"It Looks Like Miley Cyrus Is Doing a Concert"

Our Thanksgiving was really nice. Rob and I had talked about eating around 1:00 or 2:00 but when it was time to get going Thursday morning, we were not moving very fast. We decided to have a big pancake breakfast and eat thanksgiving dinner at 5:00 or 6:00 instead. In order to make sure we both get our thanksgiving day favorites, we have to make a lot of food.



There was turkey (just a breast, not the whole thing), mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, jello, cranberry sauce, crescent rolls and green bean casserole. Rob tried to make some gravy but we won't talk about that. Everything else turned out great though. Rex's favorite part was the meat.



What a difference from last year. Last Thanksgiving he had just started eating a little rice cereal a couple days before. It's much better to share all that food between three people instead of just two. I spent a lot of the day thinking about everything I am thankful for and it is just amazing to think about how many wonderful family and friends we have and how blessed we are.

Later that evening, around 11:00 p.m., Rob took off for the Toys R Us in Des Moines to get Rex's big Christmas present. It is something we wanted to get him but couldn't afford to at the regular price but with the smokin' doorbuster deal, it was doable. Toys R Us was supposed to open at midnight and when Rob got there about 15 minutes before, he called and said, "It looks like Miley Cyrus is doing a concert in the parking lot or something!" There was nowhere to park and the line to get in the store was crazy long, probably about 1,000 people he thought. The most surprising thing to me was that he said there were a LOT of kids there. Huh? Shouldn't they be asleep? And why would you take them with you to buy their presents? I still can't figure that out. Anyhow, we both agreed it wasn't worth all that so he turned around and came back home. We were trying to come up with other options for the gift but I found it online Friday morning for only $20 more and the shipping was super-cheap so we did that instead. I am so happy that we are still going to be able to get him the gift we really wanted.

Yesterday afternoon I had an appointment with the doctor and the baby and I are both doing very well. It was pretty quick- I did get to hear the heartbeat though which is so cool. It was not smart of me to see the doctor the day after Thanksgiving because weighing in was just ugly. I gained 4 pounds this month but I suppose between the turkey dinner and all the In-N-Out burgers and Mexican food I ate in California, I should be very thankful that it was only 4 pounds!

Rex's First Haircut

We took Rex to get his first professional haircut last night. Finally. We had been trimming it around his ears and in the back some but it was past time to get it done right. I was having a hard time with it a little bit because babies don't need a haircut, big boys do. His hair was getting so shaggy though that it was time for mommy to deal with it and take her big boy to get his hair cut.



I took a few books and toys to help distract him and keep him busy while she was working on him. She had him sit on my lap to help him feel more comfortable which I thought was a really good idea. She was so patient and good with him and it went by pretty fast and he looked great when she was done.



I still am planning on writing a post about the rest of our trip to California but I have so much to say and have not had a big window of time where I can sit down and type it all up. Coming soon though- I promise!

My 200th Post!

Wow, 200 posts! I was hoping the baby announcement would coincide with this special blogoversary but I did not want to put off the big announcement any longer. But since I need a special topic for this special post, let's recap my wonderful sister's wedding this past Saturday!



Originally uploaded by NannersP
- Thanks Nanette for taking such a nice photo during the wedding!

I was so thrilled when Megan asked me to be her matron-of-honor and I have been looking forward to this for months. I was excited about our trip and seeing everyone but this just made it even better. Being pregnant and having to go dress shopping is a little tricky since it's like hitting a moving target. I had no idea what size I would be for the wedding but I just took my best guess and made sure I bought a dress that was forgiving if I was a little off. It worked out just fine. Whew. So last Friday, I went with my parents to the wedding location to help decorate and then rehearse.



Doesn't it look so nice in there? It was a harvest theme which I just adored since I love autumn so much. There were lots of pumpkins, autumn leaves, corn stalks, hay bales, candy corn, gourds and pomegranates all around, inside and out. The gift for everyone was little jars of homemade pomegranate jelly. Yum. I haven't broken into any of the 3 jars I grabbed, but I plan on doing that very soon. After we got the decorating finished, it was time to rehearse.

This is Jim, the groom and my new brother-in-law, helping us out with the order of events.



Dad practicing walking Megan down the aisle.



On Saturday, I spent most of the day with Megan. We went and got our hair done and then headed over to the wedding location to get dressed. It seems like I didn't do that much and yet the time was just flying by! Here's Megan getting dressed and ready to go.



Everything went really smoothly. Well, almost. The groom forgot to bring his shoes but my parents were able to pick them up and bring them to him so it turned out just fine. The ceremony was great. Jim told the story of how they met. I've heard my sister tell it a few times but hearing it from him was great too. The reception was a lot of fun and the food was great.



One of my favorite things about the whole day though was when Jim surprised Megan and sang her a song at the reception.



I think everyone had a good time. I know I did and the bride and groom did. That's what is most important, right? Not me, but that they enjoyed their wedding. Congratulations to my sister and her husband!

P.S.- Nanette has a lot of really good pictures of the ceremony on one of her posts.

Rex's Big Announcement

The timing of our trip to California worked out just right for Rex to make our big announcement to family and friends.



Rex is going to be a big brother! Everyone loved the shirt- and his news!- and it was so great to be able to share our news in person this time. Last time we told everyone over the phone on Christmas Eve which was good but this was better. The baby is due on May 26th which means I am exactly 13 weeks today. Here is a picture of the baby which was taken on October 29th.



We have another ultrasound already scheduled for December 30th to find out if we are having a boy or a girl. We'll let everyone know but keep the name a secret again like we did with Rex. The pregnancy has gone very well so far. I had a lot of nausea around my sixth week which was real bad for about 2 weeks then started easing up slowly and I'm fine now. I know I probably should have told more people in person before I blogged about it, but when I blogged about being pregnant with Rex it was not very exciting because pretty much everyone already knew. So this is more fun for me to surprise people this way this time. So stay tuned for lots more pregnancy posts and photos of swollen feet! And if you were wondering why my blog posting has been so bad the last two months, that is why. I felt so bad that I just couldn't make myself do much of anything but I promise to be better now!

Back Where I Come From

We had a great time on our trip to California. I have so much to share about it and am planning on breaking it up into a few different posts. Right now though, I have to share a couple things Rex did yesterday. First, let me tell you that the kid loves dishwashers. Every house we were at, he found the dishwasher and would proceed to push all the buttons and try to open it. I have to be careful at home to keep ours shut tight so he can't get it open. Apparently, I forgot that important little fact yesterday.



I knew he had gotten it open, I was standing right next to him while he did this, but I was shocked when I looked down to find him actually inside the thing! I laughed sooo hard and ran for the camera. I'm just glad he didn't dent it or break anything. Oh, and he said "Uh oh" while I took this picture. So funny!

Later in the evening, after dinner, Rex learned another new trick.




He was playing in the living room and when I looked over to check on him, I discovered that he had managed to take his shirt off. I laughed really hard at that too, so did Rob, which we later regretted when he kept trying to take it off for the rest of the night. Now we are taking bets to see how long it will be before we find him completely stripped down. I'm sure it won't be long!

California, Here We Come

It's just 3 days until we leave for our trip to California. We'll be there for a week and I have been trying to plan it all out so we can see as many people as possible and eat at all the places we really miss. It is amazing how fast a week goes though, especially when you lose 2 days to traveling and are in a wedding during that time. I'm happy to report that my sister (the bride) is feeling much better now after getting the H1N1 flu. I'm getting really excited for the wedding and the trip. I think I have everything we need for the trip but I haven't started packing yet.

After a very cold October, November has started off kind of warm. It's in the 60s for the next few days and so Rob is going to play some golf this weekend. Golf in November- seems a little crazy for Iowa. I'm sure by the time we get back from our trip, all good weather will be over and winter will start settling in. Snow is good through Christmas but then it is just a pain during January and February.

So, not too much going on around here- we've just been getting ready for our trip and getting the house ready for winter. Rob spent about 5 hours last Saturday in the yard, raking leaves and cleaning stuff up. Then on Sunday he put up some of the storm windows. I'm still trying to keep Rex out of circulation until he gets his second H1N1 shot so he and I don't get out much. He is the best kid in the whole world (at least in my opinion) and I just don't want him to get sick. So don't be surprised if I ask you to wash your hands or use antibacterial gel before you hold or touch him next week. If I let you touch him. Rob calls me "mama bear" for a reason!