Sweets and Blendtec Treats

These are the cookies that Brian decorated for this years Christmas goodie plates.  I did the candy canes, but he did all the rest.  He's pretty proud of how they turned out. :)

And here is what I have been doing with my brand new Blendtec!  I.am.in.LOVE.  We have been using the wildside jar to take the most amazing frozen hot chocolates and smoothies, but this was our first time using twister jar.

Homemade non-dairy strawberry ice cream

After

Before

And Cocoa-nut almond butter.  Not a single liquid in this one!

Christmas with the Jones' and Mootes

This year, we were able to celebrate Christmas with both sides of our family.  None of this every other year stuff for us! (Which in my opinion is the best way to do it.)  My whole family got together in Utah two weeks before Christmas to celebrate and then we were at the Moote's for actual Christmas Eve and Christmas.  

Jones Family Christmas/Reunion

This was the first time since Lyndsey and Charlie's wedding that we were all together.  Mom and Dad rented a condo at the base of Cottonwood Canyon, and we all spent a long weekend together.  Brian was able to join in the fun once he finished his finals on Thursday.

We decorated cookies, made fudge and peanut brittle, and snacked on some family favorites like chips and onion dip.

Thursday, we celebrated girls day out by wearing ugly Christmas sweaters and getting our nails done.  Later that afternoon, Brian and I found out we were having a baby BOY, but that is all in another post.

We added some new traditions to our Christmas Eve events: A White Elephant Gift Exchange and A Dice Rolling, Oven Mitt Wearing, Single Present Opening Mania a la Smartt Family.

But not all traditions were new...this year's Christmas Eve pajamas were a huge hit!  Everybody got a shirt with a different quote from the movie "Elf."  Thanks Mom and Dad!

And we still celebrated Christmas Eve dinner with English Christmas Crackers and Martinellis.  (Another benefit of 2 Christmas' is 2 holiday hams!)

"Christmas Morning" we opened our stockings and santa gifts (Dre Beats Headphones) and then took turns opening our gifts from each other.  Brian and I were extremely blessed!

We got a 20 cup rice cooker, tons of fun stocking stufferes, a stroller/car seat set from Travis and Mayra, and 2 Blendtec blenders!  Mom and Dad/Brian know me so well that they both got me my #1 present.  We returned one and got an ipad. (Thank you to Mayra and Whitney for taking every single one of the pictures above and then letting me steal them.)

Christmas with the Moote's

This year we had everybody together except for Lee, who is in Afghanistan. I didn't take any pictures at all of course (no Whitney and Mayra to steal from this time,) until after we opened our Christmas presents.  Paul and Judy got us an amazing new camera (Nikon P510) that I am so excited about!  Our old camera has had battery issues for almost a year now, so it has been on my wish list to get a new one for months.  Now we can look forward to taking tons of pictures and video of baby Moote when he arrives!  Here are some of the pics I took after we got the new camera up and running...

Brian playing Angry Birds on our ipad.  I told him not to get too into it, but he did anyway. :)

Ellie got a teaset and LOVED it.  It was cute to see her set it all up and play with her dolls.  As you can see from the background, we were able to watch "A Christmas Story" and also "It's a Wonderful Life" this year.  The only movie we are sad we missed out on was "The Muppet's Christmas Carol."

These two kept us busy during our visit.  It's so fun to see how much they have changed since last Christmas.  They loved opening their presents and playing with them, although they weren't as big on sharing. ;)  They can walk, run, and get into all sorts of trouble now!

Our 2nd Christmas feast.  With 17 people in attendance, an extra table is always needed!

What's the best way to end Christmas celebrations?!?!  Having your mother-in-law take you to go see this...

Thanks for sticking with me through this crazy long post!  This Christmas was definitely one to remember, and there will be some fond memories to look back on later.  Last of all, I'm grateful for the true meaning of Christmas and that both of our families hold Christ at the center of their holiday traditions.  Like the musical says, "To love another person is to see the face of God!"  Christmas means love.

17 Weeks: Our 2nd Anniversary

How far along? 17.5 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 3lbs

 Maternity clothes? Mostly still my regular clothes.  One pair of maternity jeans.

Stretch marks? Nope, I don't think I'm big enough to worry about that yet.

Best moment this week: Tuesday, December 18th, was our 2nd anniversary!  They say the best way to a man's heart is with food.  Brian must think the same goes for pregnant wives, because he sure decided to feed me well!  He woke up extra early to make me waffles with strawberries for breakfast, then he brought me Cafe Rio on my lunch break, and for dinner he took me out to Macaroni Grill (the restaurant that catered our wedding dinner.)  As a part early Christmas gift from my parents/part anniversary gift to ourselves, Brian and I invested in the i-pad 4th generation.  We love it!

Miss anything: Warm weather, the beach, Hawaii... :)

Movement: Not yet.  I read it takes longer to notice movement with your first pregnancy, so it may still be about a month before I notice anything.

  Food cravings: Smoothies!  Brian and I got a Blendtec Blender for Christmas and have been using it nonstop.  Brian has been great at making me vitamin C packed smoothies to help me get over my cold.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing pregnancy related.  Just a cold that doesn't seem to want to go away...I finally went to the doctor on Wednesday and got a z-pak.  My cold is almost gone!

Have you started to show yet: Yes! Baby boy is starting to make his appearance!

  Gender:  BOY!

  Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On. With the cold weather, my ring always seems looser than usual. 

Happy or Moody most of the time: Both?  I was pretty miserable at the beginning of the week with my cold, but I was happy that I have such a great husband to take care of me and definitely happy to celebrate 2 years of marriage together.  Plus, who wouldn't be happy to know it is now officially Christmas Break!!?!?!

Looking forward to: Christmas with the Moote's, Les Miserables, and visiting friends.  

Happy Anniversary Brian! I love you and can't wait to start our next adventure together!

It's a....

BOY!

We are so excited!

Weeks 15 & 16: Boy or Girl!?!?!

How far along? 16 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Still just 1lb total weight gain at this point.

 Maternity clothes? I just bought my first pair of maternity jeans from Old Navy, but I can still get by using the rubber band trick with most of my jeans.  I will say that the maternity jeans are much more comfortable around the middle. :)

Stretch marks? Nope, I don't think I'm big enough to worry about that yet.

Best moment this week: These past 2 weeks I have been sick with a killer cold, but I am loving putting up Christmas decorations, listening to Christmas music, and sipping apple cider.  Getting to spend a whole Saturday sick on the futon watching "Breaking Bad" with Brian was pretty fun.  I also got released from my calling at church as the Primary Chorister and am now in Nursery until the baby is born!  Wish me luck!

Miss anything: I miss snow sports.  Now that there is snow on the ground and everybody is talking about skiing/boarding the mountain everyday at lunch, I'm a little sad I can't look forward to a little snowboarding to get me through the winter.  I'm probably the only person in all of Park City that wouldn't mind if we had another mild winter!

Movement: Not yet.  I read it takes longer to notice movement with your first pregnancy, so it may still be about a month before I notice anything.

  Food cravings: None this week.  

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing pregnancy related.  Just a cold that doesn't seem to want to go away...

Have you started to show yet: Yes, although not as much as some of the other women who post pictures at 16 weeks.  I am showing enough that I decided to tell my students by playing a game of hangman that said, "Ms. Moote is Pregnant."  They had some pretty funny reactions.

  Gender: We are going to find out on Thursday!  I still don't have a gut feeling either way, but I'm excited to find out and then start thinking about baby names!  I am letting my students vote in each of my classes, and so far the BOY vote is winning... BOY or GIRL ?!?!?!?!

  Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On. With the cold weather, my ring always seems looser than usual. 

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!  Christmas is always one of my most favorite times of the year.  It's also Brian's finals week, so I am happy that he has made it through another semester.  Only 3 more to go!

Looking forward to: My family's Jones Family Reunion/Early Christmas is this week!  I'm excited to only have a 3 day work week and then a long weekend with my family!  I'm looking forward to lots of games and Cafe Pig, Ham, Chips and Onion Dip, Fudge, and other Christmas goodies.  And I am 100% excited to find out if Baby Moote is a boy or girl on Thursday!  What do you think??!?!