An Ohio Christmas....at 31 Weeks Prego!

So this was our very first Christmas outside of Utah and away from family. I'm glad we were able to visit home during the season or I think I would have been really homesick on Christmas Day. We actually spent most of our time with awesome friends having a good time, so it went well! 

We also tried to start a couple of traditions for our little family....the first was opening new pajamas on Christmas Eve. I know this is a really popular tradition among many families and I love it. It's not something my mom always did, but occasionally we got new jammies!

On Christmas Eve we had a nice dinner w/ Brett and Meg, then stayed up late playing games...Ticket to Ride, Kanasta, and Yahtzee!

We slept in on Christmas morning, then took our time opening gifts. It was kinda fun to have it just be us....much quieter than we are used to on Christmas morning though! I missed the commotion a little!

This was Brett's big surprise...that I didn't really give to him till about an hour after we had finished unwrapping other gifts! I think I finally surprised him...after 4 Christmases together it's about time I was finally more sneaky than he was!

To try to SIMPLIFY this year I used an idea that Brett's cousin was doing in her family. We did 4 gifts to go with these specific categories:

 1. Want    

2. Need   

3. Wear  

4. Seed   

Brett's cousin actually did the 4th category as "Read," but neither Brett or I are big leisure readers right now, so we replaced that category with "Seed" so we could get eachother something for our little baby "seed" that is still growing! I think this category was definitely the funnest one to shop for!

Brett got me this cute pink bathtub because he thought it would be fun for me to have bathtime with baby girl! Also, he threw in the diaper changing pad....with the hopes of me being THE ONE to change all the diapers!! Yeah right babe!! :)

I gave Brett a bunch of books for him to read to baby girl! I can't wait to see him using them! It makes me smile to even think about it!  I really liked this 4-category idea....It made me focus my gifts on certain things rather than just shop aimlessly! I plan on using the idea again next year. This is our cute little tree! It fit so snug in our old little apartment and now it looks puny in our living room, but I still love it!

We had brunch on Christmas with the Nydeggers and the Williams. It was delicious! Meg's family tradition is to cook Eggs Benedict...very tasty! We also had cinnamon pull-aparts, german pancakes, and a breakfast casserole!

The fellas: Brett, Tate, Dallin, Boston and Brett N.

The gals: Meg, Me and baby girl, and Amanda

For AS LONG as I can remember....(and even before my time) the Brklacich side of the family has a tradition of eating sauekraut and cabbage rolls on Christmas day, it is a Yugoslavian dish. AND also for AS LONG as I remember....I DON'T LOVE THIS MEAL!! Ever since Brett's first Christmas experience with my family he has really enjoyed this tradition. I definitely think it's an acquired taste! My grandparents house always smells like sauerkraut on Christmas! Brett said since we were having our first Christmas we should have this as one of our traditions. I laughed about it...and then realized he was dead serious!

So, I got on the phone with Grandpa Brklacich and told him my situation. He was surprised that I was going to do it, but I think he was proud of me for carrying on the tradition. I was wishing I'd watched him make these over years past, but he walked me through the recipe and off to the grocery store I went. Brett helped me early Christmas day to put the cabbage rolls together and within about an hour I smiled because this really familiar scent filled our house! No, It's not something you would love to smell if you walked into our house on Christmas and didn't know what was going on, but that VERY DISTINCT smell made me feel right at home and all of a sudden it felt like Christmas to me! THANKS GRANDPA for helping us keep the tradition alive! We love you!!

Brett and Megan came over to try our "Yugoslavian Dinner" and we also had leftovers from Christmas Eve too...mostly for my sake! I will still only eat a few bites of cabbage roll, then as always I  fill up on ham and potatoes (grandma is always good to have a ham too for all us non-kraut lovers)! My Brett approved of the meal, but said it wasn't quite as strong as grandpas...so I guess next year we need more sauerkraut!

After dinner we went to the theater and saw "Marley & Me." It was a cute show. This is something I've done off and on growing up, but I really love going to a movie on Christmas or Christmas Eve...so I think that will stick as one of our traditions from here on out too!  How bout you readers....ANY TRADITIONS your family loves? I would love more ideas for our future Christmas plans!

The day after Christmas: 31 weeks along! 

We snapped these photos and then were off to Babies R Us!!! It's time to get ready for the little one! We've kinda been putting it off. Brett has been so busy with school and me with work we haven't really prepared much! While we were out we picked out a crib, changing table, stroller/carseat and bedding for her nursery!! I was loving it, although there were a lot of tough decisions to make!! I think Brett was about ready to pull his (and my) hair out after 2 1/2 hours in that store!!

It's crazy to think how much stuff there is to get! We also stopped on the way home for some paint samples for the nursery. I'm hoping to get a couple projects done before school starts and I have no husband again! 

So, I'm definitely needing the help of experienced mothers out there as far as certain things to get and what to consider....the one thing on my mind right now is a crib mattress...so do you go pricey, or low end, or somewhere in the middle???? I've never thought about that before! Help me! There will be many more questions to follow, I'm sure!

UTAH HIGHLIGHTS

Brett and I went home for "PRE"-Christmas this year! I actually got to leave a week before Brett and then he came out after finals. As always it is so fun to spend time with our families and friends, especially at this time of year....there's always a different feeling around Christmas time and I love it! I took a ton of pics so I'm just posting a lot of the highlights (in completely random order...because blogger is acting up right now)....ENJOY!

Momma Max finally turned the big 5-0!!!!! We had a surprise party at a restaurant for her and she really had no idea! It was great! I guess she's finally old enough to pass for a "grandma" because she sure doesn't look like one yet! Love you Momma!

This is me with my dear cousin Jill at 28 weeks! We are due one day apart! She's having a boy! It was so fun to see her while I was home! We've always been close, so it's fun to go through this "first" together!

My sweet aunts gave me a baby shower with my dad's side of the family. I'm the oldest granddaughter on my dad's side, and baby girl is the first grandchild for my parents and first great-grandchild for my dad's parents!

I had so much fun opening all these PINK gifts! Everyone was so generous and sweet! This shower was before Brett came into town and I was dying for him to get there to show him everything! Baby girl had a large suitcase completely full of clothes and other goods that we brought back with us given from family and friends while we were home! THANKS so MUCH everyone. We truly appreciate all your support! We are so dang excited!

I had dinner with some of my BFFs from highschool and their moms! It's like we never skip a beat when we're together! Love you Ang and Jaim!

Of course I met up with Meliss and Crystal, my other 2 pregnancy buddies that get to experience this with me...although I'm wondering if Melissa will ever start to look pregnant. I would love to have that LONG torso!

We all kept switching positions on the couch to keep our bellies comfortable! We definitely know how to LOUNGE! :)You girls make me laugh!

It was fun to have a few big snowstorms while we were home. It really helps add to the holiday spirit! We rolled some snowballs bigger than small children! This is my nephew Lincoln! He is probably the funniest kid I've ever met!

Some more fun outfits for baby girl from Grandma Max and Grandpa Reed (that sounds so weird to say!) Kolby kept saying how spoiled she already is....I wonder if it's sinking in that he's not the BABY anymore! Kolby, you can still be my baby! 

The annual Jex/Brklacich Christmas Party with dinner, an intense game of "Blitz," and classic white elephant gifts that always make me cry because I'm laughing so hard when they are opened! Below is my aunt Bonnie, Gma, and Brody.

We went to the "Forgotten Carols" with my family (this was a first)...here is Bridger and Brett....for any of you who have been to this play you will know what I'm saying when I write: "WE CAN BE TOGETHER FOREVER SOMEDAY!"  It was quite funny to see my brothers "participate" in that activity.

Kade, Brody and Kolby at the play

I went with Mom to Kolby's football banquet which was a treat for me! Kolby's coaches had some good things to say about his season and the one thing that stood out to me more than anything was his coach saying what a great attitude Kolby had and how he always had a huge smile on his face during practices and games, (even if they were losing) and that he was always getting the team pumped up! I know he was that way because the kid LIVES and BREATHES to play football! You are awesome Kobe baby! I'm proud of you! 

At the end of the banquet the boys got to spotlight the coaches and Kolby actually got to talk about the head coach who he really looked up to! He was quite the comedian, he had the whole room laughing as he was teasing the coach and letting us all in on some inside jokes!

Brett got in some Ruby time and I think they both loved it!

Momma Max tried her hand the homerun derby on the Wii!

 I spent a lot of time laying on the couch while my brothers all watched and felt my belly moving in all sorts of directions. They really got a kick out of baby girl and how active she is! It makes me excited to see how they are when she's really here! I'm pretty sure they'll love her to pieces!

The boys of course had to prove their manliness with some serious boxing rounds!

We decorated gingerbread men with our nieces and nephews! Between Brett feeding the kids frosting and all the candy they ate during the making of the project, I'm sure their parents were wondering if this was a good "evening" activity to do just before bed! 

Brett and Courtney hangin out! He's getting in a lot of good practice before ours arrives!

Meg and our nephew Owen. He was born in October so we got to meet him for the first time while we were home! He is so precious!

Brett also met Tabitha for the first time! She was born in September while I was home, but Brett was here in Ohio! Check out the CHEEKS on this girl! She's so dang cute! Just this past Monday we had another nephew born!! His name is Sawyer! He was 5 weeks early and has been in the NICU so they can help him breathe and eat. He seems to be improving everyday so hopefully he can go home after the new year. We love you already Sawyer and can't wait to meet you!

Us with Brett's Grandma Wilson. It's always a treat to be able to see her when we go home as she's not in the greatest health. We are blessed to have her around!

Us with Gma and Gpa Anderton....they are 2 of the sweetest people I know! We love you and are so glad we could see you!

Our "couples night" with Brett's family (minus Ingrid, Ryan & Jaimi---we missed you guys). This date night actually turned out to be a baby shower for us which was a complete surprise to me! It was really fun....well for the girls!!! ha ha! 

The boys were really good sports and played the shower games too! 

They actually got really into it! We played the "Guess the candybar Poop in the diaper" game and the boys were actually tasting it to make their guesses! Several of us were dry-heaving but the boys thought it was great! 

Hopefully Brett doesn't really inspect diapers this well in the future!! Thanks Sharon and all of my wonderful sisters who surprised me and were so generous to us! You guys seriously did so much for us! I can't wait to get the nursery all done to show you what you helped us buy!!

We hope you all had a Merry Christmas! Although we were back in Ohio we were thinking of our families that day! We had a good time here for our first Christmas on our own....I will get some pics downloaded and update soon! 

Little Peanut at 27 Weeks

It's hard to describe the feelings you have for your unborn child. I never knew I could love someone so much without ever having met them in person! I feel like I've gotten to know our little girl so much already in the past 6 months, especially now that she is so spunky and full of life! It's crazy to see my whole belly shift and clothing move. She is constantly making me laugh with her sharp jabs and somersaults inside of me. Especially at work, I try to not laugh everytime she does a flip or gets the hiccups! She is so active when I use the ultrasonic scaler and polisher at work...I think she's reacting to the sounds. Pregnancy has been different than I expected in some ways, but at the same time everything feels so natural. 

We went for a 3D ultrasound this week and I was completely amazed! We paid for a 20-25 minute session and the doctor was so cute that did it. We were there for at least an hour...I could've watched her all day! I've been staring at these pictures since Monday. 

It's so neat to put a cute little face with all the movements and my feelings towards her! It was confirmed, she's definitely a little girl! And she seems to have an obsession with her hands in her face...and her whole fist in her mouth at times! I can't believe how cute she is, though I may be a little biased! The doctor said she is weighing over 2 lbs. It's amazing to me how defined all of her features are at such a little size! She's even got some good sized cheeks already!

It's looking like she will have some of both of Brett and my features (to begin with anyway)!

Those are definitely my long boney fingers!! CRAZY!

My pug nose...and the doc said definitely some hair!

She acts like she's starving!

I think those are definitely Brett's lucious lips...high peaks and a full lower lip (you can see them best in the pic below)! Oh she's precious! I've been feeling so good and have a normal amount of energy! Sleeping is difficult at times, but the leg cramps have gone away (thank goodness!) A couple nights ago while I was sleeping I woke up in pain...My top ab muscles (which I would have never known were still there other than what I was feeling) felt like they were being torn in half!! The next day they were SOOO sore to touch...It felt like I'd done a really hard core ab workout....but when I looked there were no results!! It's interesting all the things the body goes through to make room for the little one. I can't even imagine having multiples (props to you Angi)!

I can't wait to meet her in person, although, I'm not wishing these pregnant days away yet! Hopeully the 3rd trimester is as good to me as the first 2 were! Hope you all enjoy these pics as much as we did!!

Turkey Day in Ohio

This was our second year away from family for Thanksgiving...and our second Thanksgiving at the church! We are grateful for friends that fill in as family for the holidays!

Chase, James, Brett, Bart, Shayne

Krista, Molly, Jami, Raquel, Kristi, Sherri

Brett and Me

We are thankful for yummy pies...

For basketball.....

For Sherri because she cooked the turkey...

For the Elders that we get to feed and for a yummy turkey dinner that everyone helped with!

AND... for all the many blessings we enjoy!! We truly are blessed with a wonderful family who loves us from far away, an awesome opportunity to be here in Ohio on our own making  great friends and lots of wonderful memories along the way!