Busy run up to the new baby

It's now less than 10 days till the due date and it seems to have come around very quickly. Time has sped along the last two months and we've recently been in a big rush to get everything ready.

Something me and Liz have always tried to do (since completing uni at least) is have a roast dinner on a Sunday. We used to growing up and why I can't remember our exact reasons for starting it outside nostalgia, it has been something we've strived to do, and something we carried on doing when we moved to Flitwick.

Cooking a Sunday roast earlier today came with the realization of how busy we have been recently as the last roast dinner we cooked in the oven was on Christmas day.

Since then we've had a mixture of birthdays and visits and haven't been in to cook, or were busy tidying so did something quicker instead. Not to say we've been without Sunday dinners of course; we've had many cooked for us by a number of relatives :-)

January

We have had a very busy January this year. Starting off in Lincoln for a week to spend time with Liz's Mum, then the weekend after we got back we had Gemma's birthday, then another round of Birthdays the weekend after that. Last weekend me and Liz were a little under the weather but managed to sort out a couple of bits on our list of things to do before the baby is born while my Dad looked after Kaleb. 

Speaking of the new baby, Liz is full term in less than two weeks (i.e. if it was born it would not be premature). That came around a lot sooner than I thought - I think this time round we found out Liz was pregnant later than we did with Kaleb, so there has been less time (slightly) for us to get ready. The baby is also due two months earlier than when Kaleb was born, so I suspect that part of me might still be remembering how far along Kaleb was around this time in the year and not adjusting correctly for the difference in due dates. 

The main thing we need to get sorted is the spare room so the new baby will have somewhere to sleep. Luckily we have made a lot of progress inasmuch that we can walk into the room as opposed to just being able to get into the doorway before needing to climb over stuff, as was the case a couple of months ago. 

Sorting the spare room is a priority, but luckily doesn't need to be completely finished by the time the baby is born as it will have a couple of months in our room in the Moses basket first. 

I think it is slowly starting to hit me how close it is to there a new baby around, so hopefully I'll be able to focus on getting the house sorted for the arrival. I just need to find some more spare time to do it all in...

2013

2013 was the first full year that we've had with Kaleb, and it has been a fun one. He's grown so much in the last 12 months, at the start of the year he was just about sitting up on his own, and since then he's learnt to stand up, walk on his own and has started communicating through some simple signs and words.

Earlier in the year we went to Liz's sister's wedding and all had a lot of fun. Kaleb stayed up late, mainly because lots of people were telling him how cute he was, which he loved.

A couple of months later Kaleb had his very first birthday with all the family there. Kaleb still didn't fully understand presents at this point, but had fun with wrapping paper and new toys to play with.

Later on in the summer we went to Henley with Chris and Jenny and had a great time on the island.

We also found out that Liz is pregnant again, and look forward to welcoming another little one to the world in March.

I've been playing Magic a bit more than the previous year after Kaleb was born, and will hopefully continue this.

This Christmas we spent just the three of us, making a day of it and then visiting family afterwards. Kaleb seems to have started to understand presents and how to open them which is nice.

I'm looking forward to a great 2014, with Kaleb getting bigger and growing a lot and a new arrival due soon, I'm going for an exciting year.  

Christmas 2013

Compared to last year, our Christmas was a lot quieter. It was just me, Liz and Kaleb. In the morning when Kaleb got up we took him downstairs to open up some of his presents. We had planned to have sausages for breakfast but found out they'd been put in the freezer so I took them out so they'd be ready later and we had bacon instead.

Kaleb opened a couple of presents and talked to Liz's mum on the phone. A bit later we did a hangout with Chris at mums house and Kaleb was greeted with my mum in a Santa hat signing carols. 

While Liz was busy getting dinner ready, I took Kaleb outside into the garden for some fresh air. When the last bit of dinner was in the oven, Liz joined us and we had a wander down the road with Kaleb.

We had dinner with a bit left over for tea and did another hangout with Chris who was now with dad and his parents. Kaleb opened some more presents before having a nap.

Me and Liz played the winter version of Carcassonne that she got me for X'mas while Kaleb napped. After his nap we finished opening Kaleb's presents and had some tea (leftover turkey).

On boxing day, we were picked up by my mum and went to her house where Kaleb opened a box of chocolates because he decided they required moving to the lid instead.

Once my grandparents arrived we had dinner and pulled some crackers, however Kaleb didn't like the idea of wearing a cracker hat. After dinner we opened some presents with Kaleb before heading over to my aunts house to see some of my dad's family. 

Dad gave us a lift home after a quick bite to eat at his house and we got Kaleb to have a sleep after a long and busy two days. 

Theros first picks

Due to doing well at a recent tournament, I have some Theros packs to look through, so I'll think about what I would choose if I opened it in a draft (as I don't get to draft very often, just doing the thinking about it helps).

Pack A
This pack has: Fleshmad Steed, Breaching Hippocamp, Fleetfeather Sandals, Aqueous Form, Nylea's Presence, Divine Verdict, Traveler's Amulet, Two-Headed Cerberus, Setessan Griffin, Pharika's Cure, Triton Tactics, Battlewise Hoplite, Shipwreck Singer, Abhorrent Overlord

I think Cure and Verdict come under consideration as removal, as does Triton Tactics which can potentially be more effective given the right circumstances. The Abhorrent Overlord is expensive, but given the right deck can be quite powerful. For me, it's quite close between Verdict and Overlord and my answer would probably depend on what mood I was in :) Verdict is good for consistency, but the overlord seems fun so I'd probably pick that. My last couple of drafts seemed to end up Green and/or black so for me the black card would be better as I'm more used to that play style.

Pack B
Battlewise Valor, Feral Invocation, Boulderfall, Loathsome Catoblepas, Griptide, Gods Willing, Omenspeaker, Sedge Scorpion, Prescient Chimera, Timed Ox, Magma Jet, Heliod's Emissary, Horizon Chimera, Celestial Archon

I took cards out of this pack when I found an interesting one. The first was Feral Invocation, which I like as a persistent surprise. Next was Griptide which is good for tempo and better on a target with an aura, but between the two I'd probably pick the Invocation.

Then I set aside Gods Willing, which is good as it will protect against the already small amount of removal in the format. Sedge Scorpion is also one to consider as the death touch makes it close to removal. Magma Jet is also powerful, killing smaller creatures and smoothing the next turn or two.

I think, however, that Heliod's Emissary and Celestial Archon are the two more powerful cards in the pack. The Elk has the benefit of being possible to splash in a deck and the creature side is cheaper, but I think the Celestial Archon is the pick here due to the higher power. The bestow cost is essentially the same, but for a more powerful effect.

Pack C
Nessian Asp, Nimbus Naiad, Messengers Speed, March of the Returned, Unknown Shores, Benthic Giant, Returned Phalanx, Silent Artisan, Satyr Hedonist, Traveler's Amulet, Spellheart Chimera, Stoneshock Giant, Insatiable Harpy, Nepotism Charlatan

The 4 I like from this pack are Nessian Asp, Nimbus Naiad, Stoneshock Giant, Insatiable Harpy. The Asp and Giant are quite similar, but I think I prefer the Asp here as the monstrosity is cheaper and larger, and the reach is going to be useful over multiple turns as opposed to the one off effect of the giant. I quite like the Harpy here, as it is possible to increase the power and get a better effect from the lifegain. The Naiad is aggressively costed which I think gives it the edge over the harpy, but for this pack I think the asp is the best choice here.

Pack D
Boon of Erebos, Deathbellow Raider, Breaching Hippocamp, Bronze Sable, Nessian Courser, Fleshmad Steed, Wavecrash Triton, Wild Celebrants, Opaline Unicorn, Evangel of Heliod, Witches Eye, Centaur Battlemaster, Chained to the Rocks, foil Ordeal of Erebos

I have seem Evangel of Heloid make a lot of tokens so I know it can be powerful. Wavecrash Triton looks good if if can be repeated, but I think Centaur Battlemaster is the most powerful here, the bonus it gets even if targeted once is impressive.