Christmas 2012

We had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed spending so much time with family!  On Saturday the 22nd, all of John's brothers, their wives, kids and Don and Cherri were able to make it to our house.  We had a great time opening presents, hanging out and watching the kids run around (except Addison...she'll be running around before we know it). 

John had to work on the 23rd and 25th, so we did Christmas with Santa's gifts on the morning of the 24th.  Jocelyn got her new Minnie Bicycle, just like she asked for, a set of Princess dolls and a few other fun gifts.  That night we attended Christmas Eve service with my family at our church, Peace Lutheran Church.  After church we all headed home, although it felt like we should be going to Grandma's house to have sausage balls, wassel, peanut butter cookies with Hershey kisses on top and shrimp cocktail.  I miss that tradition and the kids are a little young to be staying up that late anyways, but we'll be making our own traditions soon enough.

Christmas Day we went over to Jennifer's house and Jocelyn got to play with Thaden and Owen and all of their new toys.  Then that afternoon we went to Ya Ya's house for more presents and a Christmas dinner.  Jocelyn got a new Princess Castle for all her dolls and Cinderella's carriage for her new Cinderella doll to arrive to the castle in style.  She had so much fun with it.  She also loved jumping on her new trampoline from Grandma!

Hard to believe that next Christmas there will be two more little ones in our house!  Can't wait!

10 Year Anniversary

On Friday, December 21st, John and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary.  Hard to believe that it has been that long, since it seems like yesterday that we were graduating from college and just starting this life journey together.  In the past 10 years we've had a lot of milestones....(1) John graduated from the fire academy and has been working as a firefighter for over 8 years now, (2) I graduated from law school and became an attorney, (3) we moved into our "starter home" and then into our home we plan to raise our family in, (4) traveled all over Europe for 3 weeks, (5) we had our first child and she is absolutely perfect and (6) although we hit a bump in the road trying to expand our family, with a little persistence and a tiny bit of medical intervention we are now expecting 2 more little bundles of joy!  Of course there have also been the tough times....we've lost many family members, John's grandmother, both of my grandmothers, two of my aunts, and my uncle.   On the other hand we've gained 4 nephews and a niece between the two sides of our families.  Oh, and in the last 10 years I've been to Disney World 8 times, a Disney Cruise once and Disneyland for the first time...do you think I'm a little obsessed?  I didn't think so either!

 

John had a very special anniversary planned and kept it a complete surprise for me.  Friday morning started with a doctor's appointment (always nice to see our little kiddos on the big screen growing right on track) and then we headed over to our hotel for the evening - the Houstonian.  We had 2 adorable gift baskets waiting for us in the room, one for each twin.   Then we had a couples massage (mine of course was modified for the pregnancy) and I had a pedicure since in a month or so I won't be able to even see my feet.  Then we had dinner at Brenner's and went to go see "This is 40."  In the morning we had a nice breakfast and then headed back home to get ready for family to arrive for Christmas.  We watched a little bit of cable while in the hotel room, since we don't have that at home, but realized we're not really missing much there....still glad we got rid of it.

 

When we got home, Jocelyn saw my pretty painted toe nails and of course wanted hers painted as well.  For those that know me, know that I do not typically paint my nails and so I don't have a lot of nail polish around the house.  I looked through the house and was able to track down a bottle of polish and so I painted Jocelyn's toes.  She loved it!

 

Pregnancy Update

I know I haven't mentioned my pregnancy much on this blog, so I figured I'd give a quick update in case anyone was interested. 

 

I'm just about 16 weeks along with fraternal twins.  Each are in their own sac and have their own placenta, which is a really good thing and makes this pregnancy less risky than other twins that share a placenta.  I do have marginal placenta previa with Baby A (the one closest to the cervix), but, just like with Jocelyn, it will likely resolve itself as I get bigger and bigger and bigger.  I already feel huge, but I'm trying not to be too concerned with the numbers just as long as the babies are healthy and develop like they're supposed to.  I can lose the weight once they're here.  I had a lot to lose after Jocelyn but I was able to do that (it took quite a while though).

 

In the beginning I had really bad nausea and took some medication to help with that and over the past few weeks it has gotten better but not completely gone.  I have my good days and have my bad days.  I try to rest and relax as much as possible.  I would really like to start feeling the babies move more since I always felt reassured with Jocelyn when I could feel her wiggling around.

 

My next appointment is this Friday, the 21st and I can't wait to see my babies again and hear their heartbeats.   From then on, I'll have a doctor's appointment every 2 weeks, alternating between my regular OB/GYN and my multiples specialist, which I'm sure will change to once a week as I get closer to the due date.  I'll try to get a decent ultrasound picture that I can scan in and share. 

Church Christmas Program

For this first time, Jocelyn participated in the Christmas Program at our church, Peace Lutheran.  Her Sunday School class (2 - 3 year olds), were the animals in the manger and Jocelyn got to be a cow.  She was so cute in her little costume.  She did pretty well up at the front of the church and listened for the most part. 

Santa Clause

Jocelyn is very aware that Santa brings presents to the good little boys and girls and has being saying for weeks that she is on the "nice list."  We wrote a letter to Santa with 4 things that Jocelyn wants for Christmas.  Any time she gets in trouble or thinks she is in trouble she'll say "but I want Santa to bring me a Minnie Mouse bicycle" since she thinks that if she's in trouble she'll get on the naughty list.  We went to Bass Pro Shop and met Santa and Jocelyn did so well.  She took her list with her and told Santa everything she wanted.  Completely different from last year where she wouldn't get 3 feet of Santa. 

A Time for Thanks...Ready for the Holidays

We had a very nice Thanksgiving this year with the family this year.  On Thursday, we celebrated Owen's birthday with lunch at Mom's house and we waited to celebrate Thanksgiving until Friday since Melanie was coming in that morning.  Jocelyn was her adorable self as usual.  Grandma Pam brought her a Barbie RV that she found at a Second Blessings shop and Jocelyn is in love with that thing.  What a deal too! 

 

Despite the recent loss of my Aunt Katherine, there was still lots to be thankful for this year...because John and I are expecting...TWINS!  Yikes.  We are very excited and so is Jocelyn. I'm only 13 weeks along but showing like I'm 5 months already.  I didn't hesitate to bust out the maternity pants and I've been wearing them for a month now, they are so comfy!  The nausea has been pretty bad, but it will all be worth it come June (maybe sooner) when we hold our two new bundles of joy!  Since this is a multiples pregnancy, my OB/GYN is having me also see a specialist to make sure it all goes smoothly, which means that I'll have twice the doctor appointments but also twice the ultrasounds and I love seeing pictures of the precious babies.

As usual, we put up the Christmas decorations right after we put away the stuffing and the pie.  Christmas is my all time favorite holiday and I love decorating.  I start listening to Christmas music in the car and I think it even helps me deal with the frustrations of traffic! This year Jocelyn got her own Christmas tree to put in her room with her own ornaments...mostly from Ya Ya...and of course she wanted her tree to be pink, her favorite color. 

 

 

 

 

A Week Away

Last Sunday (Nov. 11) I headed west to California for a work conference in San Diego.  The conference lasted until Wednesday just before lunch and there was no way I could get that close to Disneyland and not go and check it out for a few days.  I took the Amtrak north to Anaheim on Wednesday, arriving at around 1pm, and stayed until Saturday morning (and when I say Saturday morning, I mean my shuttle picked me up from my hotel at 3:30am to make my 6:30am flight out of LAX).   I wish John and Jocelyn would have been able to come with me but the price of airfare was pretty steep and I just couldn't justify it.   She got to spend a few days with Grandpa and Grandma Cherri in San Antonio while I was gone and John was at work and she had a great time.  So glad she got to spend the time with her grandparents.  I missed her like crazy and was so excited to be home!

 

San Diego was beautiful and I stayed at a hotel right on the bay.  The time change hit me pretty hard my arrival day and I was asleep by 8pm (California time) on Sunday night.  The conference was really good and I felt like I brought a lot of good information and a great big 'To-Do" list back with me. 

 

Disneyland was really neat and I'm glad I went and experienced it for the first time.  It is a very different feel than Walt Disney World, but not much beats the holiday season at a Disney park.  The castle was much smaller than the one in the Magic Kingdom in Disney World, but there are a few things that I thought Disneyland did better than Disney World (It's a Small World, Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion).  

 

The parks were decorated beautifully and the Christmas parade was awesome.  Totally got me in the holiday spirit.  It was a little odd eating at restaurants all by myself, but the cast members were really nice and helpful and never made me feel out of place.  There were so many rides and activities that I know Jocelyn would have loved (that are not at Disney World) and there were some that I know she would not like because they'd be "too dark" as she would say.  I stayed at a "good neighbor hotel" just a few blocks from the parks.  In the mornings the walk wasn't too bad at all, but by the end of the day my feet were tired and I didn't want to make the trek.  Luckily there was a parking lot right across the street from the hotel that had a shuttle straight to the entrance of Disneyland (the Toy Story Lot), so I'd take the bus in the evenings and make the short walk across the street.  So glad Disney was lenient on who used the buses and didn't require proof of parking in the lot...thank you Disney!   Here are some pictures from my trip.  I'd love to go back...and take my family with me now that I know the lay of the land.

 

 

Aunt Katherine

This has been a sad week for our family as we have endured the loss of another family member.  On Tuesday, my Aunt Katherine went to be with the Lord.  She took an unfortunate and unexpected turn during a surgery to repair her hip.  It is a tough loss as we have also lost my Grandmother (my Mom and Katherine's mother) and Uncle David (Katherine's husband) in less than 2 years, but we know she is in good company and a better place.

 

I'd like to say just a few words about Aunt Katherine.  Growing up, no matter what, Aunt Katherine was in attendance at all of our graduations, birthday parties, Christmases, Thanksgivings, and school events. Aunt Katherine didn't have children of her own, but she treated us like her own.  She was always proud of our accomplishments, shared the joy in our triumphs and the sorrow in our losses.  She always had a story to tell and an opinion to share, and I loved that.  If you needed to know where to find a specialty item, she could track it down on ebay.  If you were having a garage sale, she was there to offer her expertise.  She loved all things Coach and I knew I could never go wrong with a little something from that store for her birthday or Christmas.  She loved coming to my Improv shows and I'll miss having her in the audience (it's always nice when someone laughs at your puns no matter how cheesey)!  Aunt Katherine was full or life and laughter and it was infectious.  We will miss her greatly.   With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I give thanks for the time we had with her and even though her seat will be empty at the table this year she will be there in spirit.

 

 

Pumpkin Patch

I'm usually not that much of a procrastinator, but I waited until Halloween to take Jocelyn to the Pumpkin Patch to take some quick pictures.  She wanted to sit on every single one of the pumpkins and she's in that phase where she doesn't want to actually look at the camera.  We got a couple of decent ones.  She kept saying cheese, but wouldn't look at the camera.  Silly kiddo.  Maybe next year she'll be more interested in posing. 

We didn't go out Trick or Treating, but we did let the kids come to us.  We didn't have too terribly many Trick or Treaters, but Jocelyn had fun handing over the candy and seeing all the kids dressed in costumes. 

Trunk or Treat

Sunday night, we went to Elaine and Valerie's church for the annual Trunk or Treat.  This church does a great job with the food, decorations, activities and of course the trunk or treating.  They give you time slots to rotate between 4 different activities (one of which is the Trunk or Treat part) and Jocelyn really seemed to have a great time last night.  She loved the big slide that John went with her on. 

 

Butterfly in the Making

I bought Jocelyn a pair of butterfly wings for an upcoming birthday party since they had them out with all of the Halloween stuff (this is not her Halloween costume) and she immediately wanted to put them on when we got home.  She also wanted to change into some other dress up cloths so she could really be a butterfly.  She looked so darn cute I had to take a picture.

We are heading to Disney World on Thursday with Ya-Ya to meet up with Aunt Melanie, Paul and Riley for a few days of fun and she is so excited.  All of her teachers at day care have heard all about her trip.  Too bad John can't make it this trip, but I'm sure he'll say he's been plenty of times (although I think deep down he is bummed to not be coming and secretely loves Disney World as much as I do).

Take Your Daughter's Stuffed Animals to Work Day

On Tuesday, Jocelyn had her Daisy and Donald stuffed animals in the car with her on our ride to school.  I told her that they had to stay with me for the day because they couldn't go in to school with her because they might get lost.  Jocelyn agreed that "Daisy and Donald would go to work with momma."  So, that's what I did.  I brought them into my office with me and put them to work.  I took some pictures to show Jocelyn when we got home so she'd know that they were very good helpers.  Although, towards the end of the day they started slacking off and were just sitting around on the couch.  Who knew ducks had such little endurance.  She thought it was pretty cool and said she wanted to go to momma's work too. 

An Exciting Weekend

This was a very special weekend because Jocelyn's new cousin Addison made her appearance into the world.  She is so beautiful and just perfect.  Congratulations Mark and Amy!

On Saturday morning we took Jocelyn to the movies to see Finding Nemo in 3D.  It is one of her favorite movies.  She did pretty well wearing the glasses for the first half of the movie but then started to get squirmy.  We stayed through the whole thing and enjoyed seeing Nemo on the big screen. 

iTZ on a Saturday Night

We had a pretty lazy weekend, with nothing on the agenda (for once).  It was a nice chance to get some stuff done around the house.  Saturday night we had an impromptu play date at iTZ's in Pasadena.  This was my first time at this Chucky-Cheese meets Dave & Buster's for kids and it was fine for what it is...a place with lots of kids running around playing games that light up.  There was an area with little "rides" for the smaller kids (I think these were taken straight from the front of an old grocery store that was closing).  Jocelyn enjoyed the little carousel, of course.  We managed to round up a good chunk of tickets and Jocelyn was able to pick out a prize.  She picked out a rubber duck, plastic bracelet, a plastic crayon savings bank and a couple of little smoosh balls.  We put some change in her savings bank and she spent about an hour yesterday taking the money out and putting it back in.  

 

 

Murder Mystery Birthday Party

Last year for my birthday, I took a leap and hosted a Murder Mystery Dinner Party...it was awesome.  So this year I decided to do the same thing, but I made this one bigger and better.  We had a great time and I had so much fun planning this party.  This year was "Lights! Camera! MURDER!," set in Hollywood at an Oscar-after party.  I spent hours putting together decorations, assigning characters, organizing the sequence of events, and putting together the menu.  This year, instead of an actual sit down meal, I did more of an eclectic buffet but I labeled the food to fit the theme.  We had Chicago-style Pizza Bites, Inglorious Pasta, The DIP-arted (Spinach Dip), Million Dollar Baby Green Salad with Bravehearts of Romaine, Money (Sausage) Ball(s), and Extremely Loud Fruit and Incredibly Close Vegetables. 

 

The evening began with a walk on the red carpet!  I give props to all my guests who really got into their character and went above and beyond in their outfits.  Great job! 

 

 

 

After the guests had a chance to mingle for a while and complete some of their very important objectives, the terrible murder of Angel Wood occured.

Then, the mystery had to be solved.  But who did it?  Let the bribery, extortion, and deceit begin!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course everyone was a suspect and had to have their mug shot taken!

By the end of the night, we discovered who the murderer was and no one guessed correctly.  He (or she) was that good at covering his (or her) tracks!  I won't spill the beans here just in case. 

Everyone did a great job of getting into character and mingling with people that they had never met before.  Murder mystery parties are great at helping perfect strangers became well acquainted. What an awesome birthday!  Can't wait until next year.