December Recap

I was horrible at taking pictures in December, and especially on Christmas Day.

We started out the month by going in for our doc appointment where we got to hear the heartbeat & see our baby's little arms and legs squirming around.

My doctor got this cool picture on the ultrasound, I am a couple days shy of 11 weeks along at this point. This appointment made reality set in that I really had a baby growing inside of me, I could see it's head, limbs, body, brain, and it was moving around - it was such a neat thing for me to experience after not knowing for so long if this was even a possibility for me to carry a child.

My parents, Devanee & I were able to go watch our sis-in-law Meghann perform a Christmas show with a group of other girls. They sang a slew of beautiful Christmas songs. It was great! And Meghann even sang solos & did wonderfully!

Of course, Tyler's birthday but I already posted about that :)

We made it to Temple Square again & it was freeeeezing cold. There were lots of people there, so walking around was difficult. It was so fun to see how excited Porter & Emerie were at all the lights. Holidays are so much more fun with little kids, I think!

There were of course lots of sweets the whole month of December, and my sister Devanee & I made sure no one went empty handed. We made peppermint kiss brownie cupcakes for a bunch of her friends, and from what I hear they turned out pretty delicious!

My parents, Devanee & I were able to make a quick 24 hour trip down to St.George to see my grandparents before Christmas. I wanted to give them their present in person & of course I always LOVE seeing them. I always miss them & wish I could see them everyday!

My Grandpa made sure to play me a concert of Christmas songs.

I only took one picture on Christmas Day, and it was with my phone. Tyler and I opened our presents to each other late the night before because we knew we wouldn't have time on Christmas. We went to bed late & woke up SO early to go over to the in-laws for presents & breakfast. This pic is what Ty & I got from his parents, all we need for Dutch Oven cooking! It was very thoughtful & we are very grateful. This year we had names for each other and Kalen had us - he got us a Magic Bullet/Baby Bullet so we can make our own baby food - thanks Kalen! We had monkey bread for breakfast & it was delicious!

We hung out for a little while & then headed home to pack up the car again with presents & our church clothes, then headed to my parent's house. Tyler & I made aeblskivers for lunch & then got ready for church at my parent's ward. It was a beautiful program done by the choir which helped bring the spirit of Christmas to the day.

When we got home we started preparing the Christmas dinner of Ham, Grandma's potatoes (aka funeral potatoes), homemade rolls, & jello dessert. Mmmm.. my mouth is watering just thinking about it. I am definitely a bigger fan of this meal than of thanksgiving!

By this time, my other brothers and their families had joined us & we all relaxed and enjoyed each other's company. Eventually we decided to open presents. My parents always spoil us rotten, even if they tell us they aren't going to do as much this year, we end up being spoiled anyways. Tyler's highlight was getting snow tires for his civic & I got clothes for my growing belly & a new purse.

One of the presents that we all got this year was a book of Christmas stories. My Mom & I (and a few other helpers who assembled) worked hard for the couple weeks before Christmas - retyping old stories from the books we read from as kids. It was a tradition to read a Christmas story each night & I have good memories of doing this when I was little. I am grateful that I can now start that tradition with my family.

We spent more time as family & later in the evening is when Tyler & I drove to his Grandparents to announce our pregnancy that I previously posted about.

The next day we had a fun time at the Gapinski side Christmas party, and it was also my parent's 30th wedding anniversary!

We celebrated the next day by everyone going to Tucano's thanks to my uncle Randy. It was fun & delicious!

We had such a lovely holiday & we have SO much to be grateful for. I could sit here and list them for hours. But to name a few - a home, jobs, family, the gospel, the birth of our Savior, our strong marriage, our growing family. We are looking forward to see what 2012 will bring for our family!