Our daily activities this month are here. Other happenings:
First week of December: Ricky got to go to the Marshallese Gospel Day Celebration (they celebrate the day Americans brought the Gospel to the Marshall Islands :) and was shown great honor; I had a successful postpartum appointment; a friend came to visit one day; we had some friends over for dinner; and we celebrated our first snow of the season with some friends (we ended up trapped there and had to have a family sleepover!) So fun!
Second week of December: We had friends over for dinner; Ricky’s mom arrived for a 10-day visit (and got to meet Raphael :); got to go to a friend’s Hawaiian Christmas party (with baby); and, went to a dinner party with our small group. [We delivered our gingerbread cookies to a halfway house this year.] My MIL took Aolani to a hair salon to get her first real haircut, and she took both kids to the movie theater and on a carriage ride.
Third week of December: Ricky’s dad and brother came down to join us for movie night and our fancy dinner. Then Ricky’s mom flew out. We ventured to church for the first time since Raphael was born on Christmas Eve. We showed the kids the first old Star Wars movie (and they really liked it).
Fourth week of December: All of our Christmas Day activities are here (and we had three little Marshallese girls over as our party guests). It was really nice getting to host Ricky’s family for Christmas; they left the next day. We had a friend over to celebrate his birthday with dinner and a game. The next big event was on New Year’s Eve — Aolani had a sleepover with girlfriends at their house (and had a blast!), and we hosted the boys’ sleepover (lots of snacks, Lego marble run, Lego robot competition, Lego Ninjago movie).
On a side note, we have gotten a lot of use out of our queen air mattress -- a great purchase!
Raphael outgrew his newborn clothes and now weighs over 13 lbs. He sleeps through the night, meaning he sleeps one 6-9 hour chunk and 3-hour intervals after that. He sleeps in a bear suit at night. He is in his crib for the big chunk and then joins us in bed. I nurse him to sleep, and if he isn’t asleep after that then Ricky holds him until he gives up (usually a few minutes). He loves to be warm and swaddled. Raphael is very social and happy! Our smiliest baby! It's great having so many people to love on him and give him attention :) Pretty easy and laidback; he fusses a little when he is hungry, tired, or has a dirty diaper (cries only if his needs persist). And he loves to coo and talk :) Right now, he is not on a nursing or napping routine, but he sleeps a lot and nurses well! We are not in any rush with this as we know it’ll come; we are treasuring this time! He naps when he’s tired and will go in the crib. We let him suck his thumb during the day in his crib but not other times. He eats every few hours generally. I only feed him on one side each feeding to keep my milk supply regulated. Also, Raphael likes riding in the car and having his diaper changed. We are not sure about how he feels about bathtime because sometimes he likes it and sometimes not so much. He loves his whole family! He gained neck control, seems really strong and sturdy, and has a dimple on his right knee :) I believe all of his bodily functions are normal and regular, thankfully. He resembles Aolani in the face and Micaiah in the body.
I’m going to take a break from memorizing new verses this year since I feel like I really need to solidify the verses I have already done. It’s definitely not for lack of verses that I want to learn, but I want to pause this year and be able to quote every verse without help before moving on and adding more. Not positive how I’m going to focus on that, but that’s my goal. I have a plan but it needs tweaking.
