Man Hug

It's become kind of a joke in our family with Cory about man hugs. It all started about two and half years ago or so when my niece graduated from her masters program and we all went out that night. My brother in law gave Cory a big hug in belltown and Cory didn't know what to do and was very uncomfortable and embarrassed. Since then we have joked about at his expense. He thinks they are "gay" and men shouldn't be giving other men hugs.
Well at Christmas his mom was getting pictures of everyone and got one of him and my dad. My dad put his arm around him and yelled out "man hug!" I loved this picture, I thought it was great. Although it wasn't a full man hug it was close enough and Gail got it captured. Two of my favorite men!

Christmas Eve and Day and after

The holidays are finally winding down and what a whirlwind it has been! I'll start off with Christmas Eve first. That morning I got Alyssa up early and packed the car up and took Harley into the kennel and we headed into Seattle. G. Grammy was going to babysit while I went to see The Rockettes. Cory's parents got me tickets to go see them at The Paramount Theatre. It was a phenomenal show! Gail and I headed downtown around ten in the morning and did some shopping and lunch. I got some of the cutest clothes for the baby. I'm getting so excited! After lunch we walked to the theatre for the show. It lasted for about two hours and was worth every penny.
Once we sat down, which our seats were great, eighth row, the lady next to me asked me if I had ever been to a show before. I told her I hadn't and she told me her son was one of the dancers. We started to talk and she was talking about the life of a dancer. It's amazing the work they put in, the hours, and years of school and tryouts. After that we headed back up to Grammys where Cory had already picked Alyssa up and I visited a little while with Tyson, Amanda and Nolan. Once I got home I was exhausted from being up since around 5:30 in the morning and walking around. I was hoping to get a good nights sleep but I was wrong!
Christmas morning came way too fast! I was up and showered by 6:30 and already getting the house prepared for the family.
My parents showed up early and I was so thankful for that. My mom helped me get my applesauce going, she pealed all the apples. We all hung out until Alyssa got up and we started to open presents, which we ended up doing throughout the day, because of her big hall! Cory's parents and brother's family arrived early morning and we had a good time hanging out until the rest of the family arrived. Later that afternoon G. Grammy, G. Uncle George, and Aunt Judy and Uncle Tony all arrived. It was a great day hanging with the family and watching the kids play and opening all their presents. The last of the family ended up leaving around seven or so and I was exhausted.
Two days of being on my feet all day was starting to catch up with me. My legs were aching from the knees down, feet swollen, throbbing and red. They still hurt today!
The next day we met my parents and Cory's for breakfast at the hotel and afterwards said goodbye to mine while Cory's stayed for another day. Gail and I ended up cleaning house and putting away all the Christmas decorations. It feels so good to get the house back to "normal"
Cory and I both thought this was one of our best Christmas' in a long time!

Happy Birthday to me!

My birthday was yesterday and originally Cory had to go back to work that night/morning so we were going to celebrate on Monday instead.
He had been asking me what I wanted to do and since being pregnant a lot of the stuff I do enjoy doing is somewhat hard to do pregnant or I can't/shouldn't do at all. After much thought I decided I wanted to go see the movie Avatar at IMAX/3D at the Seattle Center and go out to dinner afterwards. I know it's dorky but it really was an amazing movie. Not so much the movie itself but the effects. Just to say we were probably the most "normal" people there. I felt like I was at a Star Trek convention or something. No offense to anyone out there who enjoys that type of thing. Afterwards we went over to Racha and had some Thai food and afterwards to the Melting Pot for their dessert. Which was amazing as always!
Last week Cory received an email from his Sgt. that one of his denied vacation days
was now approved. We were really excited because that meant we could go out on my actual birthday as well! We spent the day running around doing errands, baking, cleaning, and basically getting ready for Christmas. That evening though we had a family dinner out and Alyssa and Cory surprised me by getting an ice cream cake for me. I haven't actually had a birthday cake for years and it was a nice surprise!
On Christmas Eve I get to go see the Rockettes, which I can't wait for, which was a birthday present from Cory's parents. It's been a fun week and I can't wait for Christmas morning for Alyssa to see all her goodies from Santa!

More fun

Yesterday, I took Cory and Alyssa to the Snoqualmie Gourmet Ice Cream shop in Maltby. They make the best ice cream! We had lunch there and than Alyssa and I got some pumpkin ice cream that was fabulous!
Afterwards we went to Cory's friends house who is a cop for BNSF, and lives nearby. His wife wasn't around but we hung out with him for a few hours and he became Alyssa's best friend after bringing her a plate of cookies. Alyssa promptly took one and started eating it and claimed each one by taking a little bite and putting them back. The plate was completely for her. Doug and his wife had also got her a Christmas gift. Alyssa hasn't stopped playing with it. It's a cute little car that of course makes all kinds of noise.
Today we went to the Everett Children's Museum and had a blast. Alyssa loves that place. She ran all around and was surprisingly in a good mood considering she hadn't had her nap yet. After about two hours we left and on our way out decided to get a membership there. It's such a great deal money wise and it's so close to our house we couldn't pass it up.
I have decided that Alyssa is going to have her birthday party there this year. It will be so much fun. I can't wait or believe that she will be two in two months! The time sure has flied by. We are gearing up for a very busy week, with my birthday celebration, shopping, and Christmas. I can't wait for it all and will keep you all posted!

Almost done!

The nursery is almost done! I'm so excited about it, it kind of makes it feel so much more real to me for some reason. I put the crib up the other day, which I think I lost out on that deal. Cory was putting together one of Alyssa's Christmas gifts but it ended up not having all the pieces and had to take it back. When he did that the store didn't have any more except for the floor model which was in perfect condition and all put together so he got that one! They weren't going to have any more in the store until after the first of the year. The crib was actually very easy to put together and I love doing stuff like that so it wasn't that bad of a deal I guess.Now I'm just trying to figure out what I'm going to do with one of the walls. I haven't decided if I'm going to do what I originally thought, something else, or just leave it like it is. We'll see.
I preregistered the other day for the hospital and by the end of next week will be in my third trimester! I can't believe how fast this has actually gone. I was a little worried since I found out so early but with everything going on it's flown by.

Nicole took a few pictures of me the other day when she was over. I'm still not huge and some people can't believe I'm due when I am but I was the same way with Alyssa up until the end. This time I am bigger than I was at this time with her. At my appointment the other day, everything is going very well. I have only gained 1 pound since my last appointment. I think Cory was a little jealous. Him and the Doctor were talking about it and I laughed because I know I sure haven't been doing anything to not gain weight! Like the Doctor said, thank lady luck! With saying that to according to the scales and what not before hand I was technically a little over weight so it's a good thing. I just hope that I don't balloon up a whole lot at the end like I did with Alyssa.
Cory started his vacation today which I'm so excited about! He was even surprised on his day off when he checked his email and found out a previous denied day was reversed and approved! I always get after him for checking his work email on his days off but this time it was worth it! So excited for the holiday fun to start up!

Busy day

Yesterday was a busy and fun day. I woke up early and went to Home Depot and got the paint to finally paint Deuce's room. When I walked out it was starting to snow!!! That was very exciting but I don't know what was better because afterwards I went over to the new Starbucks to treat myself and found that they had a drive through! Now your probably laughing but we don't have a Starbucks close to my house that has one and that's a big deal when you have kids.
Nicole came over that morning and gave Alyssa her Christmas gifts from her and her Aunt Lisa and Uncle Mark. They were the cutest gifts. Nicole got her a Ms. Potato Head and Aunt Lisa and Uncle Mark got her this cute little back pack with a puppy attached to it along with a book. All very cute! Afterwards, Nicole and I tackled .
the bedroom and got it all painted. I'm so relieved to have got that all done. Today I'm going to tackled the crib and get that put up. I'll take some pics soon and post once I get it more decorated.
Last night we went to Warm Beach and saw the Christmas light show. It was a good time. Amazing what they do with the lights. It was freezing but it was nice to actually get outside and walk around. Alyssa enjoyed it but at the end started to get pretty fussy.

Randomness

Not much going on but I have some cute pic's of Alyssa that I thought I would share!
Baby Deuce is doing well have my next appointment on Monday morning bright and early. Cory and I have finally decided on a name, I'm so excited about that! Cory only had two days left of work next week and than he is on vacation! Woohoo! We are hoping that we get some snow in the next few days. It makes us laugh listening to people and the news freak out about the weather. We have a lot of stuff coming up between now and New Year's that I can't wait for. Will try and keep updated from now until then!

Our tradition continues

This morning we got up bright and early and faced the very chilly air and headed down to Seattle to go get Alyssa's picture taken with Santa Claus. Now you may be asking why did we head down there? It's tradition in Cory's family to get pictures with Santa at the Nordstrom downtown. It started with his mom, Cory and his brother, and now Alyssa and soon to be baby Deuce.
I was a little nervous about how long we would have to stand in line. Actually we got there a little after 0830 and were out of there and headed up to Grammy's apartment by 0930. It wasn't bad at all and we didn't have to wait outside this time! I wasn't sure if she was going to want to sit on his lap but after her cookie and watching several other kids on his lap, she got right on there without a problem. Santa asked her several questions which of course she just stared at him and she refused to give him a hug. She did very well sitting on his lap and didn't cry. We got some pictures, none of which she was smiling, but the photographer did get one and I can't wait to see it.
Afterwards we headed to The Bay for breakfast and had a great talk with the waitress there. Some of the guys Cory works with and him used to go there for coffee and she recognized him. She let him know how much she appreciated all their work they do. It was fun talking with her. Alyssa left with her two grandmas and Cory and I headed out to do our Christmas shopping. I have to say except for some stocking stuffers we are done! WOOHOO!! Alyssa must have told Santa what she wanted because she got some great gifts! I can't wait for her to open them.
When we got back to the apartment Alyssa hadn't slept at all, much to my surprise. We packed up all her stuff and headed home where she quickly fell asleep after having a very exciting day.

Cory's 33rd birthday

Monday was Cory's 33rd birthday. He enjoyed the day going golfing with some good friends and having beers afterwards. Than we went into Seattle and dropped Alyssa off at G. Grammy's and we headed to Salty's to have dinner. My parents had got him a gift certificate there for his birthday. Our problem than was solved as to where we were going. I so benefited from that gift! Although I think there are many better seafood restaurants in the Seattle area we had a great meal and walked away stuffed as usual.
They had the place all decorated with their nutcrackers which are amazing. I can't wait until I can take Alyssa, to the nutcracker that is! Our waitress brought out some champagne and cider for us to have a toast. It was a nice relaxing dinner.
Alyssa on the other hand was entertaining herself. G. Grammy was having some friends over from church and when we got there she was running all about and showing off. It was kind of funny to meet all these people who already new so much of us but we had no idea who they were! They were celebrating someones birthday and Alyssa was all excited about the candles and cake, of course!
Last night I went out with some friends and learned how to make chocolates. It was amazing and so easy. I think this might be a bad habit! Baby Deuce is doing good. I'm getting bigger and he's letting me know when he is awake by kicking like crazy! We have been discussing baby names and I'm getting ready to paint the bedroom. I'm so excited to get that all put together.