3rd Trimester (28 weeks)

I started my third trimester this week which is a pretty big pregnancy milestone. For me it starts the official countdown to meeting this new little one! I have still been feeling pretty good for the most part. I have days where I swell more than others and have had some headaches and nausea, but I felt so much better for far longer this time around so really I'm still not complaining (yet).  I don't sleep very well and end up pretty tired during the day, but there are worse things. At my last appointment I had only gained 2 pounds, my doctor was pleased and I was beyond relieved. I'm not sure I've been as well behaved since then, but I am staying active and eating right when I have the energy so we shall see. I had my glucose test which isn't fun, but I passed so that was good. I have my next appointment in a little over a week and then I start going every two weeks. This pregnancy really is flying by. I feel the baby move all the time and you can now see it when you watch my stomach. The movements are getting pretty strong and I can now tell the difference between limbs and body. We're getting ready to have Grandma and Grandpa come stay with us on Monday for a week to visit, spend LOTS of time loving on Payton, and do a few things in preparation for the new baby. Uncle Kyle will be coming to spend the weekend too. We can't wait for them to get here!

Christmas

We had the most relaxing Christmas Holiday this year, with Christmas Day falling on a Sunday, Kole had Friday and Monday off. I'm normally off on Fridays and had Monday off as well so we had a long four day weekend together, it was awesome! We realized it had been a really long time since we had time off and stayed home. We did lots of relaxing and spending time as a family of 3, it was great.

Christmas Eve we spent the first half of the day at home getting ready for the upcoming festivities. We went to church in the afternoon and then headed over to my mom's to celebrate with my family there. Payton loved the Christmas trees all light up with presents under them and enjoyed opening her own, by herself this year.

Nana and Brian made an amazing dinner, we relaxed, opened presents and all played dominoes together after Payton went to bed. It was such a wonderful Christmas Eve.

Josh and Kelsey gave Payton this Aqua Doodle, it's a mat she can draw on and it only takes water. She loves it and so do I!

After we got home and put Payton to bed we got ready for Santa to come.

Payton's loot from Santa, new babies and a stocking full of goodies.

My mom made this stocking for Payton. It's really special because she made one for each of us when we were kids and they are really beautiful. She worked hard to get it completed in time for Christmas and Payton opened it on Christmas Eve. Santa approved and stuffed it full of fun things!

Christmas morning was a lot of fun. Payton had no idea Santa had paid us a visit during the night, but she did understand that there were some new toys to play with. She went right to the babies and started playing with them. The big hit though was a little thing of M&Ms that she found in her stocking. She was really cute and we enjoyed just watching her play and explore and be happy. We spent the rest of the morning just hanging out and then Josh and Kelsey came over for a late brunch. We enjoyed visiting with them while Payton napped and got ready to head to my dad's for the afternoon.

Payton has been really into singing and dancing so Santa put a microphone in her stocking, she walked around the house singing, it was pretty cute.

We Skyped with Grandma and Grandpa while she opened a couple of gifts from Mom and Dad so they could join in on the fun. We got her some pots for her kitchen and a cash register that she is using as a phone below.

Opening the presents Aunt Lana and Uncle Jerry sent, she loved them!!

All dressed and ready to go to Papa's

Checking out Papa's tree

One of the really special things from the weekend was having her uncles (Brian and Steven) around to play with. She really loves spending time with family and she really got some time to bond with them this Christmas. She talked about them and points them out in pictures.

It snowed right before Christmas so we got to enjoy looking at it over the weekend.

This was the hit at Papa's and owl bath towel from Uncle Brian, who would have thought!?

We are so blessed to have family close and while we really missed being with Kole's family we had a wonderful, relaxing, holiday at home this year and really enjoyed Payton. It's hard to believe next year we will be back in IL celebrating another First Christmas with another new baby!

1st French Braids

I had a ton of hair as a kid and my mom always used to braid it, when I used to babysit and nanny I loved to braid and style the little girls' hair. Right before Christmas I decided Payton finally had enough hair to attempt to braid it. I used Dora and a Dum Dum and she set totally still the whole time. It was really hard, her hair is so fine and soft, but it turned out pretty cute!