Thanksgiving

We have had a great Thanksgiving with just our little family of 3 soon to be 4. This is the first year we have not been around our extended family and the first year we were in charge of our own Thanksgiving dinner. I was impressed with us though!

We had Thanksgiving with our good friends Dave and Liz and it was soo good. They took the hard job of the turkey, but we brought the pies, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, and rolls. Yummy. I am so grateful for all of my many blessings.... especially these two (and the one of the way).

We tried to take some family pictures before Thanksgiving dinner but it didn't go too well. Aubrey is pretty sure that she should be the one taking the pictures instead of in them.

Speaking of Aubrey, she is just becoming her own little person and talking more everyday. She has quite the personality. She will tell you too. One of her favorite things to say is, "I'm so funny." 

On Friday we set up the Christmas decorations and wrapped all our presents. I only have a couple left to get and we are ready!

Putting up the lights, or "yites" was a big hit. 

I swear I also grew a couple inches this weekend. Third trimester of pregnancy over the holidays = yikes. 31 weeks and things seem to be doing well. Another thing I am very grateful for!

I love this time of year!

Halloween 2012

For this year's Halloween pumpkin, Steven decided to carve the LinkedIn logo:

It looked way cool and it was a very fitting pumpkin for the Foote family year of 2012. We absolutely LOVE LOVE Steven's job at LinkedIn and it has been such a huge blessing for our family. A year ago, I wondered what we were doing here in the Bay Area. Now I know, and we are in a good place. 

The company is fantastic and there are a lot of perks to working there. Aubrey and I love coming to eat lunch with Steven and help enjoy some of those perks :) 

Here are some other photos from Halloween 2012. We actually did a lot, but I spent most of the time chasing my crazy little girl around and so I didn't get too many pictures. She was a darn cute Zebra through.

We carved pumpkins, went to a pumpkin patch, 2 Halloween parties, and Aubrey went trick-or-treating 3 times. 

We spent a lot of time practicing having Aubrey say "Trick or Treat"... and then "Thank you." But when the time came she wouldn't say anything! She would just hold out her bucket and then wave bye bye. *sigh* All that practicing for nothing. Despite being a mute, she loved trick-or-treating and definitely got the hang of things quick.

Grandpa Kelly

Steven's Grandpa Kelly passed away this week. He was such a sweet and loving man and will be greatly missed:

I know that Steven has many more memories and should probably be the one writing this post, but every time I saw him he was so kind and happy. The above photo was taken at our wedding and I am so glad our photographer captured such a great shot. 

I am especially glad that we were able to go to a family reunion this past June with this side of Steven's family. I remember Aubrey sat on his lap and tried to feed him ice cream. 

The funeral is being held today in Reno. Since I am now entering my third trimester and at a risk for pre-term labor, my doctors advised me not to travel at all, and so I was unable to go. That on top of the fact that I have another cold/flu virus that I am fighting unfortunately mean that I am here resting (and coughing like crazy) on the couch today instead of with my family.

Steven took Aubrey with him to the funeral. As I watched him carry her sleeping down to the car this morning at 5, my heart hurt and I missed them like crazy even though they will only be gone for a day. 

I realized how grateful for I am for family, and how blessed I am that I get to spend my days with my little ones. Even on the really hard days, and honestly with how sick I have been, how hard this pregnancy has been, and how incredibly active Aubrey is... there have been some hard days lately, I cherish the blessings of family and motherhood. 

Losing a loved one puts life in perspective, and having a testimony of the eternal nature of family and that the relationships we develop in this life can last forever, brings such peace and hope.

Steven's grandfather was married for 56 years, raised 8 children, had 38 grandchildren, and now 16 great-grandchildren with more on the way. That is what life is about, and I am grateful that we can be part of such a lasting family legacy. 

Girls' Room

I think that I have finally organized and finished the girls' room that Aubrey will be sharing with her new baby sister. I definitely wish that we had more space and that we lived in a place where adding a third bedroom wouldn't cost an extra $1000 per month (no joke).

At the same time... Steven and I are both huge fans of small spaces and the "Ikea" type idea of living with less. Our apartment is 900 sq feet and it doesn't feel cramped at all. It keeps me from buying a ton of stuff, I have to stay on top of de-junking, and it feels cozy. One day we will have more, but for now we are content with less.

So the girls' room is 10 X 10. Definitely small.... but I think we have figured out how to make it be functional for both girls. We might move when our contact is up in March, but it would most likely be to another 2 bedroom, so I will just recreate. Here are some pictures!

View from the doorway

Aubrey's bed. She loves her pillow and sleeping like a big girl. 

Aubrey's reading corner. I will admit, she doesn't have a ton of toys. We go out a lot for that, but she does have a ton of books. I hope to foster a passion for reading, and she certainly enjoys having her own space for it. Now if I can only get her to stop climbing on the table.

All the storage and clothes are in the closet. Mostly due to space, but it also seems to keep Aubrey from pulling everything out of the drawers every time she goes down for a nap. 

Crib. I love the tissue paper pom poms :) Perfect mobile for our little girl. 

Baby girl's side of the room with the changing table/crib.

And there you have it! I hope by being so prepared that all of this just sits waiting for the next 3 months while I get large and make it full-term.

Next up is getting Christmas and Aubrey's birthday all ready, and I hope to have a nice stock of freezer meals made before she is born. This is a CrAzY time of year, and despite my love of summer we have managed to have both kids, our anniversary, and the holidays all at the same time. I guess we must like crazy. 

Halloween Party

Last night we had a Halloween party with some of our couple friends. Our awesome hosts, Dave and Liz put together a fun Minute to Win it game night:

Steven and I finished about the middle of the pack. Some games we did awesome (I won two!) and some we just completely sucked at. But, we sure got some funny photos...

Our good friends Kyle and Kaylee were nice to keep Aubrey away from the action while we completed our games. Kaylee is due with a boy in December before me. Our little girl #2 doesn't know it yet, but we have already picked out a boy for her :)

Like any parent, I think watching Aubrey was one of my favorite parts. After each couple had done their games, we would let Aubrey "play." I loved to watch her interpretation of what she saw everybody else do:

 Here is a preview of our what our little zebra will look like on Halloween. Halloween has admittedly never really been my thing. Being sick and pregnant this year, it is really not my thing, so Aubrey dresses up for the whole family. 

Aubrey also had a buddy in little Quincy. Quincy is exactly one year younger than Aubrey. Aubrey spent half the night crawling around on her hands and knees so she could be just like her.

Sometimes it is hard not having any family around, but we are so lucky that we have such great friends. Thanks guys!

24 weeks

Here I am at 24 weeks with baby girl #2.

And just for fun, here I am almost exactly 2 years ago at about this point with Aubrey.

I definitely feel bigger this time around, but I guess that is common with #2. The whole getting bigger part of pregnancy is really hard for me. And, I will admit I am a little worried this time. I only gained like 23 pounds with Aubrey. I definitely don't want to go early again, so I was hoping for like 30 this time. We will see.

I had gained like nothing until I started those darn progesterone shots, but since then... more than I would have liked. I'm still acting healthy, so I'm trying to just go with it since it is what my body seems to need.

We are starting to get things ready for this little girl to come. I know it is early, but I want to be all ready as early as possible, so I don't have to worry. Considering the shock and surprise and complete chaos that happened when Aubrey was born, it will be nice to have a bag packed, nursery ready, etc.

The sickness has definitely made this pregnancy hard, but so far I have avoided all the heartburn, leg cramps, and nose bleeds I got last time.

We are happy. I can't wait to see what she looks like and meet her little personality.

"Naptime"

I put Aubrey down for a nap at 1 pm. It is now 2:45 and she is finally conked out. I think she is enjoying the freedom of her toddler bed a little bit much!

Baby doll stripped of all clothes? check.

Every blanket out and thrown around (including behind the bed)? check.

Books strewn everywhere? check.

I don't keep any toys in her room, or who knows what she would get into. Considering some of her past "naps" I'm just lucky that she is fully clothed!

I love her love of life. She teaches me to stop and just enjoy. Toddlers may be demanding and difficult, but they sure are funny :)