Getting Caught Up

Phew! December was a busy month! 6 new posts below!

Christmas Church Outfits

Alli and Nick got new church outfits from grandma and grandpa Kershaw for Christmas. They wore the outfits today and they looked so cute (and they knew it). They usually don't cooperate too well for pictures, but today they were happy to pose (more than 2 inches from the camera even!) I wanted to get one of them together, but that was asking too much. Maybe next time...

Merry Christmas

We stayed in Colorado with my family for Christmas this year. For Christmas Eve, we had everyone over at our house. We fed the kids pizza for dinner, watched The Grinch (my personal favorite), had the kids open their Christmas pajamas (thanks mom and dad), and then put the kids to bed. After they were asleep we had an "adults-only" dinner of spaghetti and meatballs. Italian on Christmas Eve is a Plowman/Kershaw tradition. It was so nice to be able to enjoy a meal without all the interruptions!

On Christmas morning we went to Courtney and Russ's house for breakfast and opening presents. It was a long process since most of the presents were for the kids and they were perfectly content to play with the toys they had already opened. Nick was the worst, though. He has had this thing with carrying around 2 matchbox cars at all times, which makes it very hard for him to do anything else (I think the cars have turned into his comfort item since we took the pacifiers away a few weeks ago). Everyone was happy to relax and enjoy the day. We did have one very funny full-out tantrum courtesy of Lindsey. In her defense, Alli did steal a ride on her new rocking horse.

David and Natalie - we missed you and hope you can come to visit soon!

New Hair / Basketball Belly

As promised...a belly shot. No, I didn't stuff a basketball up my shirt. Yes, I really am carrying that low (thanks twins for stretching my skin out). I am feeling pretty good overall. I do have some aches and pains and I'm usually exhausted by the time Alli and Nick go to bed. Our little girl is still kicking away. When I go to the doctor, they are amazed how much she moves and how they can feel almost every body part. It's kind of neat, but kind of creepy (I think) when I look down and see my whole belly shifting and then have a knee or elbow or foot sticking out. I can' t believe that I have less than two months left (my due date is February 21st). Now that Christmas is over, I really need to start getting ready! I think that we will move the office to the basement and set her room up when she is about 3 months old. For the first few months she can camp out in our room. We have narrowed down our list of names to about 3 - just not quite ready to share yet...

Also, on a whim (sort-of) I got my hair chopped off. I have had the same hair (more or less) for a while now and decided it was time for a change. It was a little shocking at first, but I really like it.

Snow Fun

We had a white Christmas in Colorado this year. Brian took the kids out sledding a couple of times and they loved it so much they didn't even want to come home for hot chocolate (or "ot chockit" as Alli would say)!

I Passed!

If you've been reading our blog this year, you probably know that I've spent lots of time studying for the Fundamentals of Engineering exam in April and then the Principles & Practice exam in October. I found out that I passed the October exam about a week ago, so I am now officially a "Professional Engineer"! This is a major accomplishment for me and I am SO glad that I will never have to take either test again!

Visits with Santa

We went to 4 Christmas parties in one weekend - 3 with the kids! It was busy, but fun! Alli and Nick were very excited about seeing Santa and didn't seem too scared this year. However, neither of them would actually talk to Santa until they were off his lap and leaving...then they could safely say "bye Santa". We only got decent pictures from the Santa visit at my work's children's party. I posted the picture from the twins club party just for fun (yes, Nick is actually picking his nose).