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Kendall Elizabeth

Some of you already know, but for those that don't - we had our little girl on Christmas Day...how's that for the best Christmas gift ever?!

I won't go into all the details right now except for the basics...she was born at 3:14 pm, weighed 8lbs 8oz, and was 21 inches long. Oh, and she's the most beautiful baby ever!

We got home from the hospital today (the 27th), and are adjusting to our new lives as parents. Things are a bit hectic right now, so until I can get to the blog a little more often, here's some pictures of our precious baby...

Merry Christmas!

I took this fun little quiz after seeing it on Melissa's blog. I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas.

You Should Have a White Christmas Tree

For you, the holidays represent joy and sprituality. The true meaning of Christmas is important to you - even if you're not religious. The holidays are a time of reflection for you. You like to spend time thinking about what's important in life. Your white tree would look great with: Bright, bold ornaments You should spend Christmas Eve watching: The Nativity Story What you should bake for Santa: Sugar cookies - served up with a tall glass of milk

What Color Christmas Tree Should You Have?

Family Time

So all the fam is here, and we've been having a great time together. That's why there's been a shortage of posts. No, we haven't had the baby yet (that seems to be the first question we get these days). I will try to post something on here when we're either on our way to the hospital or after the fact. So stay tuned...

Cody Gaines?

In going along with Erika's recent picture of Cody, Grant was able to dig up this oldie-but-goodie. It was back during Cody's Chris Gaines phase. In case you don't know, Chris Gaines was Garth Brooks' alter ego back in the day. Apparently Cody was such a fan, that someone captured this image of him, dressing up like his favorite made-up rock star. The resemblance is uncanny!



By the way, if you're interested in seeing some "real" Chris Gaines pictures, you can check them out here.

Nothing to report

Today's the official day, but I don't think it's going to happen. That's okay, though. The family starts coming in tomorrow, and my mom would really like to be here when the baby comes, so I guess we'll just see.

Anyways, we had more snow and ice over the weekend. Church even got cancelled yesterday. Saturday, Grant made a snowman. Back in Florida, it did snow once where it stuck - I think it was maybe around March of '94 or '95 - about 1 or 2 inches. It was crazy! Anyways, everyone built snowmen, but they were pretty tiny. Like, just a few inches high. So Grant was proud of this snowman, because he was a pretty good size. As you can see, he put a little of his "Grant-ness" into it.

Got Baby?

Okay, 2 posts in one day. Anyways, I had a couple of suggestions (thanks Mrs J and Jenn) to name my next post "Got Baby." While I still don't have a baby, I thought I'd show my belly progress. Please excuse the scariness of it all.

This was at about 7 weeks...


And this is 39 weeks...


Crazy, huh?

Killin' Time

While waiting for this little girl to come, I've been getting caught up on some things that I've put on the back burner. A while back, I bought some new curtains for our "office." I put a picture up about a year ago. Anyways, when I bought them I bought 3 total, because at some point, I wanted to make matching pillow shams out of the same fabric.

Then, about a month or so ago, I was flipping through a Pottery Barn catalog, and saw these awesome Christmas-y pillow shams, but they were WAY out of my budget. Aren't they cool though?

So I decided I would find some kind of vintage Christmas-y fabric, and make some pillow shams of my own, for a fraction of the price. I found the perfect fabric - all that was left was to make them!

I don't know if it's the nesting that comes to women right before they go into labor, but today was a sewing day for me. And I don't sew that often, so when I say a sewing day, I mean it - these little pillow shams took forever!! But I finally got the hang of it, and I'm really proud of my work.

I started with the green ones. The first one I did was okay...not perfect, but definitely acceptable. I figured no one will ever look really closely at something like this, so it was okay to not be too anal about it. The second one was very much improved.


By the time I was making the Christmas ones, I was really proud of my work! I even had straight seams!

I just copied the shams that I already had instead of using a pattern. I've tried using patterns in the past with no luck.

Now that I'm more confident than I ever have been before in my sewing, I feel inspired. I might try to make a Christmas stocking for the little one with some of the same fabric. I do love that fabric!

Got Snow?

Yesterday, it snowed almost all day. I have to say, it was a great feeling not having to go out and drive in it, like I had to last winter for work. I might actually be able to enjoy this winter because of that reason! Anyways, it was really pretty, and Grant and I just had a lazy day - watching Arrested Development, doing laundry, taking a nap, etc. It was great!

Redecorating

With Christmas almost here, and the baby almost here, I've been doing quite a bit of redecorating. I've been working on the nursery gradually, but Grant was out of town last week, so that, along with not working anymore, motivated me to get it completely done. So that was a big accomplishment for me. Here's a few pics. As you can see, it's somewhat make-shift, doubling as a guest room, and lacking a lot of actual baby decorations. Hopefully, when we get into our house in LA, the baby will have a room all to herself, and be very girly and flowery.





Also while Grant was gone, I was able to get all of the Christmas decorations up. I truly love decorating for Christmas! It was one of my favorite things to do with my mom when I was growing up and I've definitely enjoyed doing it now, as a married woman. I'm not quite where I want to be in terms of how many decorations I have, but that's what the 50% off sales the day after Christmas are for. By the way, check out the new TV! That was our Christmas present to ourselves - thanks to Grant getting in line at the BX before 4 AM the day after Thanksgiving.

Monkey Bread

Once again, while skimming through my latest issue of Real Simple, I came across a great recipe. This one was familiar to me, though. Back in Albuquerque, I believe it was Janelle that used to make Monkey Bread and bring it to various get-togethers. Then Megan picked up the tradition. It was always so good, and I always wanted the reciped, but never remembered to get it. I'm not sure what the real recipe entails, but this one that I found in Real Simple is an easy version of the real thing, because it uses refrigerated dough. I made it the other night, and it turned out great!!

2 1-pound packages refrigerated pizza dough
1 T cinnamon
1 c sugar
8 T butter, melted, plus more for the pan

Heat oven to 375

Tear off small bits of the dough and roll them into 1- to 1 1/2-inch balls. Place the balls on a plate.

Combine the cinnamon and sugar in a bowl. Dip each ball in the butter, then in the cinnamon sugar. Transfer the balls to a buttered Bundt pan.

Drizzle any remaining butter over teh top and sprinkle with any remaining cinnamon sugar.

Bake until golden brown, about 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes.

Place a plate on top of the pan and carefully flip it over. Tap the bottom to release the bread.

Let people pull the bread apart with their fingers.

Elf-tastic

Here's a little Christmas cheer for you.

Edited - because Watley didn't want to be left out.

It's been a while

I figured I was due to post some Watley pictures, since I can't remember the last time I did. Grant took these the other night, and I think they're some of the cutest pictures of him. Enjoy!

Place Your Bets

Well, it's not really betting...

Anyways, since I'm technically full-term now, I thought it would be a good time to start the guessing game. So when do you think I'll have this baby? My due date is December 17.

Person that gets it the closest gets, well, nothing, but just play along anyway, won't you?

Giving Thanks

We are thankful every Thanksgiving, but this year we have one more reason to give thanks - the little girl that is soon to come!

I've been tagged...

First of all, I just want to say how happy I am that Pinky has started blogging again!! That being said, she "lyric tagged" me, so here's my song and lyrics. It's "Everything" by Lifehouse. I found this video that someone made on YouTube, and it seemed to really fit the song.

Now I'm tagging Starving for Sunshine, There's Treasure Everywhere, Tinker With This, and My Little Garden.



Find me here
And speak to me
I want to feel you
I need to hear you
You are the light
That's leading me
To the place
Where I find peace again

You are the strength
That keeps me walking
You are the hope
That keeps me trusting
You are the life
To my soul
You are my purpose
You're everything

And how can I stand here with you
And not be moved by you
Would you tell me how could it be
Any better than this

You calm the storms
And you give me rest
You hold me in your hands
You won't let me fall
You steal my heart
And you take my breath away
Would you take me in
Would you take me deeper, now

And how can I stand here with you
And not be moved by you
Would you tell me how could it be
Any better than this

And how can I stand here with you
And not be moved by you
Would you tell me how could it be
Any better than this

Cause you're all I want
You're all I need
You're everything, everything
You're all I want
You're all I need
You're everything, everything
You're all I want
You're all I need
You're everything, everything
You're all I want
You're all I need
Everything, everything...

When how can I stand here with you
And not be moved by you
Would you tell me how could it be
Any better than this

Oh And how can I stand here with you
And not be moved by you
Would you tell me how could it be
Any better any better than this

And how can I stand here with you
And not be moved by you
Would you tell me how could it be
Any better than this

Would you tell me how could it be
Any better than this...

So...

This is my last day of work! I'm very excited about it. It's a strange feeling, though. I've been working since I was about 14 years old, and I've had a lot of very interesting, sometimes strange jobs ranging from working as a puppeteer at the local mall, working at CiCi's Pizza (Hey...Welcome to CiCi's!), working food service at a college during my summers as a high school student, working at the front desk of a hotel, working at a clothing store at the mall, working at a law firm, working at Coca Cola, and now working at an environmental engineering company.

Now it's all over, and soon I'll start a different kind of work.

5 weeks and counting...

Sorry for the lack of posting lately. We've been really busy, and I haven't had too much time to write. This is my last week of work, however, so hopefully starting next week, I'll have more time to keep everyone updated.

This past weekend was very eventful. My church was throwing me a shower, and my mom and mother-in-law were coming in for it. I found out a few days before the shower that Mrs. J was coming in for it, too!! I was so excited. We had a great time together.

Grant and Heidi.



Heidi's checking out Watley.



My balancing trick.



Shopping!



My mom with Heidi.



My mom and Grant's mom with Heidi at the shower.



Mrs J's awesome decorating skills!



Me and Mrs. J.



Me with our moms and Watley.

Fall Has Fallen

You always hear "Spring has sprung," but you never hear "fall has fallen." This was a conversation that Grant and I had the other day, and I thought it was clever. Although, he did go onto say, "winter has winteren," so...

Anyways, it's late, but fall has finally come. It's beautiful here. I'm hoping the leaves hold on just a few more days until my mom gets here next week.

You know you're getting big when...

...your dog is trying to sit next to you on the couch, and the only comfy spot is on your ever-growing belly.

Dan In Real Life

Grant and I saw this movie over the weekend, and all I can say is that I highly recommend it! Probably one of the cleanest movies I've seen in a long time, along with just a really great script, and an awesome cast. It's already getting Oscar buzz, which makes me wonder...this movie has gotten great reviews, and I'm sure it did well over the weekend, so people obviously will see clean movies. Why doesn't Hollywood make more movies like this?

Gifts Galore

On Saturday, I had my first baby shower. This one, I call the "Air Force shower" because my neighbors - Daiquiri and Leslie - hosted it, and it was mostly Air Force spouses. Although 2 people from work, and my best friend Kellie came, too.

It was a great shower - good people, great food, fun games, and good gifts.

Nerdiest Video Ever

I took this while we were staying at Mr. & Mrs. J's house in Albuquerque 2 weekends ago. Yes, they're watching a ping pong technique video; and yes, Grant is talking very seriously about the offense and defense; and yes, poor Heidi is transfixed by it.

No words...

Some of you may know that a very close friend of ours from Albuquerque recently died. We were able to go to the funeral, which we are very thankful for. I've been wanting to say something on the blog about it, but I wasn't sure what to say or how to say it. So, I'm linking to his sisters blog, because I think she summed it up the best. So please, take a minute, and read Laughter Thoughts.

It's Happening Again...

Every day this week, around the same time (which would be right now - 2:30 pm), I start getting these really intense hot flashes. I even wore a short sleeved shirt today to help alleviate the heat, but no such luck. I feel like I'm wearing a wool turtleneck sweater. People are probably about to start bringing heaters into work because of the season change, and all I want to do is wear a tank top and shorts, and bring in a fan and preferably a little kiddie swimming pool. Is that too much to ask?

One More New Link

I've been meaning to add this link to my friend's blog for a while, and just now got around to it. Check it out, especially if you're into theology discussions. This is definitely a different Ryan than I knew in high school....but in a good way!

What's Happenin'

Not too much here. I really haven't had much to write about.

I did go to the first art club meeting for ASPA (AFIT Spouse Association) last night. My neighbor, Dawn, is heading it up...she's super cool and super artsy, and she'll also be doing my pregnant pictures later this month. We made coasters out of kitchen tile. They're lovely.

I'll be heading to P'cola this weekend to spend time with the fam. I'm so excited! I haven't been home since Christmas, and a pregnant girl needs to see her mom! It will be a quick trip, but it's much-needed.

On the same note, we were thinking of going home for Thanksgiving this year, since we can't go home for Christmas. But after talking to some people in our childbirth class, I think I've been talked out of it. Being 3 weeks away from my due date, and driving 12 hours (without stops, so probably more like 15-16 hours, thanks to my smushed bladder) down to Florida doesn't seem like much fun. So, we'll just more than likely stay here this year. I'm kinda bummed about that, because, I have to say, Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday. My mom's cooking is at her all-time peak of the year (which is saying a lot, since she's the best cook I know), and it's always such a great time. I asked her to go ahead and plan on making some biscuits and gravy while I'm home this weekend. She's also going to make one of my favorite dinners on Sunday, along with pumpkin cheesecake. I love my mom!

I'm totally rambling now, so I'll stop.

Okay, just one more thing...I can't believe that she-who-is-yet-unnamed is only about 75 days away from making her appearance! The time is flying by. She's already making her presence known by all sorts of strange movements in my belly. I love it.

Yummy Deliciousness

The other day, I was watching TV, and saw a commercial for pasta, and it looked really good, so I started my search for a new pasta recipe. I found a great one!

I went to foodnetwork.com, and went found this recipe that was featured on "Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger." The only thing I changed is that I used regular fettucine, instead of whole wheat (they didn't have whole wheat at the store we went to), and added a couple of grilled chicken breasts. Oh, and I left out the onion, because onions are gross. It turned out great! Honestly, I can't imagine having this without some kind of meat. The chicken was definitely a nice touch.

Fettuccine with Creamy Red Pepper-Feta Sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 to 3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 (16-ounce) jar roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock or vegetable stock
1 cup crumbled feta cheese or a 6-ounce block
1 pound whole-wheat fettuccine
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onion and garlic until soft, about 10 minutes. Add roasted peppers and saute until heated through. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Place mixture in the bowl of a food processor with stock and all but 2 tablespoons of the feta. Process until combined and smooth, about 30 seconds. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water. Toss pasta with sauce, adding pasta water by the tablespoon, if needed. Sauce should cling nicely to pasta. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Divide among pasta bowls. Sprinkle with parsley and remaining feta cheese.

Changes

I posted some more blog links that I have seriously been slacking in posting. Seriously. So, check them out. The ones underneath Mommy Memoirs are all new. AND I finally fixed the link to Patrick and Jasmine's blog.

Bragging Rights

Do you have an item in someone's etsy shop named after you? Didn't think so....but I do! How cool am I?

Update...Plus, Argentina

Update: If you go back to my posts about Brazil, I've added some pics. Check em out.

Argentina

We arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina, late in the afternoon on Saturday. The biggest difference...the weather! It was hot and sunny in Rio, and chilly and overcast/rainy in Buenos. Pretty soon after we got in, we went straight for the grub. Argentina is known for their beef, so we wanted to get our fill. Grant read about this steakhouse in 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, and thought it would be a good place to go. It was called Cabana Las Linas, and it was fabulous! I'm not a big red meat-eater, but the steak I got was easily the best I've ever had. Grant also ranked my steak as the best ever, and his came in a close second. We got homemade Dulce de Leche ice cream for dessert, which started my Dulce de Leche obsession while in Argentina. Apparently, it's very popular in South America, particuluarly in Argentina.



The next morning, we had a scheduled tour of the city. The tour itself wasn't that great, because the tour guide kept switching between Spanish and English, and with her thick accent, it was hard to tell when she was actually speaking English. However, the stops that we made on the tour made up for that. We went to this cathedral, which was just beautiful inside. The entire floor of the cathedral was made up of mosaic tile, with floral designs. Thinking about how much work that would have been blew my mind!




Then we went to the neighborhood of La Boca.



You'll have to go to the link that I provided to read about it (if you're interested, of course), but it was just a very cool neighborhood. While we were there, Grant got attacked by a couple of tango women, looking for money. They did this to a lot of men, but I think they particularly liked Grant. They kept pinching his cheeks, and saying "Precioso!" and kissing him. He didn't particularly care for this, but went along with it anyway. He said one of the funniest things ever in regards to the "ugly" one. He said, "Did you see where she made me put my hand? On her fat butt!!" My stomach so sore from me laughing so hard!




After the tour, we asked to be dropped off at the market at San Telmo. Grant found a cool old watch, and I found a cute little handmade dress for our little bambino ($7!). We also found a great French restaurant. I got another steak, and Grant got the rabbit. As you can see, the presentation was gorgeous!




We found our way back into that square where the cathedral was, and Grant decided he wanted to feed the birds. Even though, when he did that in Venice, Italy, he was so disgusted afterwards. I reminded him about that, but he still wanted to. Again, he was disgusted afterwards. So was I.



Later that evening, we went to a tango dinner show. It was so cool! Those tango dancers are incredible!




They also had a couple of other things along with the tango. This one guy....well, I'll let the video speak for itself. My jaw was open most of the time while watching his performance.



On Monday, we took a walk to the Teatro Colon, which we found out is closed for rennovations. Grant was a little sad. It's supposed to be really beautiful inside.



Then we made our way to the cemetery that Evita is buried in. The cemetery was pretty impressive. I've been to the one in New Orleans, which at first, I thought would be pretty similar. But this one was so much more intriguing, with all of the elaborate tombs.



We're back in lovely Dayton now, so I'm spending the day doing laundry, uploading pictures, and trying to get some rest before I go back to work tomorrow.