I'm going to blog about stuff tomorrow. I just wanted to get these pics posted before Nathan left in the morning. :)

Since I'm going to be big and pregnant and ready to have this baby when it's prime christmas shopping time, I decided to take it upon myself to draw names for christmas for everybody. Obviously Joanne and Jeremy aren't included because they're going to be staying in Cali this year. Everyone I talked to seemed to agree to make this christmas cheaper too. So, we're doing one per person and we thought a limit of $25-$30 a present. Let me know what you guys think of the price limit? Alex and Addison aren't included in the drawing because I've heard everyone wants to buy for the babies and that doesn't bother me:). You can buy for whoever you want to in your immediate family. We'll probably end up doing our family's gift exchange at home. I'm pretty sure I've talked to everybody included, but if anyone has any objections or suggestions to how we should do this let me know. I'll go ahead and post the list on here so everyone can check it out whenever they need to.

buyer-buyee lol!

Mom-Jenny

Dad-Jason

Jillian-Mom

Josh-Dad

Nathan-Josh

Jenny-Joy

Jason-Nathan

Joy-Jillian

Okay, now Joy and Josh need to get me some christmas lists! I'm working on Nathan, trying to get him to come up with a list. Nathan and I both have lists on Amazon. Mom, I also want a new purse. Maybe we should go shopping together sometime:). Nathan has a five day trip to Florida coming up soon so maybe I could come visit then. We'll see.

Here's a bunch of pics of Alex's room. Soon to be Alex and Addison's room! I'm thinking I'm going to have to get a neutral theme. No idea what that is. Kind of leaning towards a pretty shade of green with striped curtains or something. I don't know if I blogged about this but we couldn't get the right size mattress for the little toddler bed my dad brought up. I just happened to be looking around at Walmart and spotted this little toddler bed that matches the crib for $55. That was an awesome find! I have a bed set picked out for the crib for Addison but haven't gotten it yet. The dresser usually has the changing mat on it but Emily is here and I put that in the pack and play for her to sleep on. Alex always slept really good on that. I think cause the sides are curved and it has a super soft cover on it. Oh, I just saw on the news the other night that having a fan in your baby's room when they sleep reduces the risk of sids. I've always used one just to have noise so they don't wake up at everything you do.

Nathan and I just found out that this church really close to our house is also a small christian school. We've just started looking into schools a little bit and heard this one is a really good one and a little less expensive. We're really excited about this! Both of us have wanted to be able to send our children to a christian school. Nathan went to one growing up and was really glad he did and I feel that I'm going to do anything I can to help out my kids on their road to salvation. By the time Alex is ready for school we should easily be able to afford this.

Nathan is actually going to be home every night but one this week so we're all excited! He has a short day trip tomorrow and something going on Thursday. I'm not sure of the rest of his schedule. They had him as a back up for a trip to Mexico this week but I guess they don't need him anymore. I'm glad to have him around. I was starting to get a little run down being just me and Alex so much.

We went to a wedding this last weekend in Kansas City. It was a good one! They both are pilots at Eagle Med. We knew Erin, the bride, from Hays and then from when we lived in Kansas City. They were so thankful that Nathan was able to help them out with getting a job at Eagle Med. When I worked at the FBO in Hays she flew in there every day doing a cargo route a lot like Nathan's. We would hang out and got to know each other very well. She lived in KC and when we moved out there she helped us look for apartments and helped me get a job out there. The message the officiator at the wedding gave was really good. One of the better I've heard. Then when I was mentioning it to Erin, she said she wrote it. I was pretty impressed! They gave a message of salvation in it and also included a part on divorce. Then their vows were very good too! It was so nice to hear that this is not just a wedding where their so in love and all that mushy stuff. It was a real commitment.

After the wedding we went over for the reception which was really nice too. It was very fancy and Nathan and I felt a little out of place. We're not really the fancy type. They served sorbet in between the salad and the next course to cleanse your pallat. LOL! We felt just like Anne Hathaway in Princess Diaries! Wasn't that the right movie? Nathan and I made jokes that we were going to eat ice cream between every bite we take at home! haha!

Then we went over to our hotel and went to see that movie Eagle Eye. I was so beat by the end of the night! It's always fun to stay in a hotel for me. It makes it feel kind of special and especially with just me and Nathan. No goober to distract us!

The Belly

Here is the belly! Looking at these pictures now I think I'm doing pretty good! Sometimes I just seem so huge but these pics don't make me look quite so bad. This shirt is very forgiving too. It's my favorite maternity shirt and I love how it just hangs and doesn't make me look as ginormous as others do. It was funny the other day when I went with Nathan into his work all the girls there were like wow you've gotten so much bigger. I was surprised cause I didn't think I was that much bigger. It'll be interesting to see how I do in these next few months. I was fairly small at this stage with Alex too and then I exploded. So far I've gained 13 pounds. Doing pretty good so far! I'm really proud of myself for not gaining so much yet!

Oh and those first few pics of Alex are him with his cape and hat. He loves that show the wonderpets. He'll start saying wonderpets and bring me the pillowcase and hat. Then he'll say that he's either Lenny, Tuck, or Mingming. Usually he's Tuck! It's so cute!

Thought I'd post really quick about poor Alex's lip. He has this tendency to trip and break the fall with his face! Well, last night he did it once again and busted his lip open once again. This is like the main thing we've had to deal with with him. He will either get a giant bruise on his forehead or he'll bust his lip open. Well, this time was a little worse than it has been in the past. Nothing serious but it sure did bleed a lot. Once the bleeding stopped I was going to put some ice on it but knew how he always reacts to that. I was pretty smart though and came up with a good idea. I gave him a bunch of frozen grapes. They're one of my favorite snacks and they always make my lips and cheeks numb. He woke up with a big old fat lip this morning though. Poor guy! I really wish I had the camera for this one! It doesn't seem to hurt him anymore though. So that's good!

Well, I don't have any pictures to post this time because Nathan has my laptop and the camera. There were so many times in these last few days when I thought oh I wish I had the camera. Alex did some pretty cute things!

Nathan had been gone on a three day trip to Minneapolis and Dallas. It was my first real experience with having him gone since the first time I was in Salina with my family. It wasn't so bad. I did really miss him and night time is definitely the hardest time for me. I start to get really lonely and then I can't sleep without him. By the third day it was like I was finally getting used to not having him around. Then, he came home and now he's gone again and it starts all over again. He'll be gone till Sunday this time. He volunteered to work an extra day when they asked him cause it's extra money. Next week it looks like he'll be home most of the week and every night. It's funny how the trips work out. Some weeks there's nothing and others he's gone all the time.

I always try to cook things that I know Nathan doesn't like when he's gone and I love. It makes it feel like I get a little treat! This last time he was gone I made my mom's chicken pasta salad and california blts. I really liked making the pasta salad cause you can snack on it whenever you want. It doesn't have to be microwaved or anything and it can be eaten for several days if you make enough. Nathan doesn't like tomatoes or olives in the pasta salad and he doesn't like tomatoes or avocados in the blts. Well, anyway, this time I can't think of anything I want to make. Any suggestions? I know I talk to Joanne all the time about food and you might be able to come up with something for me. I know you'll probably suggest the italian vegetable soup but I don't really feel like making that one.

My belly is really starting to get bigger now. And, it seems like everybody is telling me so. LOL! I've gained a couple more pounds but I think it all went to the baby this time. I kind of have a feeling I'm going to get almost as big as I did with Alex. I have a doc appointment next week on thursday. It's the big glucose test. I hate getting blood drawn! That's the day of Nathan's trip too so I'll have to go by myself. No one there to hold my hand! She's still as active as ever. I think even more so! I found myself having to push little arms and legs around the last couple nights trying to get comfortable. That's the one thing I really love about being pregnant. Feeling the baby move! Sure I might complain about how it's uncomfortable or painful sometimes but, honestly, I don't really care.

I need to start doing christmas shopping soon! I know it seems early but I've been thinking about this for a couple months now. So, Joanne, does Jeremy have a christmas list or wish list on amazon? Joy and Jason, do you know if you're coming home for christmas? I really think that we should try to do christmas cheap this year. So, I think we should definitely draw names! I've updated my amazon wish list. There aren't very many things on there yet but all the things on there are things I really want. Yesterday I was looking through a magazine that had a bunch of christmas stuff in it and I was getting really excited. I love decorating and getting a tree! And, we'll have our new little girl for christmas this year! I'm getting so excited! The whole pregnancy process takes way too long! I'm so glad we're having her early! There's only like three months left!

Well, I have plenty of things to get done while Nathan's gone. I have a bunch of cleaning to do. I have to clean up the disastrous office. Nathan's Aunt Brenda is going to be here Sunday afternoon after Nathan gets back and she'll be sleeping in the office. She comes down every few years for the music festival in Windfield. She plays the hammered dulcimer. I have a project I've started. I'm making Joanne and I slings for our babies. I got the most awesome fabric and got started but now I have to wait till I go to walmart to finish. Nathan reminded me that we'll be carrying around babies in them and should probably sew in some extra support. Good thinking! They are super simple to make though and I can't wait to get them done!

Nathan's Arizona trip!

These are a bunch of pics from Nathan's Arizona trip. He went to Sedona for three days this last weekend. It's really pretty out there and I made sure to tell him to take a ton of pictures. His Grandma lives like two hours southeast of Sedona in Payson. So, he got to go visit her for a few hours on that Saturday. He went on a four hour hike on the Soldier's Pass Trail. That really wore him out since he's not used to that kind of walking. The first picture is of the sink hole along the trail. Nathan was a little nervous to sit too close to the edge. There are a bunch of pics of the plane he's flying too. It was his first trip in the King Air 350. Pretty exciting. In the fourth picture with the engine you can kind of see Meteor Crater disappearing behind the lower propeller blade. Can you tell Nathan helped me write this? Nathan will be going on trips like this more often with this job. It's pretty fun and exciting for him. Wish I could go but at least I get to see all the pictures and get souveniers from different places. He brought home a really nice pair of earings for me and a super cute picture frame. Alex got a little sheriff badge that said Arizona Sheriff with his name on it. We put it on the Arizona hat Nathan's monna got for him a while back. So far we're both really liking this job for Nathan. He's doing really good at it and we like that there's room for advancement. His instructors were all so impressed with him when he went to simulator school. Can you tell I'm proud of my hubby? He has a trip to Canada coming up this next week and then he'll be going to Minneapolis and Shreveport. A lot more interesting than the little towns around Kansas. LOL!