Monday, December 10, 2012

Happy Hanukkah!

We are in evening overload on holiday traditions in the Davis house.  In addition to Nate's Advent Calendars, Saturday night was the first night of Hanukkah.  We celebrated this weekend with a latke dinner and by lighting the candles of Aaron and Nate's menorahs.  And with the first night of gift opening, Nate declared to us all that he is "Goo-ish."  (Jewish)  We don't like to say half-Jewish or half-Catholic because that seems inaccurate.  He's not half of anything.  He's lucky enough to fully be a part of two religious cultures.  As his parents, we make every effort to emphasize the similarities and likenesses between the two.  And no time demonstrates the importance of the three of us being together like the December holidays!

An idea taken from my friend Lori, I put a theme on each night's gifts.  I devised a list last year that I hope will be adaptable as the kids get older.  And of course I created a Google doc to track the themes and gifts. Night one is bath night.  Nate got a robe and Aaron got deodorant   One of them was way more excited than the other.

Night two is for opening the gifts Nate was lucky enough to receive from his aunts, uncles, and grandparents. (see how I got out of buying for all eight nights??)  He enjoyed them all but perhaps the biggest hit was this Leap Frog gift from Aunt Ronnie and Uncle Ed that plays one of his favorite songs.  I give you the Alphabet Song, choreography by Nate J. Davis.


Back to tradition, it's so awesome to watch Nate learn his heritage.  There was a definite difference between his understanding of how we light the candles between nights one and two.  And we love our KidKraft menorah, it lets Nate feel like he's part of the action because he can "light" his own candles.  This one was a wonderful gift from my parents to Aaron the December we were pregnant with Nate.  We bought one for baby number two as his or her Hanukkah gift for 2012.  Can't wait to have two little ones lighting their candles next year!

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Speaking of Baby D, yes, we are still pregnant - 39 weeks today.  Quite honestly, I feel great and am really not in a hurry to have the baby.  We're ready for him or her whenever but I'm also feeling healthy and energized and am content staying pregnant for a little while longer if that's better for Baby Sunshyne.  Also, as someone who waited 10 days past her due date with baby number one, I often forget that it's an actual possibility this baby might be born before next Monday.  I guess we'll see what the doctor has to say at our appointment on Thursday morning.

And because who needs modern medicine and their fancy ultrasound equipment to tell you things like a baby's gender, a woman in Trader Joe's took care of it for us.  Yesterday I was grocery shopping (By myself! Which was ridiculously luxurious!) and I kept catching this middle-aged woman staring at me.  Now, I'm pretty big and pregnant so I guess people might be wondering if I'm having the baby any minute now.  But this woman just kept staring at me.  Finally as I was checking out, she came up to me and said, "You're having a boy.  I kept seeing you in the store and I'm surer about this than I've been about any pregnant woman, you're having a boy.  I just had to say something because I don't know if you know.  But I do, I know you're having a boy."

Thank you, random stranger.  I'll go ahead and let me family and friends know.  Sonshyne it is.