Ballet

Tessa has ballet on Mondays and I usually run errands, make phone calls or work on my laptop while she practices.  This past Monday I had been planning to use the time to download pictures from my big camera to my laptop.  So, when parents were invited in to watch the lesson I was thrilled that I had my camera with me.  I'm sure that I will love baseball practice too when Baby Boy's time comes, but right now I think there is nothing cuter than my little ballerina.  The girls did a little Christmas number for us.  I'm impressed with how quickly they picked up this little number.

36 Weeks

So this pregnancy is moving right along and I still feel great.  Spin, yoga, prenatal massages, pedicures and Tums are keeping both of us happy and healthy.  I am still working, very part time, but last night was my last call night before the baby is born.  I went out with a bang, over 14 hours on my feet and I was beat.  One of my after hours cases was with my own ob doctor.  When a patient, also 36 weeks, texted him complaining of minor problems I was not sympathetic.  Good thing he answered that one instead of me.  My last scheduled day to work is New Year's Eve which is just around the corner!    

The girls at my regular spin class were sweet enough to give me a Baby Blue Shower.  Our instructor played all kinds of fun baby related songs while we worked out and then we had blueberry pound cake and presents.  I knew we were having baby songs but the cake and presents were a total surprise.  I felt so special!

Adoption Day

We are so thankful we get to call this beautiful, sweet, smart little girl our daughter.  Each year we celebrate the day she became ours legally.  This year she chose to have a Sofia cake.  This is so fitting because she is "Sweet as a Princess."

Christmas Cookies

We have a tradition of making cookies each December.  This year we were particularly ambitious and made this nativity set.  It took forever!!!  After finishing the people and the animals I didn't have it in me to build the gingerbread stable.  So we borrowed the stable from our Little People set, glued on a cookie star with icing and took a picture.  It was so worth the effort when I volunteered at school and heard Tessa telling her little friends about these "away in a manger cookies" that we made.       

The rest of our cookies were much easier.  We made Christmas trees, stars, snowflakes and gingerbread men.  I love that this is one of our traditions, Tessa is so fun to bake with. 

A Birthday Party For Jesus

Each year we have a Sunday School Christmas party with the kids.  We had pizza and then a birthday cake for Jesus.  Usually Santa shows up at this party too but, due to a scheduling conflict, he wasn't able to make an appearance this year.  I don't think the kids minded at all.  They ran around like crazy wild things, wearing themselves out playing chase.  I can't get over how they are growing.  Our precious babies are such big kids now! 

Thanksgiving

For the first time in thirteen years, Ryan and I stayed home for Thanksgiving.  Between our France trip, Tessa's school and our surprise pregnancy, travel just wasn't feasible this year.  Thankfully, both sets of grandparents were able to come to our house so we were all together and it was wonderful.  Before school let out for the holiday, Tessa had a project where she disguised a turkey.  Of course, she wanted her turkey to be dressed as a princess and she chose Ariel.  Tessa colored the turkey feathers ocean blue and added some glitter to makes the waves sparkle.  Then she painted seashells for the beach and Ariel's bikini top.  We curled ribbon together for hair and glued on the tail.  Then she spread glue and sprinkled sand all along the bottom to make the beach.  A few stickers of Ariel's friends and she was done.  It turned out so cute and we had fun doing it together.   

Frank and Paula arrived the day before Thanksgiving.  Since I was on call both Tuesday and Thursday that week and was eight months pregnant, everyone helped with the cooking.  I did what I could ahead of time and Paula and my mom did the rest.  Here Tessa is helping to brine the turkey.  It made the turkey so moist!

On Thanksgiving day we started the party around noon and had a great time.  Tessa posed with my mom while everything was cooking. 

 Here's a picture of the boys with Tessa. 

The food was all delicious, I love this delegating thing.  We killed several bottles of champagne and Prosecco and had a grand old time.  After dinner we had coffee and espresso and played games.  I had a double shot of espresso, my treat to myself, and actually stayed awake after 9pm!  Even though I was buzzing on caffeine I was very glad not to be called into the hospital that night.     

 I am so very thankful for my wonderful growing family.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Baby Boy's Shower

The Sunday School girls were nice enough to throw me a baby shower.  I still can't quite believe I am pregnant but my belly is growing by the day.  We snapped a few pictures before heading out to the party.  

Guess who didn't want to be left out.  My sweet Tessa is going to be the best big sister ever!

Here's a picture of most of the girls, a couple came in after we took this shot.  Three of us are pregnant right now and all of us are having boys.  We ate and chatted.  Lots of advice was given plus a few delivery horror stories, with happy endings, were shared. 

I opened lots and lots of presents.  I had gotten rid of almost everything from Tessa's baby days so we are starting over from scratch.  Whenever I would get sad about giving away Tessa's baby things we would joke that if a miracle happened we would buy all new stuff.  Of course I never really expected it to happen!  Thanks to these girls and my mom I now have much of what I needed and don't have to buy quite so many things. 

I can't thank my friend Tobie enough for hosting this party.  She has been great support through this pregnancy.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the wonderful gifts!  I'm very excited to get the nursery set up for Baby Boy.  Someday we will actually decide on a name for him. 

Church Pictures

We are updating our church directory and I think our pictures turned out quite nice. 

32 Weeks

Oh, I am really growing now.  I had my first pre-natal massage and it was absolutely fabulous.  Baby boy is putting more strain on my right side than my left causing sciatic pain down my right leg.  Nothing terrible, but when the massage therapist worked out the kinks I felt amazing.  I'm thinking I need several of these third trimester massages.  I still have a nagging cough but otherwise I feel pretty darn good.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!  Our little Sofia was ready to head out trick-or-treating.  We planned to start around six but were a little late getting started because, of course, I wanted pictures.    

My mom left candy out at her house and came over to join the fun with us.  We left a big bowl of candy on the front porch and started making our way around the neighborhood.

Each time we walked back by the house we would refill the bowl.  One of those times, Tessa got so excited about people coming to the house that she wouldn't leave again to go trick-or-treating.  She has just as much fun handing out candy as she does receiving it.  I love that.  By nine we called it quits and turned off the lights, it was a school night after all! 

We had one more chance to wear our costume that weekend when we got together with our SS class for a party.  Tessa and her BFF matched!