Busy holiday!

The Christmas holiday was very busy and all and all, very good.

Last Wednesday evening, we drove to Billings and caught up with David's sister Becky -- who lives in Michigan so we don't get to see her very often and it was very fun. She and David wrestled a little while which, I have to admit, was hilarious to watch. Somehow it's so much more fun to see someone ELSE being tickled into submission than when it happens to me. On Thursday, Jen, Michael and the kids came to Billings so we got to see everyone from David's family before we flew, early in the evening to Minnesota.

We met Mom and Kara at the airport and then went to a part for a family friend of ours who was married this summer. Her pictures were beautiful and it was great to see everyone there. We caught up on all the Rochester gossip which is always exciting.

On Christmas Eve, Mom, Kara and I got pampered with manicures and pedicures -- I am not such a good pedicure client as my feet are so darn ticklish! It was really relaxing though and fun to spend some time with just Mom and Kara. We then went to the mall to exchange some clothes I had been given at the maternity store -- I got some really cool stuff including a coat that I will be able to wear all through winter -- thank goodness because it was COLD! Granted, I can still wear my regular coat now, but my belly isn't going to fit into it for real long. Anyhow, the rest of Christmas Eve was pretty tame. We had dinner as a family and then went to 11 o'clock church. (Dave's first "midnight" mass.)

Christmas was great. Everyone seemed happy with the presents we gave and we received some great things. Santa gave us a digital camcorder so that we can make videos of the little one to share online and a Snoogle -- it is a c-shaped body pillow. Seriously, it is WONDERFUL. Baby got quite a few gifts and I got some maternity clothes and a pedicure/massage gift certificate. David and I also got a new chair and couch to furnish our new living room -- it should arrive in February I think.

That evening, we had some family friends over for dinner and Mom cooked a very gourmet meal. We got to meet and play with Maureen's new baby Ellie Reece/Reese (not sure how to spell it) -- who was very cute smacking her lips and wearing ruffle-rumped tights :)

On Sunday, Mom and I went through a bunch of old stuff from when Kara and I were kids. I brought back a little gown that Mom had smocked as well as a teddy bear and some children's books. Our suitcases were jam-packed on the way home with all of our new toys!

Monday started off a little scary because while we were getting things ready to go, I feel down the stairs. Socks on carpetted stairs are a dangerous combination. So we were all a little nervous that everything was ok. We were worried about it, but David and I went to the doctor on Tuesday (more about that later) and everything was a-ok. The only lasting trauma from the incident is a colorful bruise on my butt :)

After recovering from the fall, David and I and my parents headed up to Minneapolis to look at some baby stores. Holy cow, there is SO much stuff. We walked into Babies'r'us and was totally speechless -- it's like an entire warehouse of STUFF for babies. I can't possibly need all that! We got some ideas though about what we need, what we want and what we need to research a bit (like carseats) before we buy them. We also have to figure out the whole crib/bassenette (sp?) thing, but we should have plenty of time for that.

We went to Outback for dinner and had great steaks then headed to the airport. Our flight was about an hour delayed but we got upgraded to first clas!!! -- a first experience for both David and I. It was nice... albeit a little weird to have so much service -- I had 3 mini-bags of pretzles :)

Becky, Peter and Kay greeted us when we got to Billings and we spent the night there. We met David's good friend Neil and his significant other Tara for a quick breakfast before driving to Bozeman. They were both well and it was good to see them.

Caesar was happy to greet us on Tuesday morning when we got home. We both went to work for a little while then went to a doctor's appointment early in the afternoon. I'm almost up to my pre-preggo weight and the baby's hearbeat was strong and healthy (heartrate of about 162 beats per minute). Baby really doesn't seem to like the heartrate thing because he/she is always swimming away from it -- also a good sign though that the fall didn't hurt her/him. I definately have a baby belly now, and the doctor showed us how to feel where my uterus is so we can tell how big it is. It is about at my belly button now and it you can feel where it is because it is much harder than the rest of my belly.

The last couple of days have been filled mostly with unpacking and catching up on work. Luckily, neither Dave nor I were too far behind. We put all of Baby's gifts in the nursery-to-be and it's starting to get exciting seeing things start to fall into place.

I'll try to update with some pictures soon!! Have a great New Year everyone!!