Getting Closer...

How far along: 31 weeks (the picture is actually at about 28 weeks though)
Total weight gain: 20 pounds...but the great news is that I am 20 pounds lighter than I was with Grant at this point. Whoo-hoo!
Best moment this month: It is actually a moment that I get to savor every night. When we put Grant to bed each night he always wants to give Aubrie a hug and kiss. He has to pull up my shirt, because as he says if my shirt is down, "I not see her little hole" (my belly button). He kisses her without his binkie (directly on my belly button every time), then he gives her a "binkie kiss", and finally a hug along with a little pat. Then he says, "Nigh-night Aubrie. Love you". It melts my heart every time!
Food cravings: Still none
Gender: Sweet little girl!
What I miss: A full nights sleep. I seem to have so much more aches and pains when I sleep than when I'm awake. I wake up multiple times with really bad back pain. I have even woken up a few times with painful contractions.
What I'm looking forward to: Starting to get the nursery ready. The last few months have been full of getting Grant into his big boy room, cleaning out his old room, and getting ready for Christmas. Aubrie's room has been the staging room for all of the Christmas gifts. So, I am looking forward to really getting in there and doing some girly decorating.
Milestones: Hmmm...since the last time I did this I guess we found out that she was a girl. So that's a pretty big milestone, even though it feels like it was so long ago. Also, I finally feel like I am actually showing like a pregnant person, not just a "maybe kind of fat" person. :)

Meeting Santa...Again

Grant got a second chance to see Santa this year. We went with his cousins, Blake and Hailey, to see Santa and his reindeer. I'm really shocked that we got all of them to sit there and take a picture (well, plus Auntie Heather).

Happy Feet Two

Gammy took Grant to his first movie at the real theater! He was very excited to see "Happy Fee Two". We walked into the theater and he stopped dead in his tracks staring at the huge screen. We could hardly pull him away to find seats. Luckily it was just us and one other group of three in the theater at midday on a Wednesday. Grant did a pretty good job of sitting still for the movie. About 2/3 of the way through he got a little bored and started to move around the theater. He told me, "Be right back Mom", and proceeded to walk all the way down to the front of the theater where he yelled, "I not see your face Mom!" It was an adventure for sure. But he still remembers his trip to the movies...and the entire large box of popcorn that he spilled. I loved it when he started dancing along with the songs.

Watch This Santa!

Our annual Santa Party at the Allred's was fun as usual. Grant was especially excited this year about seeing Santa. Last year he was less than thrilled...

This year he has been a little more aware of Santa and all the hype of Christmas. He notices Santa wherever we go and has been so excited with every tradition we have done. When Santa arrived at the Allred's house, Grant was squealing the loudest (pretty impressive considering he was the only boy there in a crowd of young girls). The funniest part of the night was when Santa got there Grant decided to show off his moves. He kept saying "Watch this Santa!" and then would proceed to jump off the couch or do a somersault in the middle of the room. He loved Santa this year...

 We had a wonderful time with friends, eating yummy food, and making gingerbread houses.

 

 It is getting harder and harder to get a good picture out of Grant. If he even allows you to take a picture and doesn't hide his face, it ends up looking kind of silly.

 See...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...

Grant was really excited for our annual Christmas tree hunt this year (although he doesn't really know it's an annual thing at this point). He couldn't wait to go into the woods and find our tree. He got to decorate Gammy and Poppop's Christmas tree a few weeks before, and was all into putting the ornaments on. Getting to go out into the woods was an extra special treat. And he was excited to go be with his friends. He is finally getting into noticing other kids. He likes to talk about "my friends" and he often tells us that so-and-so is his "best friend".
So, as has become our tradition...we bundled up and headed out to find our tree with some of our great friends. We found a perfect tree, and had a great time in the process. I think Grant's favorite part was throwing snow. He had recently seen the part on "Elf" where Buddy throws a ton of snowballs at the mean kids to get them to go away. So he was telling us that he wasn't going to throw snow at his friends, only at the trees. We told him that throwing snow was okay as long as the other people didn't mind and as long as he didn't throw it in their faces. Well, needless to say, all the other kids were into throwing snow as well, and he was beyond excited to join in!

Ready for the hunt

 

Everyone looking for the perfect tree

Throwing snow at Daddy

All the kiddos had a blast

Measuring the tree (It's amazing how small they look next to all the huge trees in the woods...but when you get them home they are gigantic!)

Love eating the snow

Cheese!

Our Tree

Cuttin' it down

Haulin' it out

We found our tree

The whole crew

 Mmmmm...hot chocolate afterwards

The finished product

Kitchy-Kitchy Koo

If you don't know this about me already...I like to be organized. Things just feel better when everything has it's place. I don't know how many hours I have spent organizing drawers, cupboards, closets, etc....but I love it! When I look into an organized space and can tell exactly what I have I get so giddy. When I need to put something away and there is a perfect spot for it (I don't have to cram it in) I am so excited. Ok...so I'm weird. :)
Anyways...last month our mom's group had a lady come who talked to us about pantry organization. At first I wasn't all that excited because I don't have a pantry. She quickly assured us that any space can be considered your pantry no matter how big or small it is. I was inspired by her talk and went home to tackle my kitchen cupboards. Now, my cupboards probably aren't as bad as some, but they bothered me (no big surprise). I couldn't wait to get my cupboards looking beyond good.
Here is how they looked BEFORE...

 

 Like I said...not TOO bad, but I was not satisfied. Especially with this little area...

 It was impossible to find anything in that mess without pulling everything out. And really, who has time for that?!
And so I began. I started by getting rid of everything that was old/expired or I just knew I wouldn't use. I repositioned some things to make everything fit better. I put all those dry ingredients (which were previously in bulk plastic bags) into jars and plastics. I used my amazing label maker (a birthday gift from Paul) and made sure that I could tell exactly what was in every container. It looks so much better! And every time I open my cupboards I get a little smile on my face. I know...I'm weird. :)
Here is the AFTER...