A Step Inside

Ho, ho, ho!… doesn’t it seem like there is so much build up to the holidays, and then they are over so quickly?… We had a really nice Christmas! I never realized how much fun it would be as a parent to watch it all through Kaylor.. She asked me yesterday if this was the best Christmas I had ever had.. I told her that every year is better, because it’s another year that we’re given to be here, etc. She says, “Well mom, I think this year was the best of all, because the baby was here, in your tummy, and it was our WHOLE family”.. That was probably one of the sweetest things I’ve ever heard from her! I told her that next year will be EVEN better, because then her sister will be here (and into everything..lol)…

Here are some shots from our holiday:

A conversation w/ Kaylor today:
Kaylor- Mom? Can I change my name to Jim?
Me- Um.. Jim? Why?
Kaylor- Yeah! Jim!.. Jim Barnlund! Jim Dean Barnlund!
Me- Why would you want to change your name to “Jim”?
Kaylor- It was just a joke (walking away giggling)..

Hmm.. Such a silly girl…

We had a nice weekend.. Erik’s company X-mas party on Friday night.. They rented a suite to watch a hockey game, then we had a gift exchange at his office.. I ended up w/ tins of chocolate covered goodies & chex type mix (yum to both!) and Erik traded a couple of times, and ended up w/ a beta fish! haha..

Yesterday I had 2 morning sessions.. I thought to myself during them (“hey, I’m not doing to bad, moving around, and up & down)… Um.. that was until yesterday afternoon.. Ooooh my! I’m definitely starting to feel 8 months pregnant, that’s for sure! Yeah, sure I was up & down and movin’ pretty good.. that was until it caught up w/ me later and my whole body ached..lol..

Last night we did our now anual gingerbread house making at Kelly’s Bakery & Cafe.. It’s a lot of fun! Holiday music playing, the smell of gingerbread, soups, candy, icing, aside from making your belly grumble, it’ll get ya in the holiday spirit! We went last year too, so I think we’ll definitely be making it a family tradition for us..

(All taken w/ the Canon Point & Shoot)

Blog slacker.. yes, I know.. And to think I was doing so good for awhile! Updates pertaining to me & little pea pod over on Rated PG!..

Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving.. Ours was fairly quiet this year. We headed up Wednesday night to Erik’s parent’s and then back on Thursday evening.. I was eager to look through the ads Thursday night to make a game plan for Black Friday.. Miranda joined me for the chaos of shopping this year.. It was fun! I’m still not quite sure how, but we started at 3:30am and I made it for 8 hours! Now, I’ll admit, I had some mighty sore legs, back and swollen ankles.. but ahhhh, well worth the deals! Haha.. I think I managed to get everything on my list that I needed, so that was good.. Kaylor is d.o.n.e. and I’m not allowed to pick up anything else for that child.. It’s so easy to go overboard on kids’ stuff! She is of course very much looking forward to xmas.. Last Saturday we set the tree up and she decorated it all by herself. She was quite proud! I decorated the fireplace mantle and Erik got out the spiral trees for the yard, and that’s as much holiday decorating at our house this year.. It’s enough to make it feel like the holidays, but not too much that this preggo dreads taking down when I’m about to pop! Lol..

Still doing some things around the house to prepare for the new little one.. Her nursery is all painted, now just awaiting baby furniture. Erik’s bathroom project is making a little more progress.. He still needs to grout the tile backsplash and then start on the ceramic tile on the floor… I think he might hold off on that part for now though.

We had a long day out & about today.. Left the house around 9:30 and watched the annual xmas parade.. It was snowing & blowing, definitely felt like a winter parade! Then ran some errands, took Kaylor to a b-day party, and ran more errands.. Bought several gifts from our list, so it’s good to check mark those off.. LOTS of shoppers out that was for sure! I had $20 “Kohl’s Cash” from last weekend nad a 15% off card, so I stocked up on more baby items.. Her closet is full of new cute outfits just waiting to be worn =) Tonight we’re just hanging out at home.. have a couple movies to watch & snuggle up on the coach w/ popcorn..

I’ll leave you w/ this sweet story.. Definitely a way to reach out during the holiday season!