Merry Christmas, from our family to yours.

I was so excited for Christmas this year, even more than usual. I felt like this year was the year that Jake would really get it; he had been learning about all of the holidays at school, singing the songs and asking every day if it was "time for Christmas yet".

The day was finally here! Thankfully everyone (including me) managed to sleep through the night, which was good because we had a big day ahead of us. Brian's family had come in to stay with us 2 days before, and my parents were arriving later Christmas morning, then my brother and his girlfriend would be there in the afternoon.

I couldn't wait to watch Jake enjoy his presents and experience the day through his eyes. We had to hold him back to keep him from running straight into the room with the tree, but here is a video of him once we unleashed the beast:



And then opening the "Cars" DVD that Santa brought for him:



We all got some amazing gifts & we are very grateful that we were able to spend the day with both sides of our family.



And as always, everyone was grateful for our bar.



Finally, it was time to eat!! There were a few mishaps, but really, what's a holiday without some type of incident? Two lessons were learned that day: 1. never allow me in the kitchen without having some burn medicine on hand and 2. always check the table to make sure that the leaf is completely attached before starting to pour red wine. The good news is, the tablecloth was red, so at least it wasn't a total disaster.



I couldn't have asked for a better day...we hope that your Christmas was just as great!

Happy birthday to....ME!!

It's the big year...3-0. I don't feel any older, but I kind of feel like after your 21st birthday, they all just kind of blend together. We don't have any big plans for tonight, but I will be enjoying my free birthday burger at my favorite restaurant, Red Robin, at some point next week :) We celebrated my birthday with my family last weekend, and I received some great new clothes and some stuff for the house, so I was excited about that.

The BIG celebration will actually take place in February; my BFF Melissa, turns 30 in January, so we're doing a girls trip to NYC to celebrate! No husbands, no kids...just US! We're super excited & counting down the days until then!

Weekend Recap

I was so grateful to have almost all of my Christmas prep done last week, because we had a really busy weekend planned and it was nice to enjoy it without stressing over all of the stuff that needed to be done.

Saturday started out with a trip to visit the BFF's, who were in town for the weekend! As always, the boys had a great time together and exchanged gifts. Jake received an Aquadoodle, bath crayons and 2 rock & roll race cars....all of which he has been playing with since then (thanks, Martini Family!)


We went to the annual Capo Christmas Open House that evening, where there was tons of yummy food and multiple rounds of cornhole.


We celebrated my bday a bit early that evening with my family, check out the pretty cake!


On Sunday, my cousin and her family came to my mom's house for a visit...the kids don't get to see each other very often, but it's very cute when they do get together:



We made it home that afternoon just in time to watch the Steelers lose (boo!). It was a busy, but fun weekend....it's what the holidays are all about, right?

Santa: What a rip-off!!

We had assumed that our annual Santa trip would result in tears for the 3rd year in a row; we were wrong! But, the tears were replaced with disappointment this year. Clearly, I needed to do a better job of explaining to Jake WHY we were going to go see Santa. We got there & he immediately started looking all around the little "workshop" area they had set up, trying to peek behind Santa then finally asked "Where are my toys? Where are the presents??". Poor kid. He thought we were going to see Santa to pick up his goodies. He even tried to steal some of the presents that were being used as decoration:

Fortunately, he recovered fairly quickly after a brief explanation that this is where he puts the order in so that Santa knows what to bring in a few days. Initially, he wouldn't sit beside Santa by himself...fortunately, there was a bench, so I wasn't forced to also plop on Santa's lap (which can get a little creepy).



I was able to slide off the bench after a minute, and Jake continued his conversation with Santa. His random wish list includes: a candy cane (which he calls a "handy" cane), a Lightning McQueen and a Steelers helmet.


Only a few more days until Christmas!! The little kid inside of me is having trouble sleeping lately, I'm so excited......

Dreaming of a white Christmas?

It looks like it could happen.....

Fri
Dec 24

Few Snow Showers

28°
18°

Sat

Dec 25

Snow Shower

27°
16°

15 week check up

I had a check up yesterday, though there's never much to report after them at this stage, it's just the standard pee in a cup, weigh in, heartbeat check, ask any questions, then they send you on your merry way. That being said, everything was good yesterday, baby's heart rate was 158 (I looked in Jake's baby book last night, his was 148 at my 16 week appointment). My blood pressure was 108/64, so the medication is doing the trick this time around so far, so that's always a relief.

I've started having Braxton Hicks contractions already, which seemed super early (again, after looking in Jake's book last night, with him they started at 21 weeks), but the doctor assured me they were nothing to worry about as long as they're not occurring with regular frequency or painful. She said I'll probably just be one of the lucky ones to have them throughout my pregnancy, yay me!

The highlight of this check up was getting the prescription for my big ultrasound, which of course I called to schedule the second that I walked out of the office. The big day will be January 6th, at 7:45am!! Hopefully the little one will cooperate, so feel free to leave your boy or girl guesses :)

Here's a belly shot from this morning, 15 weeks 1 day(I should have Brian start cutting out my face in these pictures if I'm going to do them 30 minutes after waking up and before drinking coffee, I look like a zombie):



And for comparison purposes, 17 weeks with Jake (which is the closest to 15 weeks I have, but look how much smaller I was, even 2 weeks later!):

Check, check, check!

I almost feel like I'm jinxing myself by saying this, but for once, I feel ahead of the game for Christmas.

Things that are already done:
-Tree is up & decorated
-House is decorated
-98% of presents have been purchased & are already wrapped & under the tree
-Christmas cards are addressed & stamped, just need to be mailed out this week
-Grocery shopping for Christmas day is 95% done
-Toys for Tots gifts purchased & dropped off at donation center

Left to do:
-take Jake to see Santa (we'll probably do this Friday night)
-buy last minute Christmas meal food items (potatoes, veggies, etc...)
-finish up the last few gifts
-Clean house
-Bathe Gracie (she is quite the mess from being out in the snow & slush, we can't have a dirty dog for Christmas)
-Figure out Christmas day outfits for myself & Jake (I'm leaning toward busting out some maternity pants for myself to allow maximum food intake)

All in all, I feel pretty good about my progress!! Brian took the day off today to do some birthday shopping for someone special (ahem...MOI!) but he's also going to pick up a few of those last gifts that we need as well, so we can mark those off the list after today.

I'm glad that I found the motivation to do most of this stuff earlier in the month, it's nice to have a few days to just relax & enjoy the season!

A few of my favorite things....

Fellow blogger Cara had a similar post a few days ago, and it reminded me that I've been meaning to take some pictures of my favorite Christmas decorations and post them. While I feel that I can improve next year by adding a few things here & there, I was pleased overall with how the Christmas decor turned out.

First up, the newest addition to our ornament collection...an adorable owl from my friend, blogless Lisa :) He matches the shower curtain that we put up in Jake's room:



There was a delay in the stockings being hung by the chimney with care, because we didn't want to put any holes into the mantel. I couldn't find any of those hooks that sit on top of the mantel that I liked, and the whole mantel is curved, so we couldn't just use those removable sticky hooks. Final solution? Hang them from the screen!



My MIL bought me this beautiful Willow Tree nativity set last year, it looks great in front of the built-in book shelves in our living room:


I bought this tree years ago, during the day-after-Christmas sale (my 2nd favorite day of the year to shop, next to Black Friday) at Bath & Body Works...it's still one of my favorites, I have it on our entry way table this year:



My mom bought us a few new pieces of Christmas decor as part of our housewarming gift; I didn't realize until after it was already up that it's probably supposed to be hung vertically. Oh well, it's staying this way for this season :)



She also got us this tree for our entryway (good deal from walmart!)


I tried this year to make use of some of the glass containers that I already have, and just add a Christmas or winter touch to them.

The mantel....



Dining room table centerpiece:



Only 10 more days until Christmas, I can't believe it!!

Jake & Mommy's Day of Fun!

Brian went to the Steelers game yesterday (I was not jealous-it was in the 30s and rainy most of the day), so Jake & I had the day to ourselves. We started out the day by playing one of Jake's new favorite games, "restaurant". I always get a seat at the table, and he picks the other guest of honor to occupy the other chair. Typically, it's Elmo or Mr. Penguin, but yesterday it was this singing Santa that he recently received. Jake is such a good restaurant owner that he even helps the patrons with their drinks...bottoms up, Santa!



We decided to brave it & head out to the mall in the rain mid-morning. Like any good mom, I always go to the mall telling Jake that if he sits quietly in his stroller while I do my shopping, we can stop at the play place. :) Whoever decided to put these play places into the mall is a total genius.



I knew he'd get hungry after the play place, so I had packed a lunch for him & we enjoyed a little lunch date at the food court. Here he is saying, "all done! time for the steelers!"



Sadly for him (though nice for me!), he slept through almost the whole game. Gracie & I enjoyed the time snuggled under blankets, writing out Christmas cards.

Book Review Catch-Up

I have totally been slacking on my reading lately; pretty much the only time I read is on the bus (but that gives me a good hour everyday) but that nice chunk of time has totally diminished due to the fact that I felt sick just riding on the bus most days, there was no way I could pick up a book.

I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things now that I'm feeling better, (dork alert here) I've really missed my books! Here are a few that I have managed to finish over the last 2 months or so:



The Help, Kathryn Stockett

One of the best books I've read this year, I think it should be added onto a list of required reading for high schoolers.

Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins

This is book #2 in the Hunger Games series; I wasn't quite as into it as I was with book #1, but it did pick up somewhere in the middle. I look forward to reading the third and final book in the series.

Look Again, Lisa Scottoline

Without giving away too much of the plot, here's the book description from Amazon:

Bestseller Scottoline (Lady Killer) scores another bull's-eye with this terrifying thriller about an adoptive parent's worst fear—the threat of an undisclosed illegality overturning an adoption. The age-progressed picture of an abducted Florida boy, Timothy Braverman, on a have you seen this child? flyer looks alarmingly like Philadelphia journalist Ellen Gleeson's three-year-old son, Will, whom she adopted after working on a feature about a pediatric cardiac care unit.

Parts of this book were a bit slow for me, but I couldn't put it down by the end. I look forward to reading more of this author.

Up next: Mini-Shopoholic, Sophie Kinsella

Jake's Big Stage Debut

Jake's school was putting on a "Christmas Concert" this past Friday; Brian & I could barely contain ourselves, we were so excited for his big debut. GG & Pappy joined us for the show as well. Jake had been talking about the concert and practicing at home for weeks, but sometimes, stage fright gets the best of all of us.

The pictures aren't great because the lighting was so low, but you can see the progression of terror and tears:

Here he is, calm & collected at the beginning (he even spotted us in the audience when he first sat down & smiled and waved):


The crown started bothering him (he was one of the Three Wise Men):


Aaaaaaaaaand, then the tears started :(



It was heartbreaking to sit and watch him cry, but as you can see in the picture, one of the teachers came and sat behind him for the rest of the show. And it did make me feel a little bit better that there was one other kid who was so hysterical, he had to be physically carried off of the stage. So, Jake held up a bit better than that!

Again, terrible lighting (and Jake didn't actually sing), but here he is front & center during his song:




One thing that made me giggle was that when Jake was singing these songs at home, he kept singing one that went, "At the table, at the table, at the table Christmas day...the animals are at the table, at the table Christmas day..." then he goes through all of the animals one at a time. I thought it was a little odd to have a song about animals at the table, but whatever....I learn upon opening the program that night that the song is actually "In the STABLE" he was just singing at the table :)

So, after the trauma of the play, he still seemed a bit irritated but quickly cheered up when he realized there was a cookie & juice reception.



Tears aside, it was a very proud moment for mommy & daddy!!

Jake has a message for you....

He's going to be a big brother!! :) We are thrilled to be expecting baby #2; I'm currently 14 weeks along, my due date is June 8th.

After a rough first trimester (I would like to take this moment to thank the manufacturers of Zofran for easing me of some of my nausea), I am starting to come out of the first tri haze and feel a bit more human again. It's a welcome change!

I've had 3 ultrasounds so far, and everything has looked great! I didn't have any ultrasounds this early with Jake, so it was amazing to see how much changes in such short periods of time at this stage (at 6 weeks, it was an unidentifiable blob; just 2 weeks later, I could actually make out tiny legs & arms!) The heart rate has been ranging from 165-180. My next appointment is scheduled for 12/20, which is when I'll get my prescription for my big u/s....we can't wait to see the little one again (and hopefully found out the sex!)

There are many things that have been different this time around, but one of the more noticeable ones is my belly; I didn't show with Jake for a long time, but I feel like I'm already sporting a bump at this point. Here is a belly shot from 12 weeks (on Thanksgiving-picture taken BEFORE stuffing my face all day):



Since there's a pretty good chance I'll be a slacker in terms of keeping track of anything pregnancy related in a book or journal, I'll be using the blog as a space to do that. Stay tuned!

Christmas Tree Adventure 2010

It's December in Pittsburgh & lately our weather forecasts have been something along the lines of, "unseasonably cold...bitter....icy....gusting winds....snow showers expected throughout the day....expect slick roads and delays....bundle up your kids like marshmallows....try to avoid frostbite..." You get the picture. So, what does one do when the high of the day is 22 degrees, with snow and wind? Why, drive to a farm and hike to chop down a Christmas tree, of course!

If you've been a reader of my blog for awhile, you are aware of our family history with Christmas trees. If not, you can read about the year I got out of chopping down a tree here, and last year, when I wasn't so lucky, here.

I didn't even try to argue with what I suppose is now becoming a family tradition; I sucked it up (and bundled up) and departed Saturday morning for the chopping of the tree. I have to admit, as grinchy as I felt about it, it was nice to see Jake so excited for the festivities. Here he is, making the 45 minute drive to the tree farm (yes, we drove 45 minutes to do manual labor):



All was well until we actually arrived at the farm & discovered that we had to take a tractor/hay ride up to the Christmas tree area...good for me, since I'm lazy, bad for Jake, since he was scared of the ride. But, we had no choice, so we shoved him on, tears and all, and took off to the Christmas trees. Fortunately, after a few minutes or riding, he stopped crying & just looked pissy, so I guess he finally accepted his fate. (please note the tears & pouty face in the picture!)



I left most of the selection process to Brian (one, because he's pickier about the tree than me, and two, because I had little to no feeling in my appendages and my eyes had frozen over by that point, blurring my vision). He selected a very nice tree (a bit smaller than last year, but that thing was ridiculously huge, so this was a step in the right direction)



This was the first year we let Jake "help" decorate the tree; he had a blast with it and it turned out to be a really great day.



Here is the final product!!