Baby Buys

We have quite the pile of items stacking up in the "baby's room." Don't worry, so far the only thing denoting it as such is the pile of goodies and the fact that we call it the "baby's room." We are really enjoying window shopping for baby items. We've only pulled the trigger on a few small impulse buys so far.
Exhibit A--super on sale Halloween Costume. We are ready for Halloween 2010.

I can't just walk by these tiny holiday socks! Can't you just picture the chubby little baby ankles in them?

Who do we think purchased these?

Now some gifts from others: Matt's parents got us this "Advent" calendar with a door to open each week and info to read about what's developing. It's been really fun!

I think this is so special! My grandmama made this blanket for the baby. I just wanted to cry when I saw all the fabric she bought to make burp rags and blankets. How thoughtful!

Bibs from my parents.

Halloween package from my aunt Mindy. Fun surprise!

I went to a friend's baby shower this weekend who is having a girl. It was so CUTE seeing all the girly stuff. I just need to repeat daily between now and the 30th--I will not be disappointed if we are having a boy, I will not be disappointed if we're having a boy. Wish me luck on that one!

Random Catch-Up

Most recently...5th Annual KC Gamma Phi Beta Alum Cookie Exchange hosted by Katy. Since this is my first year as a KCer, this was my first one. Good eats with my favorite people--doesn't get any better than that!

Casting our votes and packing our doggie bags.

Thanksgiving in Tulsa with my mom's side of the family was super fun! (See crazy pics on Facebook). Uncle David made some pretty darn cool name plates for each person.

I found 3 at my place since Matt was in Nashville with the team.

Made a visit to Gentry's home (The Bachelorette Pad) and classroom at HWMS over the break.

Looks like Ms. Sauder is in complete control!

Caught up with some friends for dinner at Emily's house so Matt spent some time bonding with Sophie. So cute!

Matt and I went to see Wicked and it was fabulous! I've been wanting him to see it since I saw it in New York this summer. It's just one that I think everyone should see. I bought the soundtrack and have been listening to it non-stop ever since!

Bet you wish you could see my belly instead of me just trying to suck in here! I'm having some trouble with belly shots. Still working on a flattering angle, let's say.

This was actually a couple weeks ago. Keep in mind this is in the evening when it's at its biggest...and that shirt is making it seem exaggerated. But know that I CANNOT wear those jeans anymore!

In other baby news: We go for our sonogram on December 30! Can't wait to find out if it's a girl or a boy! Coming soon--a photo tour of all the little, tiny things we keep buying for Baby K. I'm sure the purchases will be much more frequent (dangerous) once we know the gender for sure.

A New Genre

A new genre of reading material has appeared on our night stand...

Yes! This is "that kind" of announcement! We're going to be parents!!! Weird, huh?

We are due May 15th and, of course, we're so excited. It doesn't really feel real except for when we're listening to that quick little swoosh, swoosh of the heart beat on the monitor. I haven't been sick at all except for one small incident where I got sick on myself in my car on my way to school one morning. Awesome. I'm still not to the point where I can laugh about it...but maybe soon. Other than that, it's been a piece of cake (and pie, and ice cream, and lots of Chinese food). :) Many more updates to come about all those fun topics like how I have no pants that fit, baby names, etc!

Cheer Competition

I'm really enjoying the opportunity to work with the Mill Valley High School cheer squads this year. I feel fortunate to still be involved with coaching cheer despite our many moves. It's helped me to realize that coaching is definitely something I love doing. We've been working hard to prepare for the Fall Competition that was held last Saturday. See the video below. They did awesome!

Pep-talk before taking the floor.

All smiles after a flawless performance! Huge trophy, I know! :)

A gym full of cheerleaders waiting for results!

Individual stunt groups also competed. I'm posting these so I can pull up the blog and show the squad at practice so don't feel obligated to watch. :)

Feeding the Pioneers!

We took our first turn hosting the after-game meal at our house on Friday. It was an exciting game and the Pioneers were victorious. What a great way to start off our meal! We served Grandmama's 3-Way Chili: spaghetti noodles, chili, fritos and cheese. It was a hit! They loved it! I could not have pulled this off without Matt's mom. She was a huge help! Thank you, Jan!

Getting all ready!

Sidenote: Look at my "Peggy Bundy" hair color underneath? Ah, the joys of moving to a new town and breaking in a new hairdresser. Anyway...

Waiting for their arrival!

Trickling in.

Chow time.

Film time.

And after all the guys are gone...the coaches break down and stat the game until like 3AM. This is a tradition that I'm not really loving so much.

I'm not a very gracious hostess as I definitely did not do this without complaining. "Matt, do you realize your crap is everywhere and I have to pick it up so we can have YOUR people over?!" Several text messages with that tone were sent on Friday evening as I prepared. And of course, it wasn't that hard to pull off and it was pretty fun so now I feel bad for being so whiny. I'll work on that before we host our next one. I promise. Or I'll be sure to give Matt a "to do" list earlier in the week? :)

Ghetto Fabulous

This is Matt's creativity at work here. Our dishwasher somehow won't stay clicked shut, so it stops mid-cycle if you don't secure the door. I'm not too heart-broken over this--dishwashers aren't too expensive and I'd rather have a stainless one that matches the fridge anyway. I'm secretly hoping that the oven and microwave are on their way out too so they can be replaced with stainless. Seems dumb to replace something just because it's white instead of stainless...but if it's broken and needs replacing, that's another thing.

Happy Halloween!

Luckily, with Cindy and Erin's visit, I got out of having to wear the "fat ballerina" outfit again. Erin really looks much better in it anyway! We were excited, as first-time home owners, to actually have some Trick-or-Treaters this year. And it was a lot of fun having Erin and Cindy with us!


We, of course, had to take advantage of the free burritos at Chipotle! (If you dress up like a burrito you get a free burrito on Halloween). After our first year when Matt and I wrapped our whole bodies in foil, we now know that a simple foil hat or bracelet is acceptable to earn you the freebies.

Some of our FAVORITE Trick-or-Treaters, the Utz's came by with a ladybug and chick in tow. Harper and Sydni are such cuties! We love living just 4 minutes from them!

And the McFall's had a witch and a cowgirl. All were growing a little weary from the long, candy-filled day. Blakely practically burst into tears saying, "No more pictures!" when I told them I wanted to take their pic. Adeline is pretty smiley though.

We had a lot of trick-or-treaters. All very polite and wearing great looking costumes. No kids who I felt like were too old. Got rid of all of our candy, dang it. I was secretly hoping for leftovers.