'Tis the Season

We've been busy preparing for Christmas. We are leaving on Thursday to fly to Las Vegas to visit my grandma Pat. She lives in Bullhead City, AZ, about an hour south of Las Vegas. We will be staying until Sunday morning, then heading back to Grand Junction to spend Sunday with my parents and brother. Michael's parents plan on traveling to Grand Junction around that time and we will see them sometime on Monday.

I am looking forward to the end of the holiday season. For me, it's just not "the most wonderful time of the year." I always feel stressed out about dividing time between both of our families. I don't like Christmas shopping and strive to get it done before Thanksgiving but some shopping after Thanksgiving can't be avoided. I made my last trip to the mall on Friday, right after it opened, and while it wasn't terrible, it's not my idea of fun. I always try to make the best of the time but if I'm being honest, I feel relieved every year when it's over. I hope next year, when we have our own child, we can start some traditions of our own as a family of 3.

Speaking of Baby W, our baby loot has increased:


In fact, I am now cut off from internet shopping for baby stuff (okay, internet shopping in general - I may have a problem). My mom even told me I have to slow down! Every time I see something "buggy" I want it for our nursery. We are also trying to decide what to do about sleeping arrangements for the period of time when the baby will sleep in our room. I have been looking at bassinets, Pack 'n Plays, and the adorable Moses baskets. I've gotten a lot of good advice from good friends who are moms. One thing is for sure, everyone is willing to give advice to a pregnant lady!

As for our spare bathroom, definite progress is being made. The first layer of drywall mud is up and the walls around the tub are ready to be tiled. My dad has been working on the weekends and occasionally in the evenings. Here are some pictures of the bathroom, as of yesterday:




Here is the tile plan as of now as well as the paint color on the bottom right. The paint color will be the same as one of the walls in our kitchen: "Sand Fossil." The decorative border will go all the way around the tub and be about 5 tiles up from the tub. I can't wait to see the finished product!


Belly pics to come next time.

Everyone have a wonderful Christmas and happy New Year celebration!

2nd Trimester, Cyber Monday and more

As of yesterday, I'm officially in the 2nd trimester! Michael got to hear our baby's heartbeat on Monday, but Dr. Simms said we won't have another ultrasound until 20 weeks when we find out the sex. We'll be able to find out what we're having right before we leave for our Hejl family cruise in January. My friend and acupuncture doctor, April, let me borrow her at-home doppler so we'll be able to listen to the heartbeat more often.

We also decided to go ahead and hire Sara Rutkowski as our doula! She came over a couple of weeks ago and I really like her. She is very knowledgeable and excited about the birth process. I think she'll be a wonderful asset during labor, delivery and beyond.

Black Friday is not my thing but Cyber Monday is really an event I can get behind! I absolutely hate crowds and cold weather so waiting outside in the middle of the night at the end of November with a bunch of other people sounds close to torture to me. Plus, I've recently become a big fan of online shopping. And so, I spent Monday morning cruising the internet for some good sales. I hit the jackpot at Babies R Us. I ordered our car seat/stroller travel system combo as well as a bug play mat and some bug toys to hang on the car seat. I also found a firefly soother and "dancy antsy" toy on the website zulily for 50% off. We're starting to build quite a collection for the baby. Next purchase on the list: a bassinet. Michael's co-worker advised him to get one with wheels so that when the baby's sleeping, you can move it from room to room with you.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Happy Christmas shopping!

Thanksgiving Preparations

This year we are spending Thanksgiving with Michael's family. His entire family will be together for the holiday, which will be a nice treat. This will be the first year that I'm not with my family for at least part of the day, but we will be spending Christmas with my family this year. We are traveling to Bullhead City to visit my grandma Pat for Christmas and then spending time with my mom, dad and brother when we get back.

Thanksgiving is one of my least favorite holidays. My grandpa Frank died suddenly the night before Thanksgiving, 10 years ago today. It always brings back sad memories for me. I know I have a lot to be thankful for and I try to concentrate on that. I got to spend 19 years with him but I do still miss him a lot and it's especially hard around this time of year. He was a wonderful grandpa and a wonderful man overall. He really took good care of my grandma.

This will be our first Thanksgiving as a married couple and our last Thanksgiving as a family of 2.

I will be making a pumpkin cream pie (recipe courtesy of The Pioneer Woman - if you haven't checked out her blog, you must!). I'm also in charge of the rolls and deviled eggs. Michael also has requested that I make guacamole; even though I argued that it doesn't exactly fit in with the Thanksgiving dinner, he insists that Thanksgiving is not only about the traditional dinner but it's also about having snacks to eat while you watch football.

We have our next doctor's appointment on the Monday after Thanksgiving and I'm hoping Dr. Simms will feel generous and do an ultrasound for Michael to see!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!