Much to be Thankful for

We spent our Thanksgiving days off in the Port Orchard/Olalla area visiting our families. The Olalla Lewises (Andy's parents) have just recently moved into their new house and invited all of us (my extended family included) to Thanksgiving at their home. There were 16 people total and more food than any amount of people could have eaten! There were actually much fewer leftovers than I had predicted and we even ate a couple of the pies (I think there were only 4 pies left....we started with 7 and a fruit crisp!). Theo had a great time visiting with everyone and playing with all of the cool stuff in Uncle Danny's room.

We spent Friday and most of Saturday hanging out with my parents. Andy and my Dad watched (way too much!) football and my Mom and I did some sewing. I had a small project to finish for the dance recital and we made a wrap-style baby carrier. I had been wanting one, but they're so expensive, so we went to Joann Fabrics and bought enough material to make 6 for less than 1 store bought wrap. I'll keep 3 and either sell or give 3 away. I have used the wrap twice since we got home on Saturday and even Theo likes to be snuggled up in it. I can't wait for a tiny, new baby to cuddle up in its soft layers.

Now it's back to the daily grind. The weather here is wet, cold, and pretty uncomfortable, but my brave and wonderful husband continues to commute on his bike with no complaints. I still often wonder how exactly I came to be married to such a great person. Theo and I worked our longest day today (9:30am-2:00pm at school and 2:30pm-3:30pm at a client's house). He slept for 2 hours this afternoon (unheard of for him) and still went to bed around 8:30! It's 9:15 and I'm about to turn in myself. I'm at the stage of pregnancy where I feel great most of the time, but I certainly don't stay up any later than I have to.

We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and realize how much you have to be thankful for. We are just thankful to be enjoying life in our little house with our little family and our huge blessings.

P.S. Christmas is coming!!!!!

A Gift for the New Baby

Great Grandma Vi (my dad's mom) sent us a beautiful gift for the new baby yesterday. She made a purple and white quilt with all sorts of cute quilt blocks. The picture doesn't do it justice, but here is a picture anyway.

Seeing a gift made just for the baby made me really excited. With your 1st baby, you have all of these rituals that help you mentally (and practically) prepare for their arrival. You have baby showers, setting up the nursery, etc. With a 2nd baby, the preparation has been more at my heart level. I am thrilled to welcome this child into our family. With Theo, I was so wrapped up in washing the new clothes, choosing cloth diapers, and cutting tags off of rattle and toys, that I was able to postpone actually thinking about becoming a mother.

This time is different. I think that's why every card, little gift, and well wish is so tender for me. I am glad that other people are excited about our baby, too! Only 9 more weeks before we finally get to see who's in there!

Theo is very unsafe

Theo has learned how to get into his wagon. The operative word is "into". He has no clue how to get "out" of the wagon. I know he'll learn, but it's scary to watch him trying. Most of the time he just wants to get in there and play with a toy, but sometimes he's eager to get out.

We've been rearranging the living room today, so he's been occupying himself with his wagon and rocket. We have a guy from church coming to help Andy lift the heavy stuff since I can't. I'll try to take some pictures when we're finished.

Theo can get on the rocket

Here is a short video of Theo actually on his toy rocket. He can get on and off (and stand up on the seat....yikes!) all by himself. He was making up a cute song while he played with it early this morning. I thought you'd like to see it.

This justifies...

... all the time I have spent perusing the "free" section of craigslist. I spotted a listing for free Sonics tickets this afternoon while Sarah was taking a nap. After realizing that I didn't have work tomorrow I emailed the guy about the tickets. Of course, he had plenty (he actually gave me more than I needed) because the place he works had tons of free tickets that were going to be wasted.
So, I called up Nathan, and he called up Ben, and eventually Theo and I headed south! Yes, Theo and I went and left Sarah home to recuperate and have a break from us two boys.
The game ended up being close after looking like a total blowout during the first half. Theo had a great time even though the Supes lost and he was able to find some strangers to wave at/smile at/give high fives to during the game. It's late now and I'm tired from all the driving (some of which involved Theo crying really loud because he was tired). Theo's asleep and we're off to bed. Hopefully we can sleep in some tomorrow. Here are the photos to prove that Theo has been to the Coliseum (that's right, the Coliseum)!

My wonderful husband (A.K.A. Theo & I have a cold!)

I was scheduled to work in the church nursery this morning from 9:15am-10:45am, but I have a cold! Theo has a little cold, too (although he doesn't seem like he feels bad at all. He just has a drippy nose). Andy got up this morning and went to work in the nursery for me. That means Theo and I can just stay home and work on being well. Andy and I also don't have work tomorrow, so I'm sure Theo and I will be feeling great by the time we have to go back to real life on Tuesday!

Stay warm and healthy!

An impromptu visit with our friends

Dori, Jasmine, and Josh Vail stopped by on their way home from practice this week. Theo and I were taking a bath, but we quickly got out and dressed to visit with them. We hadn't really had much time to talk since they were here for Theo's birthday a couple of months ago. I realized after they left that this is a good way to figure out who your true friends are. They a) knew they could stop by without calling first b) stayed even though Andy told them we were getting out of the bathtub and c) felt totally comfortable hanging out with us while Theo was just in his diaper and I was in my bathrobe. We had a great time and Theo loved snuggling with Jasmine while she played on Andy's DS. We'll have to get together again sometime soon.

You can see Theo's "war wound" in this picture. It probably isn't as bad as I described it. The scab will most likely fall off any day now.