Christmas Memories

I can't believe Christmas has already come and gone!  It always sneaks up on us and is over before we know it.  This was a really fun year though and we had some great memories that I don't want to forget:

*Annual Black Friday adventure to downtown to Seattle with my parents to begin Christmas shopping and visiting the Sheraton gingerbread houses
*Annual trip to Molbaks to buy our poinsettias and sample Kringle Ring danish
*Buying our Christmas tree from the Keith and Scott Tree Farm in North Bend, decorating the tree and the house
*Watching James perform playing the trumpet in the Snoqualmie Wind Ensemble concert at the Snoqualmie tree lighting
*Seattle University choir Christmas concert with my family and then celebrating my dad's birthday at one of our favorite restaurants, La Rustica in West Seattle
*Ultrasound to find out the gender of our baby and the Gender Reveal party with our families--what a wonderful Christmas present!
*Annual Warner Christmas dinner at Seastar in Bellevue
*Hosting a Christmas party with friends at our house--played Pictionary with Christmas carol titles, White Elephant exchange where strangely all the presents were items for baby :), and laughing til our cheeks hurt!
*Christmas Eve Eve service at Eastlake Sammamish
*Spending Christmas Eve with the Warners--yummy beef tenderloin dinner, Christmas Eve service at Sammamish Presbyterian, and opening presents
*Christmas morning just the two of us--next year it will be the 3 of us!
*Spending Christmas day with the Spauldings opening presents and eating a yummy turkey dinner
*Enjoying our week off together--both our employers close the week between Christmas and New Years--love vacation!!

Merry Christmas everyone and Happy New Year!!

Annual photo at Molbaks

James' performance.  He did great!

The Warners

Christmas Eve

After opening our Christmas poppers

Barb and Jay Spaulding--what a cute couple!

Christmas at the Spauldings

Buche de Noel (Yule Log) cake that Jay made! Isn't it so pretty?

The whole Spaulding clan

Trip to Oregon

With the holidays we've been really busy and I haven't had much time to blog.  But we did some fun things in December that I want to make sure to document. 

Earlier in December I got to travel down to Portland, OR to attend a conference for work.  James took the train down to come meet me.  We got to stay at The Nines hotel in downtown Portland which was so nice!  Great little boutique hotel.  After the conference ended we took an afternoon to wander around the Pearl District in Portland and took advantage of some "no sales tax" purchasing. 

After Portland, we drove about 2 hours south to Eugene, OR to visit our wonderful friends, Annie, Ryan and their baby daughter Lucy.  Yes, we must admit James had a very difficult time being in "Oregon Duck" country.  He really had to bare down to survive being in enemy territory.  Luckily Annie and Ryan were wonderful hosts so we quickly focused on just having fun with them. 

Their daughter Lucy was born last April and we hadn't had a chance to meet her yet.  What a cutie!  Such a bundle of joy and she's a really good baby.  We had so much fun just hanging out at home and playing with Lucy.  It was great training and preparation for us of what's to come next year.  Annie gave me some good tips and advice about baby products and mothering techniques too.  From eating Annie's wonderful cooking, to a great walk around the neighborhood, to watching movies and relaxing, it was a really nice weekend. 

Annie and I became close friends while living in Missouri and luckily she met her husband Ryan who is an Oregon native so they ended up moving to the Pacific Northwest.  We're blessed to be able to see them at least 1 time a year.  We love you Annie and Ryan--thanks for a great weekend!!

Morning play time with Lucy

What a happy girl!

Sorry--no pics of Annie and Ryan.  We apparently were too smitten with Lucy!

Blue Frosting

This past Friday we had our 18 week ultrasound (can't believe we're already to 18 weeks)!  This was the big one...time to find out the gender of our baby!  We didn't just want to find out from the ultrasound technician though.  We thought it would be fun to do something unique and really involve our families.  James' mom gave us the idea to do a Gender Reveal Party.  Here's how it works:

We told the ultrasound technician, Theresa (who is so wonderful--very calming and friendly) about our little plan.  So on Friday we got to see our baby on the screen and then she would just have us turn away when she was looking in particular "areas."  It was incredible to see how much the baby has grown in just the last 5 weeks.  And baby was very active.  We might have a wild one on our hands!!  Theresa then wrote down the gender and sealed it in an envelope along with photos of the private parts.  She also wrote down the gender on another piece of paper and sealed it in an envelope labeled "Bakery."

Off James and I went to Hoffman's Bakery in Kirkland.  We ordered a chocolate cake with chocolate ganache and told the bakery saleswoman to color the frosting between the cake layers either pink or blue depending on what was inside the envelope.  She couldn't believe that she would know before we would!

On Sunday we all gathered together at my parents' house for the Gender Reveal Party.  You can see a picture of the invitation below.  We had everyone wear their "team" colors depending on what they thought the baby would be.  The whole time being pregnant I've had an instinct that it's a boy so James and I both wore blue.  So did my dad, James' sister, brother-in-law, and Ryan's girlfriend Tracey.  The pink team was my mom, brother, and James' parents.  After everyone arrived we were quick to cut the cake as we couldn't stand the anticipation any longer!  And the outcome was....(drumroll please)....the frosting was BLUE!!  We are going to have a son!  My instinct was correct all along.  We are thrilled and it was so special to share the moment with our families.  Then we had dinner together and basked in the excitement.  It's so nice to be able to say "he" and "our son!"

We highly recommend the Gender Reveal Party idea--very fun!!

The Invitation	The result is hidden inside!
Blue Team	Pink Team (Johnathin couldn't make up his mind)
So excited!!	It's blue frosting--it's a boy!!
Team Blue wins	Can't wait to meet our little guy in May

Thankful

I just love this time of year.  I think Christmas is officially my favorite holiday, but Thanksgiving comes in at a close second.  The great thing about Thanksgiving is it's more low key, good time with family, involves food, and doesn't include all the hustle and bustle that comes with Christmas. 

This year especially we feel overwhelmingly blessed and grateful.  It's hard to put it all into words.  The best word I can think of to sum it all up is abundance.  God's blessings this year are in abundance....even including the tough times and it was wonderful these past few days just reflecting on and celebrating all that He's done for us.

Thanksgiving is a flip flop holiday for us meaning we share the meal with one family, dessert with the other family and then the next year we flip flop.  This year we had Thanksgiving meal with the Spauldings.  James has a lot of extended family who live in town and even some who traveled into town so his mom and dad hosted 13 people for the big meal!  It was a big undertaking, but the food was spectacular (Kudos to you Barb and Jay!).  It was a wonderful afternoon of talking and catching up, telling stories, watching football, and helping to cook.  Our job this year was to make the mashed potatoes.  I have to admit--when I first got our assignment I was extremely nervous.  I mean come on...mashed potatoes?  That's everyone's favorite part of the meal!  No pressure!  But Barb gave me this great recipe where really you couldn't make any mistakes.  With plenty of cream cheese, sour cream, butter, and milk mixed in, there was no way the potatoes wouldn't taste yummy.  And I have to admit, they turned out pretty good!  Recipe is included below if you're interested. 

One of my favorite traditions that the Spauldings do is after the meal, they pass around a plate or box of truffles.  Everyone has to take a chocolate and then talk about what they're thankful for.  Without fail everyone shares a few tears, and it's such a meaningful moment.   

After a few hours at the Spauldings, we said our goodbyes and headed to the Warners for dessert.  The Warner celebration was small in comparison--just my mom, dad and brother.  But it was nice, quiet and relaxing.  We enjoyed mom's french silk pie and pecan pie while flipping back and forth between football and the movie Elf.  It was a perfect end to a really great day.  Thank you mom and dad!  (bummer I didn't get any pictures at the Warners).

The rest of the long weekend included me shopping downtown with my mom and dad on Black Friday (our annual tradition), watching the Huskies win the Apple Cup, and James and I were even ambitious enough to put up the Christmas lights and our Christmas decorations!  We'll get the tree next week.  Didn't take long to move right into the next holiday! 

Barb and Aunt Joyce with the HUGE turkey!	Jay with Uncle Mike and Uncle Jerry
The whole gang	Full and happy

Pilgrim Potatoes Recipe

5 pounds potatoes (9 large)
6 ounces cream cheese, softened and cut into small chunks
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon onion salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup milk
1/2 stick butter, cut into pieces

1. Peel potatoes, cube and cook in boiling, salted water until tender, 15-20 minutes. Drain.
2. Put the potatoes and the cream cheese in a large mixer bowl. Using a hand potato masher, mash until smooth.
3. Add the sour cream, onion salt, pepper, milk and butter. Using the electric mixer, beat until light and fluffy.
4. Put into 2-quart casserole. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30 minutes. (OR may be covered and refrigerated for a couple of days or overnight, then baked at the same temperature as the turkey, 325°, for 45-50 minutes or until heated through.)

Yield: 8 servings

Parenthood

Pretty much every Wednesday or Thursday evening you'll find us in front of the TV.  But not to watch any old TV show.  No, you'll find us squirming with excitement as we hit "play" on the DVR and our absolute favorite show starts to come on....Parenthood.  If you have not seen this show that airs on NBC every  Tuesday night at 10pm (waaaaaay too late which is why we have to DVR it), then you MUST start watching it now.  We have watched the show from the beginning and now being in the 3rd season, we can honestly say we feel like we are part of the Braverman family. 

Every week without fail you will find us laughing hysterically, shedding some tears, and sighing dramatically all within the 40-minute length of the show.  We love it because it's real, raw, and has amazing acting.  And now as our own journey into parenthood has begun, truthfully I think the show also scares the crap out of us.  What are we getting ourselves into?  As the show has gone through many storylines and dramatic moments there have been numerous times when we've turned and looked at each other, eyes wide, and then a deep discussion ensues.  What will we do if our teenage daughter wants to date an older guy?  What if we have a kid with autism?  What if our kids don't like us in their teenage years?  What if our kids lie to us?  What will we do if our kid struggles in school or struggles to make friends?  What if our kids decide to drink and party in high school?  Basically we've concluded that we really just don't want to have teenagers. 

Our favorite part about the show though is that the parents never have all the answers.  They simply love their kids and try to do their best.  They mess up, they triumph, and all along the way they survive somehow--as a family.

Here is an example of what we're talking about (sorry about the ads):



And another great clip:



By the way, thank you to everyone for all your thoughtful messages and warm wishes after our last blog post.  We feel so blessed to be surrounded by so much love and support. 

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and we wish you a very special holiday!

First Comes Love, then Comes Marriage, then Comes...

I'm (James here) not sure how to write this blog post without telling the whole story, because just telling part of it doesn't really give you a true insight into our life.  We don't want to just share the good stuff, we want to share reality, the good with the bad, so here goes...

Holy Crap Megs!!
Those were the word James first uttered when Megs handed him the little white plastic stick. The unmistakable blue plus sign said it all, holy crap (the awesome kind). It was 5 AM and we had just returned from two amazing weeks in Europe the day before, so our mental state wasn't totally coherent.

Megs had missed her period while we were on the trip, so we both knew there was a possibility we were pregnant.  Unable to sleep from the jet lag, James had gone downstairs to watch TV.  Meanwhile, unbeknownst to James, Megs was upstairs in the bathroom, unable to wait any longer, little white stick in hand.  After waiting 30 seconds, she came rushing downstairs and surprised James, half asleep on the couch.

Looking at that little plastic stick together, a clear blue plus sign announced that everything in our life was about to change, we just didn't know how.

Change of Plans
Things were going great, we were reading What to Expect aka "the bible", Megs wasn't feeling awful, and we were looking into all of our child care options.  At about 6 weeks Megs started to have some cramps, so we were starting to get a little concerned and made an appointment.  An ultrasound revealed that everything looked great.  It was too early to really see the baby, but there wasn't anything to be worried about.  For the next two weeks, Megs waited nervously for our 8 week appointment.  Her lack of symptoms had her worried that something wasn't right, but James was reassuring that everything was going to be fine.

The day of the appointment finally arrived!  We were so excited and had a boat load of questions waiting for the doc.  After satisfying our need to understand carrier screening and if Megs could still eat peanuts, it was time for the ultrasound.  The doctor fired up the ultrasound and could instantly tell something wasn't right.  The baby had stopped developing, a miscarriage.  Our excitement was instantly filled with a gaping emptiness.  James held Megs hand, stroked her head and told her he loved her.

Shocked with the reality of the news, the doctor let us know what our options were, but wanted us to take some time to process everything that had happened before we made any decisions.  We headed home in silence not sure what to say or what to do, other than to hold each other through the pain.

A few days later we were supposed to fly down to Sacramento for James' friend JD and Erin's wedding.  We hemmed and hawed over it for a while, but finally decided that it would be best to get away for a couple days, get out and be away from the situation and just be together.  It was some great medicine and totally what we needed.  It allowed us to talk, pray, grieve, connect, have some fun and be a little distracted too.  When we got home, we knew it was still there, but we had a little bit of happiness knowing we could try again.  Megs was able to reach out to others who had had a similar experience, so she didn't feel alone.

Let's Try This Again
A few months later Megs and James had both noticed Megs was a few weeks late again.  Neither said anything to one for fear of getting too excited, too early.  Quiet optimism turned into pure joy when Megs took another test, and this time, James was prepared.  After going through a Costco pack of pregnancy tests, we were convinced, we were pregnant!!  We hugged and cried for joy of the news and sadness from the loss.

Once Burned Twice Shy
Eight weeks couldn't get here fast enough!!  This time was different, because Megs had more symptoms, which James checked on daily.  How are you feeling Megs?  Nauseous!?!  AWESOME!  While not wanting Megs to feel sick, the symptoms were a source of comfort for us.  A sign that everything was well with the baby.  After a while though, the symptoms started to subside.

Time ticked by those first few weeks, until FINALLY, our 8 week appointment arrived!  This time, no questions, let's just get right to it!  Within minutes we were looking at our healthy baby for the first time.  We could actually see the tiny little heart beating.  The doctor turned on the speakers and we could hear the heart beating!!  The most beautiful sound in the world, 155 bpm.

So We're Pregnant!
We just had our 12 week appointment and found out that Megs was actually 13 weeks, thanks to a little growth spurt!  Megs had to go in with a full bladder so images of the baby would show up better.  Unfortunately, it was so full that it pushed the baby into a little corner of Megs stomach. Half of her bladder emptied and some giggling of Megs stomach and we were able to get some amazing images of hands, feet, head and body.  The nurse said the baby was sticking its tongue out at one point.  Great, attitude already!

Megs is doing wonderful and we're currently at about 14 1/2 weeks.  She's not showing yet, but people have been commenting about her glow.  To me, that's just how she is.

College Friend Reunion

This past weekend I had the awesome opportunity to fly down to LA to see my dear college friends.  A couple weeks ago I had talked to my close friend Lindsey who now lives in Boston.  She told me she was going out to LA for a visit to see her family and our friends and encouraged me to come.  At the time, airplane tickets cost over $300 so I didn't think I'd be able to swing it.  Then I found out about all these great events that would be going on that weekend and realized that I needed to get down there.  After lots of searching online, I realized there's a smaller airport called Ontario right by my friends Ali and Bryan's house.  I had never even heard of the airport!  I miraculously found a flight for $180 round trip!  Ali and Bryan were gracious to let me stay with them.  But I decided to make it a surprise for my other friends and especially Lindsey.

I arrived late on Friday night.  On Saturday the major plan was for the Lockman family (Lindsey's family) and Ali and Bryan to host the annual Early Thanksgiving.  This is a tradition we started in college when Lindsey and I lived together.  Her parents would come down a couple weeks before Thanksgiving and  make a big turkey meal for all of us starving college kids.  It included all the fixins and we'd invite our friends over.  It was always one of our favorite memories.  The tradition has continued and I've only made it back to LA for one other Thanksgiving.  So I was excited to be able to participate in one again.  Lindsey and Sarah arrived around noon and it was really fun to surprise them!  All afternoon other friends arrived and we all had a great time hanging out and cooking.  The Lockman parents were amazing and treated us to a fabulous full-on Thanksgiving meal including turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie and fruit cobbler.  I loved getting to catch up with everyone in person.  Two of my friends, Jen and Ali have also had kids in the past couple of years who I've never gotten to meet so that was special finally getting to see their kids in person.

The other reason that made me feel I really needed to do this trip was that Lindsey is pregnant and we got to throw a baby shower for her on Sunday!  It was fun to see her little baby bump and to hear all about her pregnancy so far.  A few of our friends hosted the shower and I gotta say I have the most creative friends.  The shower was at Jen's house in Malibu.  It was really fun to drive up PCH again and see Pepperdine where I went to college and see the beach.  Jen had decorated her house so cute with big tissue pom poms and everyone made great food.  We even decorated little onesies.  It was so great to share in Lindsey's special day and be with some of  my closest friends.  No matter how much time goes by or how much distance between us, it always feels like we haven't been apart.  Thank you dear friends for a great weekend and I can't wait to see you again! 

Bryan, Lawrence, Ali and Baby Flynn

Sarah and the Lockmans (Rusty, Julie, Lindsey & Karah)

Lawrence, Sarah and me

Sarah, Rach, Lindsey, Ali and Karah

Our awesome Thanksgiving meal!

Lindsey's special day!

Sarah, Jaimee, Ali and me

The girls

Lawrence and me

Tissue pom poms and homemade onesies--so creative!