Enjoying the Season

Jason's Company Party

'Tis the season for Christmas parties, pretty lights and eating lots of yummy food!  Before I continue, I should add that I know this is NOT what Christmas is all about! It is a time to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. That is what makes Christmas so wonderful. Whether or not people want to believe it, the foundation to all the extra sharing, caring and giving that goes on during this time of year is Jesus Christ. We give gifts, we share, we are kinder to people because we are following the example and teachings of Jesus Christ. It's a way to recognize and celebrate His birth.
         With that said, I will also add that I LOVE all the fun festiveness that comes with the spirit and season of Christmas. I love the parties, the goodies, the beautiful lights--I feel like there are so many things that go on during this time of year to celebrate the goodness of life. This week I went to our Relief Society Christmas party, the Bellevue Botanial Gardens to see Christmas lights, our Young Women Christmas party and then tonight some ladies in our ward had a cookies exchange. I know this may sound kind of busy to a lot of people, but I truly enjoy the opportunity to share  fun moments with friends.

Enjoying lots of Christmas goodies at the cookie exchange. This is my friend, Cheryl.

Enjoying the lights at the Bellevue Botanical Gardens

With our friends, Daniel and Fernanda.

The Pregnant Trio

Here we are, all of us great with child, two of us ready to pop any day, one of praying she'll make it through the end of the year so she can finish up some unfinished business with her calling and unfinished projects at home --cough, the couch!, cough cough! Stacey, to the right, is my secretary. She is due December 17th. She and her husband are eagerly awaiting the arrival of their first child, a little girl. Molly, to the left, is my first counselor. She is due December 30th, two weeks after Stacey. She and her husband have twin little girls and are eager to welcome their first little boy. I am due January 12th, two weeks after Molly. I am the Young Women President right now and I'm kind of freaking out. Virtually our whole presidency is about to go MIA, off to "church calling maternity leave." Luckily I have an awesome 2nd counselor and two advisors who are really supportive and, the bonus, not pregnant! But oh, what fun it has been being pregnant with these awesome ladies! Good times!.

What A Wonderful Month!!

I love that it's December! Can I just say right now how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE Christmas time? The lights, our cute little Christmas tree, Christmas music, the yummy goodies I feel must be baked during this time of year, hot chocho, seeing family--I could go on and on! To add to the wonderfulness of this time of year Jason and I are anxiously getting our little home ready for our little Claire! Yippee! I am a nesting fiend right now. :0) We went to our 3rd birthing class last night and yes, I got to have my back massaged for like 30 minutes! It was glorious! Totally worth the money! To add to the excitement, we are almost done with a VERY big project we've been working on. I am going to be very happy and relieved when it's done! Stay tuned in the upcoming week for a blog post and LOTS of pictures of this project.
Have a great month everyone!

Birthing Class 101

So Jason and I started taking birthing classes last week and they have been...interesting. It's a series of 4 2.5 hour classes taught over the course of 4 weeks, every Thursday. They could easily compress the 2 and a half hour class into 45 minutes, but then maybe we wouldn't feel like we were getting our money's worth? We have learned some important tidbits of information like the 3 phases of labor, what to expect from contractions, how to decide what pain relief you want ( if any) and expectations of the spouses. But the best part this last time was when we got to practice breathing during  contractions. All the ladies in the room got into some comfortable position and then their husbands had to massage their shoulders or back. It was great! We were supposed to try a few different positions and every time Jason had to keep massaging me. So thats why you go to a birthing class! That, by far, as been the most, eh, helpful and benefitting part. ;0)

My latest creation

So I started this way back in August and I intended to give it to my friend Molly as a baby shower gift. And then I got lazy. And I stopped working on it. Until two weeks ago when I found out the exact date of her shower and realized "oh crap! I gotta finish!" This was one heck of an intense baby afghan to crochet, but I think the finished product turned out well. Don't you? Note to self: don't ever do this one again! Took WAY too much time. But the look on her face was worth it; I think she liked it. :)

Ward Halloween Party

This year I thought it only appropriate that I dress up as an oven. The idea is definitely not original and I'm pretty sure my friend Casey Gifford did it a lot better last year, but nevertheless I thought I'd give it a shot! After a trial run at a youth Halloween party earlier that week, I made some adjustments, added more tape for strength and, hate to brag, but I am pretty dang proud of how it turned out.
    This party demonstrated a stark contrast between me and Jason. I had been planning and scheming about my costume for at least a couple of weeks and I spent more than an hour making it. Jason, on the other hand, about 20 minutes before we had to leave for the party, decided  what he would be and quickly threw it together. A Google employee. Wearing all of his Google attire, including a backpack, he'd aquired during his internship, he hoped to ruffle a few feathers at this ward function that was dominated by "microsoftees." I don't think he did, but he intends to wear this outfit to work tomorrow. :0)
I also wore the shirt that Justin sent to me. It was quite a hit and I must say I really enjoy wearing it. The impatience I feel waiting for this sweet little girl to come is reflected  in this shirt.

Oh! and how could I forget to mention another tiny detail? The highlight of my evening was when they announced that I had won first prize with the chili cook off! Me? Win something related to cooking? Non ci credo! It was a very proud moment for me and my certificate hangs proudly and loudly on our refrigerator now!

Little Baby Claire

Here she is at 28 1/2 weeks, weighing in almost at 3 pounds! ( 2 lbs. 15 oz) She has a little fist over one eye and I think that other thing is her other arm. She is very camera shy :) She is so cute! I love her!!!!