On the first day of vacation, my camera said to me...

Further proof that the cacti are alive and well. These fuschia ones still haven't opened, but I'm starting to think that they probably will and I might not jinx them!
A wonderful friend of mine made these kind of creepy ornaments for us for Christmas a few years ago. Yes, they are the remains of decapitated snowmen. There are six of them on the tree, the aftermath of Massacre at Snowman Corner.
My favourite gift wrapping job. Recycled paper from the office, too!
I love these little seals - this one is on a gift for my wonderful husband.
This is the most open of the cacti, and I can't wait for it to open fully. It's already beautiful, and I'm excited to see the inside middle part (can you tell I'm not a botanist?) since I can't remember what colour it is.

Well, it is my first day of Christmas vacation, and may I just say "Holy energy, Batman!" It may be because I slept for about 2 hours yesterday, but this morning I have felt FABULOUS. I dropped Adam off at work, found two Old Navy maternity shirts at Frenchy's, picked up a few groceries, went to the library, came home, fed the birds, took down the 5 trellises (trelli? :)) in the yard and composted the remains of several clematises (clemati?:)) took a bunch of pictures, have laundry going, and ate two oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Phew.

We went to our second prenatal class last evening. Most of the information isn't new, but there are a few tidbits here and there which make it worth the effort. In the new year, we're going for a tour of the labour and delivery part of the hospital, which I think will be very helpful. My belly is getting bigger by the second - 2 inches more in a week and a half. The baby is almost 4 inches long. As part of the class last night, Adam and I each had to predict whether the baby is a boy or girl, how much it will weigh at birth, and what it's birthday will be. I predicted a girl, 8 pounds even, and June 15. Adam also predicted a girl, June 9, and I forget what he predicted for the weight. He weighed 10lbs 10oz at birth, so I'm hoping that our little one will be a wee bit smaller. Whoever in the class is closest to the actual information will get some kind of prize at our reunion class, after everyone has their babies. I think that will be really fun - to see all of the little ones in real life without a belly in the way.

Merry Christmas!