I am so embarassed...

that it's been almost a month since my last post!

Here is a long-awaited photo of Maggie from Christmas. Remember when I said my family calls me the "Christmas Elf" and Maggie the "Mini-Elf?" Well, I decided to make her an elf costume for opening Christmas presents this year with my family. I didn't have a pattern or anything so I just kind of made it up as I went but I think it turned out pretty great. Of course, with her red hair I didn't want to do red so that's why we chose green. I know it's kind of dorky but it was so much fun.

Is she a ham or what?
We've been having LOTS of trouble keeping Maggie in her bed at night. We've tried rewards, punishments, letting her sleep on the floor in our room, and basically every other thing we've heard of, but nothing has worked. I'm at the point in my pregnancy where I really need my sleep and am also suffering from insomnia (is there no justice for pregnant women?!). Some nights I'll lay in bed for an hour before falling asleep, only to be awoken by Maggie an hour or two later, and then I'll lay in bed for up to two more hours before falling asleep again, only to be awoken AGAIN by her. Of course Grant is taking turns getting up with her but it still wakes me up. We are pretty much over it. We have a new strategy that I plan on starting tomorrow night; keep your fingers crossed that it'll work!

On the flip side of her getting up at night, she does some really funny things in the middle of the night (she takes after her sleepwalking, sleep-talking dad). Last night she got up twice to wash her hands because she said there was earwax on them and washing them was the only way to get it off.

I haven't really blogged much about our upcoming birth because I didn't want to open myself up to possible negative comments, but I wanted to let you all know that we are planning a home birth and we are really excited about it. We have an excellent midwife who we trust, and we've done lots of research which convinces us that for most women (myself included) a home birth is as safe as a hospital birth. I'm 31 weeks along now (almost at the start of the 8th month) and the baby is EXTREMELY active. This has been my easiest pregnancy so far and I totally attribute it to the fact that I'm not working outside the home and I'm still exercising nearly every day. When Maggie naps, I've been able to lay down and rest, and I'm not sitting at a desk all day. It's been 10 times easier than previous pregnancies, thank goodness! Maggie already LOVES her brother (ask us again once he's here!) and talks to him all day long. She also likes to talk to him and then talk back to herself with a special voice, pretending to be him.

Anyway, the other day I was thinking about all the "normal" things that go out the window with a home birth: a "coming home" outfit, packing your bag for the hospital, what to wear during labor (I definitely don't have a hospital gown at home!), and hospital ID bracelets to put in the baby book. It's totally going to be worth it though and we just can't wait for him to be here!