I felt a kick!....I think.....

So tonight was the first time I felt pretty sure that our little guy was kicking in there. I know that technically he's been kicking for a while, but I felt it tonight! I felt a little pop, then a short break, then 3 more pops in the same place. I don't think it was anything else.....woohoo!!! How exciting! Of course I would feel my baby's first kicks while watching the Super Bowl. My baby was leaping in the womb because he was so excited that football was on. Yep, definitely my kid. :)

Hanging out in Florida

 I had the chance to go down to Orlando to visit my parents this last week and I had so much fun! Besides the weather being nice, I finally got to meet little Ila, Cyndi's beautiful baby girl. While I was there, she also threw her first annual Nutella Party, which turned out to be a little birthday party/baby gift party for me too! I also took a refresh course in crocheting from mom so I can start making a baby blanket--I started making one, but I realized the yarn I got was too big and bulky so it wouldn't work I loved my parents new house--it's so...refreshing. It hasn't been destroyed by a million boys and their friends. Not that anything was wrong with a house that gets good use out of it, but there is nothing like the feel and smell of a new house. Overall, good times were had and I am now toying with the idea of going back again in a month or so!

             

I'm Pregnant!

Yippee!!! I finally get to go public with this! Jason and I are expecting our first baby in July! July 15th, to be exact. I am almost 13 weeks along. We told our families over Christmas. My parents flipped, they are so excited. They have been grand baby hungry for a LONG time! So here is a picture of the little guy. ( I'm calling it a boy until proven otherwise because the picture looks like a boy to me.) This was at about 9 weeks and his head is on the left side. It was so amazing to see his little heart beating so quickly. That was when I realized that I have life inside of me! It was an incredible moment.

Resolutions- Do I dare?

Ah, a new year to look forward to. But with the coming of a new year, there always seems to be this need to make resolutions, to change, to improve. Every year I attempt this, but then once I mess up, I feel like the year is gone to waste, and I'll have to wait until the next new year to commit to the resolution again. So my solution: I will continue to make resolutions but I won't call them my New Year's resolutions. Haha. But no, seriously, it's all mental. If I feel that these are just some ideas that I am coming up with at a random point in my life, then when I slip or forget about it, I won't feel so bad. :)

Some ideas (NOT New Year Resolutions):
->Learn how to sew
->Renew my desire to learn how to watercolor
->Eat more vegetables
->Branch out in the cooking department
->Get my Washington Teaching License!!

Celebrating Christmas with Family

Jason and I were not planning on going anywhere for Christmas. We were going to stay right here in Redmond. And then plans changed. Maybe it was me just pouting all the time. Or maybe it was the realization that this could possibly be the last Christmas my family celebrated with Grandma. Maybe its because Jason knew I would be painful to live with if I didn't get to go to New York for Christmas. Either way, the decision was made late Saturday night and we were on a plane to  D.C. less than 12 hours later. Whew!
       Good times were had. we spent four days with his parents in Virginia then took the train up to N.Y. to Grandma's house where we surprised my family! Poor dad just started crying when he saw us. We've got to stop surprising him, he's gonna have a heart attack one day. We also got to see relatives, which is always good, because I feel like I don't see then hardly enough, and Jason has only met them once before.

Rachel's and my gingerbread house

Jason was so excited to get an orange in his stocking!

Me and Jessica, my cousin

Hanging at Aunt Bina's house

Us with Uncle Ico and Aunt Cindy

    
I love being at Grandma's house for Christmas. It reminds me of so many good memories as a kid, and this time was no different. Yep, Christmas for me is definitely about being with family!

My Tree Skirt (I'm so domestic!)

Ok, so this tree skirt was super basic and it didn't even require a sewing machine, I just sewed everything by hand, but I am dang proud of it. It's a little lopsided, the stitching is a little off, I failed at ever making the french knots that I originally intended on using for the berries and parts of it are already fraying...but hey, it's my first sewing project. :) I decided I was going to do it and I did! The fact that I finished a project is an accomplishment in and of itself!

I was originally planning on stitching multiple little holly leaves, but got really tired after doing this batch. So I thought " maybe I'll add a batch every Christmas and make it a tradition" aka "i'm really tired of doing this and I don't want to stitch any more holly leaves."



Our Ward Christmas Party!

What Great Who- Parents!

      Tonight our ward put on play based on the famous children's book How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It was a great play with amazing costumes, props and sets. Since Jason and I were on the activities committee, we got to help out a lot, including being part of the play! Between setting up, making food and buying last minute items, I was running around like crazy this week, but it all turned out very well. I'll admit, I'm super glad it's over because now I can focus my attention to other things... like sewing my very first Christmas tree skirt! woohoo!!!

 

This is a glimpse of what the set looked like. The Grinch is on the left, playing the role of Santa Claus at this point and those two girls in the middle were two our  "who-children." 

 And I can't forget to mention that this ward party marked a very significant event for me: I made my very first funeral potato casserole, a true Mormon tradition. I have now officially been inducted into Mormon culture!