projects in the next few weeks!