Santa

So we have been talking about Santa for a couple of weeks around here and if you ask her Payton will tell you he says "ho, ho, ho!" She points him out in books and around town and he usually puts a smile on her face. This morning I took her to the mall to sit on his lap and she was totally psyched about it. How did our, out-going, knows no stranger, social butterfly, feel about sitting on the jolly old man's lap?

See for yourself...
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Slightly less happy then last year...

What was I doing while my daughter was screaming and reaching for me, why laughing hysterically of course. It was quite a sight!  I can't wait to show her some day!

24 Weeks

Well I am 24 weeks along with baby #2 and feeling pretty good. Aside from some of the joyous bodily changes that come with pregnancy, I am feeling pretty good. No nausea to complain about and still pretty comfortable. I have started swelling a bit throughout the day, but as long as I watch my salt intake, drink lots of water and put my feet up when I can it seems to subside during the night and I start each day fluid-free. My last doctors appointment was a couple weeks ago and I will go back next week, but everything has been looking good. Well except for the minor little issue of weight gain. A woman my size should gain about 25-35 lbs throughout her pregnancy, as of two weeks ago I had gained 23! I had 18 weeks to go at that point... It's not really fair that my appointment was right after our third Thanksgiving, but still, 23 pounds is a little out of control. Needless to say I have purchased a scale, my first ever, to watch my weight a little more closely. Some of it is fluid, which the doctor is watching closely, but the rest is my lack of self-control and zero desire to exercise. I'm happy to report I have been a good little girl the last couple of weeks and am only up a little less then a pound. Oh the joys of pregnancy. I'll leave you with a few pics of the little one...

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was a month long celebration for us this year, we had three separate Thanksgiving meals! We started off on the first weekend in November with my family. Brian was able to get leave at that time so we took advantage of him being home and had our family celebration a little early this year. We hosted the crew at our house and Kole and I baked our first ever traditional Thanksgiving turkey. It didn't turn out to be as scary as I thought it was going to be. Besides a minor brining mishap (we ended up with brine in the kitchen sink and on the floor instead of the turkey) it turned out just fine!

Our second meal was enjoyed with friends at Tyler and Anna's house, they have been having a pre-Thanksgiving friends celebration for four (I think) years and they invited us again this year to join them. The food was awesome and it's always great to spend time catching up with the group. You can see pics on Anna's blog: http://chaosoncanal.blogspot.com/2011/11/pre-thanksgiving-year-4.html.

We finished up our Thanksgiving month in Omaha, NE with Kole's family and enjoyed a weekend filled with amazing food, relaxation, and quality time spent with family. We got in to town on Wednesday evening and got to wake up Thanksgiving morning and eat a wonderful brunch that Brian and Krista had prepared.

Our personal chef for the weekend

Krista's beautiful table

This is where Payton spend the majority of the weekend, coloring at the table. She is now obsessed!

Quick Thanksgiving family pic attempt

multiple failed attempts of the girls all dressed up for dinner...

On Friday we ventured into downtown Omaha and went to a local museum for the tree lighting ceremony, we didn't stay for the lighting, but the kids had a blast while we were there.

The picture doesn't do this massive, real, tree justice. It was incredible!

Another family pic

This was as close as she wanted to get to Santa and the Mrs., which was just fine since the line to sit on his lap was LONG.

They had cookie decorating for the kids, Payton was in heaven, she has a sweet tooth like her mom ;)

On Saturday we took the kids to see the Muppet movie, it was Payton's first big screen adventure. It was a cute movie and Payton did pretty well given how young she is. I forgot Muppet movies are more like regular movies than cartoons, so I'm not sure she was that into the "real" people on the screen. She did love the music and danced in the aisles and ate snacks with the girls.

We had such a wonderful weekend, we got to sleep in (Payton bunked with Grandma and Grandpa which is always a treat!), relax, watch football, eat great food, and Payton had a blast playing with Marin and Finley, they were very sweet to share all of their toys with her. Payton got some good quality time with Grandpa, Grandma and Uncle Kyle and has been talking about everyone ever since.

Thank you O'Malleys for opening your home and hosting such a wonderful family holiday, we loved every minute of it!!