Thanksgiving Break Part 1

         I love that this year BOTH Josh and I have the entire week of Thanksgiving off (the past two years I've had the whole week, while Josh has worked Mon. & Tues.) We began our vacation with a drive to Humboldt Friday afternoon to see family and friends for the weekend. Saturday morning after enjoying my sister's homemade apple bread and my mom's fritata (yum!) the guys headed out early to go fishing. Hannah stayed with my parents, while Nicole and I headed into Eureka for a little shopping and lunch (so nice to have time just the two of us...which of course meant lots of baby talk). Later that afternoon, my mom, Sis and I went to Sarah Renner's bridal shower. It was a lot of fun getting together with my girls. After the shower the guys and kids joined all of us at the Scotia Inn pub for food and drinks. Hannah enjoyed dancing in front of the jukebox with her buddy Nico. :)
         Sunday morning I had yet another fun gathering with my high school girlfriends for Michele's baby shower...delicious brunch, more fun chats with the girls and lots of adorable baby girl gifts. (Little girl stuff is the best!) That afternoon we started my sister's baby registry, which I was so excited to do (I love baby registries!) For dinner that night the guys made homemade guacamole, cilantro & lime chicken tacos, etc... We had a relaxing Monday morning at my parents before heading home to Rohnert Park. We made it home just in time to unload the car and head to Pump It Up for some fun and jumping with the Myers family, followed by dinner at Cafe Salsa. Tuesday was a productive day...it started off with phase 1 of cleaning the house (of course with Hannah's help...she loves to clean!), Josh insulating Tuck's dog house...which he built the summer before last, (it's carpeted, painted to match our house, has a shingled roof and now is ready for the cold weather). Josh has done a great job!! Next on the day's agenda was errands, a play date with Kenzie, nap for Hannah while Josh and I caught up on some T.V. shows, then a trip to Costco before I had dinner with the girls and went to see Breaking Dawn (which unfortunately wasn't as good as I had hoped it would be).
             Today we went to sign Hannah up for swim lessons (they start next week). This will be her first swim session without either Josh or me in the pool, so I'm curious to see how it goes. At this point Hannah is very excited! After signing Hannah up for swim and a trip to Bed, Bath & Beyond, we picked up deli sandwiches and took Hannah to her first movie on the big screen (Happy Feet 2). Overall she did pretty well, she's just over 2 1/2 years old (so she may be a little young still). She's watched short shows here and there, but never a full length kids movie. At some point we'll definitely take her again, most likely to a princess movie because that's what she really wants to see. :) While she napped after the movie, Josh and I finished cleaning the rest of the house just before my parents arrived in the late afternoon. Nicole and Sean will be here in the morning and Josh's parents will come over a little after that to spend the rest of the day with us as well. I can't tell you how much I love the tradition Josh and I started 7 years ago  (Thanksgiving at our house with our parents traveling to us). We love having everyone to our home and look forward to a day filled with delicious food, laughs, games and family.

Thanksgiving Break to be continued...

could barely contain her excitement before heading into the movie :)

Relaxation with the girls

            The 2nd weekend of November brought a much needed girls getaway to Pajaro Dunes (near Monterey). This is the second time I've been to my friend's condo (right on the beach) in gorgeous Pajaro. Our girl's getaways are perfect! The drive is just 2 hours and we are literally right on the beach. Our weekend consisted of multiple walks on the beach, 2 chick flicks, loungin' around chatting, playing games, eating, eating and more eating!!! (delicious homemade dips, chicken curry, pork tamales, etc...)  It's always hard for me to leave Josh and Hannah during the weekend after working all week, however every once in awhile a weekend with just the girls is a must!

            My 2nd trimester is going SO MUCH better than my first. With the nausea gone and some of my energy back I finally feel like I'm able to enjoy things again. Yesterday was a check up. Everything is going well. Our little one is 16 1/2 weeks old, approx. 4 1/2 in. long and weighs approx. 3 1/2 oz. It's heart beat sounded good at the appointment and (surprisingly) I've only gained 5 lbs so far (feels like so much more! Prob. because I was not at the starting weight I wanted to be at when I got pregnant).  I've been trying to get exercise as much as possible and am keeping my fingers crossed I don't retain water with this baby like I did with Hannah (toward the end with Hannah I was SO swollen!) We are anxiously awaiting our Dec. 5th appointment, when we get to find out the baby's sex. Of course Hannah's preference is a baby sister. :)  In my head I picture another daughter (most likely because we already have a girl so that's just what I envision). I honestly would be thrilled either way, having a sister (who is my best friend) makes me wish that Hannah will be able to have that as well, however I'd also love to experience having a son. As most know, Josh is very athletic, loves coaching and is an all around guys' guy, so of course he would love to have a son....not that there won't many opportunites for him to coach his daughter(s). :)  He has however, already picked out our potential daughter's name and thinks that maybe we'll shoot for #3 if #2 is a girl....I on the other hand plan to be DONE with two kiddos. :)  I've always pictured a family of 4, the perfect size for me! So we'll see come Dec. 5th. boy or girl, as long as it's healthy is what matters the most to us.

                                                                   

morning sun peeking through over Monterey in the distance

view from our condo

morning walk on the beach

so beautiful

Little Ladybug

This year Hannah was very excited to be a lady bug for Halloween (Thanks Angela for letting us borrow the costume!) Back in September Hannah started saying she wanted to be a pink tiger for Halloween....I had no idea how I was going to pull that one off. She was pretty determined on being a pink tiger for quite a few weeks and then around the beginning of Oct. she announced (to my pleasure) that she wanted to be a lady bug. :)  Halloween was so much more fun with Hannah this year! She really understood the concept of trick-or-treating. Was very into the Halloween songs, and decorating the house, enjoyed helping me make toasted pumpkin seeds, enjoyed two Halloween parties with friends and filled up her ENTIRE Halloween bag. I enjoyed having another year of her not obsessing over the candy. We let her eat two pieces that night, then hid her bucket after she went to bed and she didn't care to ask for it again. Score for mom and dad! (and Hannah's teeth!!)  I'm sure this is the last year, we'll be able to get away with this. :)

The weekend before Halloween Hannah and I headed up to Fortuna to spend some time with one of my best friends Angelica and her family (visiting from Georgia) and of course see all my family. (It was just Hannah and myself because Josh traveled to Reno to help his parents move to Santa Rosa.) I took off both Thursday and Friday, and enjoyed the long weekend with my family and friends. Ang and I decided a couple months back to put on a Halloween party for all our friend's kids, as an excuse for the adults to get together and the kids to have some Halloween fun. The party was a hit! The kids enjoyed decorating cookies, making picture frames (which we filled with a group picture we took and printed while at the party), playing games and eating lots of treats!

Most of the kiddos from the party (our best attempt at a group photo)

decorating cookies with Braylon

Jaiden really wanted to pose for a pic with Hannah, however Hannah
 was very focused on decorating her Halloween picture frame :)

Helping mom wash pumpkin seeds before toasting them in the oven...yum!!

Ready to trick-or-treat with her buddy Chase

BFFs Hannah and Kenzie

The whole trick-or-treating crew

Hannah and Carter

really getting the hang of the whole trick-or-treat thing :)

Last stop of the night...her house :)

Pumpkin Patch

Sonoma County is filled with so many fun pumpkin patches. One of our favorites is going to the Tolay Fall Festival, which is ranked number 1 in Sonoma County. They have so many great hands on activities for the kids, making it easy to spend the entire afternoon there with never a dull moment. We met up with Josh's brother and his family for the afternoon. We were there from 11-3 and not once did Hannah act tired or ready to go, she had such a great time! (Although she did crash out in the car after just a few minutes.) She loved climbing on the hay pyramid, making her way through the maze, checking out (yet not wanting to touch) the pythons and boas, walking through the live reptile and spider exhibit, holding a star fish, petting a llama (and many other animals), doing arts and crafts, taking part in her first potato sack race, enjoying a bbq lunch and kettle corn, and taking a tractor ride out to pick the perfect pumpkin from the pumpkin patch. And to top it all off the weather was perfect. We're looking forward to taking Hannah (and her baby brother/sister) there again next year! :)

excited to be at the top of the hay pyramid



big cheeeeeese for mom!



Hay maze with her cousin

this picture makes me laugh!

she loved this little guy

ready for her first potato sack race

and they're off!

had so much fun :)

Waiting in line for the tractor ride out to the pumpkin patch

her smile cracks me up here

She had so much fun

hugs from Mazzy

looking for the perfect pumpkin

was very pleased when she found it

Bodega Bay camping trip

A couple weeks ago Josh and I planned a camping trip to the beach with Hannah. She absolutely loves camping and had kept asking to go again, so we thought it would be fun to take her on her first overnight at the ocean.  Packing was easy since we were only going for one night and didn't need the zillion camping supplies we typically take.  Our packing list consisted of one of our smaller tents, camping chairs, warm clothes, lots of cozy blankets, sand toys, food for lunch, dinner & breakfast (deli sandwiches, stuff for BBQ'ing cheeseburgers, marshmallows and muffins & fruit) and firewood. With the car loaded we headed out to the coast. Hannah was sooooo excited! We didn't even think to make reservations at this time of year, however next time we will because we were lucky enough to get the last available site! After setting up camp we walked to the water and enjoyed the amazing weather. Hannah had fun playing in the sand, putting her feet in the water...well she enjoyed it for a bit, then wanted dad to hold her as she squealed/laughed as each wave came up to the shore. =) We decided to also take a little hike out on the jetty. Hannah enjoyed watching some people cast nets for crabs and was very curious about the sea anemone. Later that evening Josh and I took turns walking around the campsite with Hannah to explore, while the other one BBQ'ed the burgers. She was so excited to find what she and Josh called "a secret fort" in a little grove of trees. It was cute because he brought the video camera, documenting most of our trip on film. :) After dinner we enjoyed roasting marshmallows, and lots of stories and snuggles in the tent.  I can't tell you how awesome it is to fall asleep to the sound of waves splashing on the shore. The next morning after breakfast we walked down to the beach and watched the birds playing in the water before heading back to camp to pack up and head home. On our way home Josh and I decided that from here on out every year we'll make sure to plan a camping trip with just us and the kids. We do so much camping over the summer, however it's always with friends and family. It was really neat to have the time together with just our little family. Can't wait for next year!!

gorgeous day!

Bodega Head in the distance...where Josh proposed 7 years ago

Our family =)

Loved looking at her footprints in the sand

playing in the sand

hesitant about walking out into the water



ready to hike out onto the Jetty



roasting marshmallows....a highlight of the night

morning walk on the beach

watching the birds

Our Growing Family :)

In August we were excited to find out we're pregnant with our second child. :) Our plan was to start trying in August and just like with Hannah I got pregnant the first month.  Hannah's due date was April 24th (however she made her debut April 4th) and this baby's due date is April 28th. Josh and I couldn't be any happier. We really wanted to have our kids three years apart and personally I am a fan of being pregnant in the fall/winter as opposed to the summer, so the timing is perfect. With our teaching schedules having a baby just before school gets out is also ideal.

Thank goodness I'm finally into my second trimester. My first trimester was extremely rough on me. With Hannah I was definitely nauseous (24/7), however I found relief wearing Sea Band bracelets. With pregnancy #1 of course I was tired when teaching, but got through the days with a smile on my face. With this pregnancy NOTHING eased my nausea!! Like with Hannah it wasn't just morning or evening sickness, it was "from the minute I woke up to when I went to bed" sickness. :( Even if I woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, I'd be nauseous by the time I got back into bed and it'd take awhile to fall back a sleep.  For 6 weeks straight I tried everything imaginable to take the edge off my nausea, spoke to numerous nurse practitioners and received a ton of advice. Teaching was brutal! I couldn't let on to the kids that I wasn't feeling good. Being on my feet the majority of the day, and teaching lessons with enthusiasm took ever ounce of strength I could muster,  in reality most days I wanted to go home and crawl into bed just. Can I tell you how appreciative I am of my awesome class?!? Unknowingly they made it a lot easier on me. Thank goodness trimester two has brought relief and some energy!!! I now can get through lessons with a true smile on my face. :) My students were surprised and very excited to find out I was pregnant. (A group of girls began that day discussing & planning a class shower for me. They are too cute!)



Here's out sweet pea with it's little arm resting on the side of it's head



Hannah is sooooo thrilled to be a big sister. For quite awhile she's been very into her baby dolls, (feeding, burping, changing diapers, putting them to sleep, etc...). She's also very good with infants. She's gentle, sweet, patient and a huge helper!! I can't wait to see her in action as a big sister. For the past two months she's been talking a lot about her baby "sister," Josh and I reminded her that we don't know yet if it'll be a baby sister or brother. Just recently when others ask her if she thinks its a boy or a girl she'll tell them, "We have to wait for the doctor to tell us." :) We find out just a couple days after my birthday what the sex is and we're very excited to have Hannah be a part of the ultrasound appointment.

proud big sister

so excited!!

time for a "silly face" pic

reading one of her many big sister books (a new favorite)

Another thing that I'm extremely excited about with this pregnancy is the fact that my sister Nicole is also pregnant with her first child. Nicole and I are only 18 months apart in age and have always been super close. We are so thrilled to be pregnant at the same time!!! Her due date is March 22nd. When we're up in Humboldt at the end of the month she'll have her appointment to find out the sex of the baby and I can't wait!! It is going to be so neat that our kids will be cousins that are SO close in age. :) It's going to be so special to go through the pregnancy and motherhood adventures together with my sister/best friend.

In writing this part of my post it made me start looking back at pictures of my sis and I over the years ( I get very sentimental/emotional when I'm pregnant)  :)  Here are a handful of favorites I found on the computer.  Love you sis and can't wait for the months & years ahead together experiencing parenthood!

Always there for my sis when she needed someone to lean on




Together in our first wedding




Wonderwomen (one of our favorite costumes my mom made)




high school days




during my bachelorette party in Vegas



1 year ago on Nicole's wedding day