Christmas came early! (But not as early as last year).

If you'll remember, last year, Colin gave me my Christmas gift very, very early. This year, with some restraint, we made it until today, December 21st! Colin was home early from work, we turned our Christmas lights on, and exchanged gifts. Perhaps my favorite gift, though, was this coming out of the guest room with presents, saying a lot of "HO HO HO!"s...

ummm, yeah. How much do I love my husband?

Once I got over the initial shock and crazy amount of laughter over this Santa get-up, we exchanged cards (the best part) and gifts. The highlight for Colin?


His new Robin van Persie Jersey :) Colin is such a minimalist, so he's really hard to buy gifts for... I knew this was something he'd want and enjoy. Score.

For me?


A diaper bag!! As lame as it sounds, I am super excited about this bag. For one, diaper bags are usually not attractive at all (And attractive as well as functional? Please). Two, this thing will be my purse for years! I had a really hard time even thinking about them, until one fateful night... we were watching the tv show Up All Night (with Will Arnett and Christina Applegate). In one 3 second shot, Will Arnett's character is pictured carrying this amazing diaper bag. It stuck out to me, and I went to Mr. Google immediately! I must have typed the most random things into the search engine, not knowing anything about the bag, but somehow found her.


Petunia Pickle Bottom's Springtime in Surrey Boxy Tote. Which just happens to be discontinued. This thing is not only adorable, but BEAST. It's really well made, has tons of pockets and compartments, a changing pad that folds out from the back, the works. It can also be worn as a backpack OR a messenger bag. I am thrilled! Such a geeky mom already.

Hope everyone's enjoying themselves in these last days leading up until Christmas! Safe travels, everyone!

24ish weeks!

Colin and I have started slacking off on taking pictures, so we finally snapped a few after Church yesterday. This is 24.5 weeks!


Updates are slowing down a little, or at least becoming more regular! I am still in that honeymoon phase of pregnancy where I feel great, energized (I have never been the type to be able to pop up out of bed early in the morning, until now), and productive. Although I have definitely started moving slower (and don't like not being able to get up quickly or gracefully), I feel good. Belly button's still in (I have no idea how), itchy skin and stretch marks are at bay for now, no swelling (wedding rings are still on!).

Yesterday morning, though, before Church, I woke up to go to the bathroom, looked in the mirror, and I kid you not, my belly was GONE. I looked pre-pregnancy, maybe a tad bloated, but completely not pregnant. It was so freaky, I ran in and showed Colin. How did Little Girl manage that one?

This past week was a little scary pregnancy-wise, but all is well! I had some seriously bad Round Ligament Pain on Thursday (stretching, stretching!) and ended up in Urgent Care on Friday night because of blood in my urine (that wasn't scary at all...). It ended up being, thank goodness, just a bad UTI that I had no idea I had-- and trust me, I know what they feel like.

This week will be fun and festive, with Colin's company Christmas party, our youth group's Christmas party, and our Church's annual Christmas Ball!

Life lately has consisted of:

Working again, which I am so happy about! It's an ideal set up for a pregnant woman, complete with people you already know and like (a really cute boy works there, too...), any music I want to listen to, any wardrobe I want to wear, and I get to sit in a comfy chair all day. And make as much money as I did when I was paid to harass people to buy overpriced french skincare/get facials at Dillards. win win win.

Lots of these,

(spinach, flax seed, mixed berries, greek yogurt, and a little bit of banana for sweetness.)

cleaning out baby's nursery, painting her furniture, and buying the little details for her room (nesting has officially kicked in!),

(click pictures to go to etsy shops)

hitting week 24 of pregnancy (tomorrow!), which a lot of women covet ("viability week") as the baby having chance for survival outside of the comfy and hospitable womb,

and lots of quality time with people (and dog) I love. Just thought I'd find an excuse to post this picture of Abner/a poor bottlenose dolphin stuck in a coke can ring/coffee sleeve.


love to you all!