Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Back To The Tundra...

And we are back.  In Minnesota, of course (for those of you that were wondering). 

We had a pretty uneventful last couple of days back home, because Miley was STILL sick (yes this thing lasted a WEEK!), but we still had fun playing with all of our new Christmas things and enjoying our last couple of nights with family.

Miley woke up on Tuesday morning, the day we left, feeling much better.  Of course.  That's the way it would go, right?  I guess we should be grateful that she was feeling better for the trip home, although it would have been nice for her to have a couple more healthy days the last week we were there.

My mom drove us down to Denver to catch our flight...we had a 7:00 pm flight, so we were able to meet up with Cameron's parents at a restaurant, and see them one last time.

When we got to the airport, I went up to the counter at our gate to get the gate check tag for our stroller.  The man there informed me that they consider pregnancy a temporary disability, and that we could board with the pre-boarding group.  I guess looking huge and uncomfortable pays off, especially when flying Southwest!  :)

We are glad to be back, and get back to our normal routine, but it is always sad to say goodbye to everyone.  Now we just have to get used to the freezing cold temperatures again, and start getting ready for this baby to come...

Bring it on, 2011!  We're ready for you! 

Monday, December 27, 2010

Christmas Day 2010

Christmas Day started early this year...and not because of my two-year-old.  I just couldn't contain MY excitement so I finally rolled out of bed at about 6:30 am and decided to just go out and enjoy the peace and quiet while it was still kind of dark, and after all of our stockings were filled and Santa had made his visit.  I still think Christmas morning is so magical, even though I am 25, and it was nice to have a little bit of time to enjoy it before all the mayhem began (even though that part is totally rad, too!).

My dad was up before me, and all the adults actually made their appearance before any of the kids woke up (which ended up being around 8:00 and 8:30!).  I don't know if that will ever happen again. :)




At my parents house, it is tradition to open all the gifts from Santa and our stockings before we make our way into the kitchen and have eggs and cinnamon rolls (this year my BIL, Kipp, took on the cinnamon rolls...and after a near mishap, they turned out so YUMMY!) for breakfast.  I got some pictures of Miley with the Belle doll that Santa brought her, and then some of her with her cousins in all their matching pj's, but then I went all lame sauce and got caught up in the moment and only got a few more pictures of the whole thing...so some of these pictures, I stole from my sister.



Our attempt at getting pictures of the kiddos in their matching pajamas...





Miley and Bode didn't seem too keen on the idea of dressing up as elves to pass out the presents!


Miley still was not feeling well, as you can tell in these pictures...not quite her "normal" picture smile!

Christmas morning certainly dragged on this year, which I LOVED!  We all take turns opening presents, and with all the little ones, we didn't get done till almost 1:00 and WAY past naptime!

Miley definitely was spoiled this year!  This is the first year that I felt like it was REALLY fun to pick out Christmas presents for her, because as her little personality develops you can really figure out what kinds of things she likes.  Cameron's parents got her a Barbie, and a pot and pan set for her kitchen.  Santa brought her a Belle doll, and in her stocking she got a stuffed elephant, a princess dress for her dolls, a crown, a Wyoming Cowboys bow, an Imagination Movers CD, some bracelets, a luggage tag, candy, and other fun little things.  From my parents she got a pink guitar (that she has been asking for for MONTHS!), some books, Candy Land, a little apron that my mom made with some kitchen toys, a girly train named Rosie, a Sing-a-ma-jig (also a hit!), etc.  She also got a puzzle, Memory, a purse, a tutu, crayons and a big pad of paper, a pink baseball mitt and ball and some other stuff from us, and my sisters.  We definitely have hours of entertainment to look forward to!  She LOVES what everyone gave her, and we are so grateful for how generous everyone was!





Miley desperately trying to see herself in the mirror with her tutu and crown on...



Cameron and I got pretty spoiled too...my dad bought all the sons-in-law handguns for Christmas, and Cameron has been loving his.  I got a new lens for my camera (a 50mm f/1.4 lens) and photoshop, so I have been having fun playing around with those and trying to figure them out!  We also got lots of clothes (something to look forward to post-baby!), games, movies, CD's, etc.  I got Cameron a $100 gift card to Dick's this year to pick out a new golf club or running shoes, and I also made him this...our first blog book!


The boys trying to look tough and doing the "kill shot" with their new toys...


Cameron surprised me this year big time...when I opened his present, I found a cute sweater, but as I was pulling it out, I saw this hidden beneath it...


...with this inside!



I have been wanting one of these for a while now, and have thrown around some MAJOR hints, but for those of you who know my husband, you know that it isn't quite his style to buy something like this.  So to say I was surprised is a MAJOR understatement.  :)

Again, we got way too much from everyone, but really appreciate how good everyone was to us!

We finished the day with a YUMMY turkey dinner with all the fixin's...stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, jell-o, peas, rolls, and pie.  I was ROLLING by the end of the day.

Christmas was definitely a success this year, despite Miley being sick, and being a little tired in general.  It was a little sad this year, because this may have been the last time that we make the trek home for a while...we are just not sure how easy it will be to travel next year with TWO kids, and all the stuff for a couple weeks, and presents to haul back and forth.  We are excited to start some traditions of our own a some point, but I hope that we get to go home again SOMETIME, and that people will maybe come to visit us!  :)   

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Christmas Eve 2010

Christmas Eve this year was very laid back.  Of course, we all did the last minute frantic shopping for little things that we "needed" to get, but for the most part, we just kind of hung aroung the house and snuggled Miley who still wasn't feeling well.

On Christmas Eve we (meaning Cameron and myself, Miley, and my parents...my sister's family spends Christmas Eve with her in-laws) usually will drive around town looking at Christmas lights, let Miley open a present, and watch a cheesy movie.  This year we were also hoping to do gingerbread houses, but as the day wore on, Miley started looking worse and worse.  We finally decided at about 4:30 pm to take her to the new Urgent Care in town...now, she wasn't HORRIBLE, but we were hoping that the doctor could let us know what was going on and hoping there was some way to make her a little more comfortable so she could enjoy Christmas morning.  I had been looking forward to this Christmas for a while, knowing that it would be the first one that Miley would truly understand and be excited about, and it made me sad to think about her not enjoying it because she was feeling crummy.

After about an hour at the Urgent Care (all the doctor's offices were closed on Christmas Eve...that was another reason we took her in...we didn't want to be without any options besides the ER if she happened to get worse) they didn't really figure anything out except that she "possibly" had strep.  The test came back negative, but they said that happens about 1 out of 10 times, so they prescribed us an antibiotic anyway, and sent us on our way.

We made it back to the house just in time for dinner, and Miley was in the worst mood.  I was trying really hard to get her to open a present, and she didn't even want to do that.  So after taking her medicine, and a nice long bath, she perked up a little bit...just enough to open a couple presents (new Christmas pajamas from us, and a Barbie doll for her Grandma and Grandpa Clark) and go to bed at about 6:30 pm!  So, needless to say, we didn't get to do our "normal" traditions.  We still had fun hanging out that evening though, and my mom and I got to spend a good chunk of time working on the quilt for my sister's baby.

Hopefully next year, Christmas won't come with sickness! 

Miley after her bath, and feeling a little better in her new pajamas and with her new Barbie!



Our Christmas tree before the man in red paid us a visit!


Friday, December 24, 2010

32 Week Bump-date

Christmas Eve marks 32 weeks for me, so here is the latest update!



Woah...beached whale anyone??  :)

Oh, and that shows ya the haircut that I promised to show you, oh, a while ago.  :)

I am still feeling pretty good....I don't know if it is the distraction of being home for the holidays, but I sill have the occasional back pain and am starting to waddle a little bit more, but overall feeling pretty dang good.  The little guy has been  moving like CRAZY, and that is the main reason that I sometimes have a little trouble sleeping.  It can make it a little hard when you feel a tiny little human kicking or punching you out of both sides.  :)

My appetite is a little smaller, but mostly just because I am running out of room to eat huge meals.  So, I am probably eating more frequently during the day, but just smaller portions.

It is really starting to feel like crunch time now.  I feel like there is so much I still have to do and buy, and I still feel like I kind of need to mentally prepare myself for two kids, because ready or not, here we come!

* When we got back from our vacation, I had a doctor's appointment at 33 weeks.  I only gained THREE pounds between Thanksgiving and this appointment on December 30...I was thrilled.  :)  I am not sure how I managed that with all the cookies and candy and pies I was eating!  That puts my total weight gain at either 15 or 22 pounds, depending on what starting weight I go by.    

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Home for Christmas - Part 4

We got back to Laramie on Sunday night, the 19th, and were ready to spend the next few days playing games, doing last minute Christmas shopping, going to a couple more basketball games, and enjoying being around family.  My sister and her family were finally up there for the week, so we had a full house, but it was so much fun!

On Monday night and all day Tuesday, we got the big storm that had been predicted a day earlier.  We ended up getting around 12 inches of snow, and despite there being warmer temperatures afterwards (in the 40's...it felt GREAT to us!) we were still able to have somewhat of a white Christmas because a lot of the snow stuck around.

The guys (Cameron and Kipp) took full advantage of all that snow by building a snowfort and a HUGE (maybe 6 or 6 and 1/2 feet??) snowman. The kids loved playing around in the snow outside too...unfortunately on Wednesday, Miley came down with a fever and a sore throat or something and ended up feeling crummy for the rest of our trip. :( This put a little damper on all the fun, because she wanted one of us to hold her a lot of the time, and overall she was just a little crabby, but she perked up every now and then and was able to have a little bit of fun.








The boys decorated the snowman with some very random things...bobbers, and a ball from our ladderball game...keep this in mind for later...



Yes, Miley's pants are off in this picture...it was actually pretty warm outside, and in my defense, we had gone inside and taken off her wet clothes from walking through all the snow, and just came back out to take the picture!  :)


While the kids were napping on Tuesday, after the snow fort and the snowman had been built, my mom and I ran to do a little bit of shopping (that seems to be the theme of these posts, huh?  We love our shopping time...what can I say?).  The boys took the opportunity of being *mostly* kid free (I think Cruze was napping at the time too, but I wasn't there) and played some catch with the football out in the street...this has become somewhat of a regular occurrence for the guys when we are all together for Christmas.  My sister got some great action shots of them...





Now boys will be boys...we all know that.  I guess they are always little kids at heart.  So anyway, when my mom and I pulled back onto the street, we noticed that the some of the snowman's decorations had....ahem..."fallen."  We then realized that some things were a little too strategically placed too have fallen there by accident.  Yes...our very mature husbands made this little ditty and left it like that in our front yard for our whole neighbohood to see...

*WARNING....may not be safe for work or for younger viewers...parental discretion advised.  :)


Lovely, no?  After pulling in, I promptly removed the...urm...balls from their place.  :) 

Monday, December 20, 2010

Home for Christmas - Part 3

On Thursday, December 16th, we got an early start and drove down to Castle Rock, CO to spend a few days with Cameron's parents.  We were glad we got to spend some time with them, because Cameron's mom has been having a hard time recovering from back surgery she had in August, so they have been kind of cooped up, and I think they appreciated the company (even though it may have been a little hard to have us around at times too!).  I didn't take One. Single. Picture. while we were there.  I know...I am so lame.  I am hoping that I can steal some from Cameron's dad at some point, because I know blogs just aren't as fun to read without pictures!

We mostly stuck around the house, and just let Miley enjoy the time with her grandparents.  The weather was BEAUTIFUL while we were there....in the 50's!  Miley really enjoyed walking their little dog, Weasley, but was a little more timid around their bigger dog, Rene.  Cameron's parents also set up a little play area in the basement with some of their old toys (we are talking 40-year-old toys here...they were  adorable!).  Miley spent a ton of time playing her little heart out in their play kitchen, riding their old spring horse, and drawing on a chalkboard.

On Friday, we were able to go into town and meet up with our friend's, the Gabbards (the family of one of Cameron's best friends who passed away in high school).  We always have so much fun with them, and we loved getting to catch up with them and meet their daughter's adorable baby girl.  They gave Miley a tutu and a wand for Christmas, and she loved it - anything princess related is a huge hit with her these days!

On Saturday, we had an early Christmas dinner with Cameron's parents and his brother, Bryson, and his family.  Bryson's two boys, Jaren and Tye, absolutely adore their Uncle Cameron, and Miley, so the four of them were busy playing all evening while I got to enjoy some good conversations with all of the adults.  Tye was sick while we were there, but I think he still managed to have some fun!

On Sunday we were able to go to church with Cameron's parents, but then due to weather predictions, we decided that we better head back to Laramie that afternoon.  We were originally planning on going back to Laramie on Monday or Tuesday, but didn't want to risk driving in bad weather.  For those of you that aren't from or don't know of Laramie, you have to know that it is it's own little pocket when it comes to weather.  It can be gorgeous weather everywhere around Laramie, and Laramie can be having a nice little blizzard, or vice versa.  So even though we were enjoying very non-December like weather in Colorado, we knew that it could change completely on the 2 and a half hour drive back to Wyoming.  Fortunately, the weather was great driving back, and the big storm didn't hit us for a couple more days...

More later!   

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Home for Christmas - Part 2

On Saturday, December 4th, my mom came down to Fort Collins to pick Miley and me up and bring us up to Laramie for the next week and a half.  I was sad to leave my sister, but it was  nice to be able to get some one-on-one time with my parents.  They were both still working for the first week I was there, but it was finals week at the University for my dad, and my mom only works in the mornings so we were still able to get in lots of fun in the afternoons!

On the 4th, we also took Miley to a Wyoming Cowboys basketball game.  She had to much fun, that we ended up taking her twice more while we were there.  She now knows the Wyoming symbol, and everytime she sees it she says, "Bo Bowboys! (Go Cowboys!)"  We are glad that it didn't take too much convincing to have her be a Wyoming fan, although our basketball team is terrible this year!

During our time in Laramie, I also got a haircut...I cut some side-swept bangs, which is a big change for me since I have had the same haircut since about my junior year of high school.  I am loving the change though, and will post some pictures in future posts for all to see!
 
My mom and I also spent a lot of time shopping (of course!) and making a quilt for baby Cruze.  We hoped to get it done in time for Christmas, and we almost did, with the exception of some of the binding.  Miley loved all the attention for Grammy and Papa during this time, and loved getting to help decorate the Christmas tree, and bake Christmas cookies. 

Posing in front of the newly decorated tree (you can tell in these pictures that Miley definitely has the camera smile mastered!)!



Baking Christmas cookies with Grammy!



Cameron flew into Denver on the 10th, and spent the weekend there while Miley and  were still up in Laramie.  He got to spend a little bit of extra time with his parents that way, and see some more family and freinds without the hassle of toting a two-year-old everywhere you go.  Our original plan was for Miley and I to drive down and join him on Thursday, December 16th (so that I could still be up in Wyoming for my sister's birthday on the 15th) but he just missed us too much and drove up to Laramie on Monday the 13th to spend a couple extra days with us.   ;)

I love this time of year, because I feel like I get to be selfish and have people to myself for a while, but I also get to have the fun of having everyone around!  The best of both worlds...

To be continued...next up, Denver!

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Home for Christmas - Part 1

On Tuesday, November 30, Miley and I went back to Colorado/Wyoming to spend the month for Christmas.  I usually only go home for about 3 weeks, but this time, Cameron was traveling for the first week and a half of December, so we decided that Miley and I should just head out west a little early since Cam wasn't going to be home anyway.
 
We had an EARLY flight...6:40 am.  I was not super thrilled about this at first, but it ended up working out just fine, and then we had the whole day ahead of us once we got to Colorado.  My mom picked us up in Denver, and we drove to Ft. Collins where Miley and I would spend the next few days with my sister, Gelsey, her son that is Miley's age, Bode, and her newest addition, Cruze, who I had not yet met.  Gelsey's husband was out of town for work, so I was glad to be able to be there to help her with her two kiddos. 

We had a laid back few days...we couldn't really go anywhere because we didn't have a car big enough for 3 car seats, but we were able to have lots of fun at home, and Bode and Miley loved having a 24/7 buddy to play with.  Of course, there were little disagreements here and there, but they still woke up from every nap and every morning asking for the other one.  :)  The kiddos spent lots of time playing in the playroom, running at the park, and watching movies together at night.

Running, jumping, playing, and airplane-watching at the park!








Movie night...How the Grinch Stole Christmas





Getting out some energy in the playroom...races into the ball pit!







On Thursday my parents came down to spend just a few hours with us, so during that time we were able to go to Target, and eat out, so we had a welcome break from the house.

On Friday evening, Kipp got back in town, so Gelsey and I were able to escape once again and go out for frozen yogurt....one of my new favorite things!  By the way, if any of you Minnesotans know of  place like Pinkberry or one of those places, LET ME KNOW!  This pregnant girl could use some.  :)

I mostly just got pictures of the two toddlers playing together, but I assure you that Gelsey and I had some fun and I got in some good snuggles with baby Cruze.  I loved the time that I got to spend with my sister and her kiddos...we definitely got in some good "sister-time" and some good talks!

Don't worry...there's more!