A favorite

Aunt JoEllen made the kids blankets. Not regular blankets. Blankets that fold into pillows. Kayann thinks it is great. She always tells me we need more blankets to watch cartoons with because she doesnt want to share with her brother. Blankets and cartoons go hand in hand. Now they all have their own. Kayann REALLY REALLY loves hers. When she doesnt feel well or is sad, she gets her blanket and climbs on my lap. You must remember that the monkeys go on top.

Thanks Aunt JoEllen

A little Christmas fun!

My mom and I made many cookies this year. A few days before Christmas we made candy cane cookies with the kids. They are sugar cookies made to look like candy canes. Of course Ms. Kayann's favorite part was eating the dough. Raymond and Jakobe did a really good job

The kids had a great time setting up the tree. They never really bothered the presents under the tree. Kayann and Kaylee loved to try to sneak candy canes.

Christmas morning we got up at 6:45 so we could beat the kids up. We went to wake them up. We couldnt find Kayann. When we came downstairs we found her:

Raymond was sooo excited to see that Santa had came and left things in his stocking.

Pass the presents out! I was so tired.

The kids loved to pass out all the presents. They each opened them in their own ways. Raymond was so excited. He would just tear through them. He would excitedly tell us what it was. He kept saying "man Santa must have known that I was a good boy this year". By the end he was saying "Santa must have thought I was REALLY good this year". Kayann was very careful. She wanted to keep the paper ever so neat. She would take her time and admire everything. Kaylee was more interested in the paper than what was inside it. It took a few times for her to realize there was things inside the paper. Her favorite.....a playground ball.

Raymond and his new bike

Kayann just loves her horses

Kaylee loved to dress up, for a minute

Joe helped me give Derek his gift

After "our" Christmas my family came over for breakfast. Mom got a karaoke machine for us to share. John picked the songs, while Joe sang

While the rest of us sat on the couch and laughed at Joe's amazing ability to read. He had to shake his butt to the beat for every song!

Everyone had other family things to go to. They were all gone by 12:00 (the mess was not). All in all Christmas was good. The kids had a blast. We got to have family over and have a good time.

An early Christmas

Day: Christmas eve

We were doing the "normal" night before Christmas parent thing. We were almost done with stockings. Just mine left. Derek sat on the floor to help support me up. I reached in to my stocking to find a little black velvet box. Derek asked if I was going to open it. My response: I dont want to. You do it. He did. There was the most gorgeous ring ever. I couldnt stop laughing. I was so nervous!

So we will be getting married. The day? We arent sure yet. But it will be soon

Its growin'

At 33 weeks I measured right at 33 cm. I have never measured right on. I have always been small. My weight gain was at 35 pounds, with 7 weeks to go. Everything is good. Members at my work are starting to realize I'm pregnant (due to our wonderful uniforms it has been hidden). Its fun to see there looks when I tell them I'm due at the end of Jan. At my next visit I will be 36 weeks. We will be doing an ultrasound to check weight, fluid and make sure things are going good.

Here I am at 33 weeks! This one isnt too bad. Its more of a front view

Raymond loves to take a million pictures in a row.

Raymonds point of view

Where did Kayann go?

Who needs a counter when you have a belly?

Think about it............

I came across this the other day. I have kind of fallen in love with it. "let no man pull you low enough to hate him" Martin Luther King Jr.

Superheating

Let me give you a little explanation: superheating is when a liquid (usually water) is heated past boiling point with out ever boiling. When the molecules are disturbed they than explode. I learned this the hard way the other day. I was heating water for hot chocolate. When I took it out of the microwave it exploded in my hand. The dr was sure that my palm had first and second degree burns, and the webbing in between my fingers and my fingers had second degree burns. Needless to say I was in the most pain ever! They wrapped my whole hand. The next day to my surprise only my first 2 fingers had blisters. Lucky me. So now I have them wrapped. As they are starting to regain feeling it is more painful but at least it isn't my whole hand. I'm sure you are asking if I will still boil water in the microwave. My answer, probably, its faster. I will just try to be safer.