Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas!!! My parents flew in on Christmas Eve and the four of us went to dinner at our favorite Thai restaurant. Christmas morning started with Tim's great eggs and the traditional cinnamon rolls. Tim's big present was a grill, although it wasn't much of a surprise. My big present was a sewing machine! I've been wanting one for a long time, we just didn't have the space before. I can't wait to reteach myself how to sew! Little Miss' big gift was her crib and mattress from my folks. The rest of the day was spent in preparation for dinner. My aunt and cousins joined us for Tim's amazing prime rib roast dinner. The evening ended with cookies and a chocolate overload yule log :)

The rest of the time my folks were here was spent taking it easy. With the cold weather and very pregnant me, sightseeing was not the priority for this trip. The four of us enjoyed battling at various sports on Playstation Move, playing Monopoly, and watching movies. We did though spend the afternoon with my aunt at the National Botanical Garden and the National Gallery. We loved having them for the quick visit and look forward to hosting more guests in our new home. It is crazy to think that the next time I see my mom will be at the hospital :)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

This Christmas, Tim and I are VERY excited about not traveling! This will be the first Christmas in our new house and my wonderful parents are coming up to celebrate with us :) . We made an executive decision that all Christmases will be spent at our house. Since we will have a little one from now on, and I don't have siblings to compete with, both families agreed that this was ok. Not to worry Florida and Iowa friends! We will still see you, but in the summers.
So to kick off my favorite holiday, we went to Home Depot and bought a REAL tree. No fake trees for us! Tim had the genius idea to go Thursday night in hopes that no one would be there...and he was right. It was the easiest hunt for a tree I've ever had. We were one of two families there and picked our tree out in ten minutes. It is an adorable almost six ft tree with hearty branches.After a yummy burger dinner, we headed home to decorate the tree. I immediately started blasting Christmas music, got into my pj's, and unpacked the ornaments. Lights, tinsel, and ornaments were hung with ease. Little known fact: white lights help keep your tree fresher than multi-color or solid color lights. Apparently it mimics the affects of photosynthesis and prevents the tree from browning (same process as bananas). And for this reason, it is best to keep your tree lite for as long as possible, and away from fruit baskets (they release the hormone that browns fruit and trees). I learned this from a Christmas tree expert who was on Science Friday on NPR :)So now the tree and house are decked for the holiday, and evil grocery shopping awaits. My parents arrive Christmas Eve afternoon, so I still have plenty of time to clean, cook, and do some last minute shopping :)

PS- I just ordered our Christmas cards, so they'll be a little late this year.

A little update

I know I've been bad lately about updating this blog...but blame it on Christmas preparations...

I just got over a cold, although I'm still a little stuffed up. Of course the worst of it hit while my IA was on vacation, so I couldn't take any time off. Being sick and pregnant SUCKS! You feel crappy and can't do anything to help it. Medicine? No. Steaming hot bath? No. Long naps? No because you have to pee even more because of the increase of fluids.

My cold is gone, but the sciatica is back :( . It feels like someone stabs me in the butt and then slices down my leg. Ya, it's great. Tim has been wonderful helping me in/out of bed when it gets really bad. I'm hoping that I only have one or two bad days a week so I won't have to go to a doctor (pt, chiropractor, etc).

I had another appointment on Wednesday. I only gained 2 pounds, which is great because the previous months were a little high. Baby girl is doing well. The midwife even said that she was measuring a week early! They did the gestational diabetes test, and hopefully that comes back all clear. From now on, my appointments are every two weeks instead of four!

Tim and I have his office Christmas party this weekend coming up. Today I went to find a dress. Did you know that maternity clothes are crazy expensive? I did not want to spent $120 on a dress I would wear once, so I ventured to the regular women's department. I found a dress in a size 10!!! I am 7 months pregnant and fit in a size 10 dress! I was beaming in the dressing room, and immediately called Tim. Anyways, hopefully I'll have some good pictures to share from the event :)