Lincoln at the Park

(December 15th, 2010)

There are so many nice days in December in St. George, that I had to take Lincoln to the park as often as it was warm enough.

Here he is at the top of the slide

...and wandering off...

Busy, busy, busy!

Lincoln LOVES the outdoors. He is generally very happy if we go outside, even if it is just out in the front yard or to get the mail.

6 & 7 Months

(November 26th & December 26th, 2010)

Pregnancy #2

Pregnancy #1

I am OBVIOUSLY bigger this time around. A lot less swelling, sure, but my belly is getting big!

If this pregnancy was the same as with Lincoln, baby #2 would be here tonight at 7pm! (I would have been in the hospital for a couple days already.) My doctor says "You are at a high risk to go into labor early, only because you have before." So... my guess was sometime at the end of this month, but I'll be happy if baby stays put at least a couple more weeks!

Cutting Down the Christmas Tree

(November 27, 2010)

Just like our first Christmas together, Jesse & I cut down a tree (pinion) for our Christmas Tree this year. Kurt & Ashley invited us to go along with them. Thanks, guys. :)

Kurt figuring out the best side of the tree to cut from

Jesse's cheesy smile after cutting down our tree

Ashley next to their tree

Kurt sawing the tree

Kurt & Ashley had their little girl on November 2nd - Amelia Marie. Such a beautiful girl!!

Here is Amelia helping out...

Jesse, Lincoln, & me..
You can see how much Lincoln helped out, too.

After all the decorations were put on (thank you, Mimi!!)
over the course of a few weeks... here was the outcome:

(This was taken the day after Christmas)

After the tree had been up for a few days, one morning we awoke to a "crash!" Me: "Was that the Christmas Tree??" Of course it happened on a really busy morning.. but thank goodness it happened while Lincoln was not around!!! The tree must have settled into the stand and gradually lost balance. There were pine needles, sap, and sticks (of course, right?) and spilled water... Jesse was not happy with the tree. He told me that when we were done with the tree, he was going to throw it off the balcony.

And what do you know... he kept his word.

Turkey Day!

(November 25th, 2010)

First of all, I just want to thank everyone for all their help in the kitchen. Although I had a schedule to help keep me on track... I would never have been able to do it all without you!!

After the food was ready, we did toasts with Martinelli's and said what we were thankful for. I feel like this past year, Jesse & I have been so incredibly blessed that I couldn't help but choke up during mine. There's Jesse & Lincoln, the new baby coming, the new home, Jesse's job, family, FAMILY!!!, friends, the restored gospel, our Savior, Jesus Christ, pregnant sisters, safe travel, and SO many more things that I am thankful for.

Terrel about to carve the turkey

Jesse with his "masterpiece" - a "Good Eats Roast Turkey"

The kid's table (clockwise starting with Lincoln in back)
Lincoln, Matthew, Hailey, Jackson, Lily, & Hannah

The parents (Craig & Mary, Terrel & Janet) & Jesse

Jesse, Craig, Mary, Terrel, & Patience (in the back)

Darrin & Rachel

Adam, Sabrina, Jack, & McKay
(BTW... you are all so photogenic...!)

Angela & Tom

Adam, Tom, Darrin, Rachel, Patience, & Tom

The company was excellent, and... the food was delicious! I'm glad I saved the recipes.

Pie-Making

(November 24th, 2010)

My sisters (Angela & Rachel), cousin (Patience), mom, & I made the pies for Thanksgiving. All of them turned out pretty well! There was pumpkin, pecan, blackberry, peach, and chocolate mousse.

Here's everyone after-the-fact (except Rachel...)
Me, Mom, Angela, & Patience

A couple weeks before... the ladies in my ward did an activity involving making your pie crusts ahead of time and freezing the dough. That was sure nice!!! If you want the recipe, let me know! (It makes 20 pie crusts, and they last for at least 6 months. I halved it and have a couple left in the freezer still.)

Hosting Thanksgiving

(November 19th, 2010)

I invited my parents, cousin, and brother and sisters to come celebrate Thanksgiving here in St. George this year. I was a little nervous to travel at all because of the pregnancy (and how early Lincoln had come...). So I knew that I wouldn't be traveling over any of the holidays... and all but my brother came! That was a wonderful surprise! Since we have a lot of room in our new home we could even have everyone stay at our house comfortably (hopefully it was, anyway...). We also invited Jesse's parents & a couple brothers to join us.

Hosting Thanksgiving... first time... with a 16-month-old... 6 months pregnant... new house... was I crazy?? Well... before the big day I was thinking "YES!!" But seeing how well it turned out, I'm really glad we did it.

So how did I not get totally stressed out? Thank you, Martha Stewart and Alton Brown (and of course Jesse and everyone that helped out)! I made a schedule of what needed to be made, and when, and it worked! (If you click the link, you can see what my schedule sort of looked like.) And since Martha suggested deciding upon a centerpiece 1 week before... I actually made one. Ambitious? Yep.

Gabe & Anna

(November 17th, 2010)

Congratulations, Gabe & Anna! It was a beautiful wedding and you two look great together!

Flora's Birthday Party

(November 4th, 2010)

Lincoln's cousin turned one last November, and she got a little scooter from Mimi & Papa. Of course Lincoln wanted to ride it.

So... here's Papa pushing them both!

Pushing the buttons that make lots of noise