Merry Christmas 2011!

Tomorrow is the last day of my WONDERFUL two week vacation from work and let me tell you I will be sad to go back. This last trimester has really slowed me down, and I truly enjoyed being home with Isabel and taking it easy. Okay.. we didn't exactly take it EASY but we had a lot of fun celebrating the holidays and spending time as a whole family (Jason was off for a good part of my vacation too.) Here are some of my favorite pictures from the past two weeks.

YaYa and I took the girls to "Kids Play World" one morning and they had a good time running around, trying out new toys and dressing up.

Princess Bel

Payton loved driving

Both girls liked the "dance party" room!

We all went out to dinner at Jurin for Jason's birthday-- princess Bel got dressed up for the occasion.

 Poor Jason--- his birthday is so close to Christmas. We always try to make sure that we have a separate celebration. He deserves it! What a great dad and husband :)

Ice cream cake--- yes please!

On Christmas Eve Eve we headed off to church with the Leppins and met my family there.

(Woo! Check out that bump... getting pretty big!)

Bel loves her Grandma and Grandpa Leppin

and after much waiting... Christmas Eve finally arrived! Do you think Isabel was excited?

Maybe Daddy was excited too?

Fun with some of my favorite people...

Aunt Mimi and Uncle Zack

Mom and Dad

Time for presents!

 We were very spoiled... even Lucy!!

Mandy's chocolate fountain---- DANGEROUS!

 Christmas is magical with little ones around!

These two cuties were off to bed fairly early so Santa could come.

And he was very good to us all this year!

Isabel with "Angelina Ballerina"

... and here she is taking a picture of ME taking a picture of HER

and my gift--- I love it. (Finished two books already :) Thanks Jason!

and then we were off to the Leppin's house for more food, presents and fun!

Grandma and Grandpa SPOILED our little ones....

Isabel's aunts from Arkansas sent her lots of gifts too-- she was one lucky girl!

and from Grandma and Grandpa--- an AWESOME train table!

Luckily, Dad had help putting it together.

And after the holidays.... we had more time to play with friends, do some organizational projects around the house, and get things ready for Lucy.

The girls having fun together

Dress up and tea party!

Jacqueline and Isabel taking time out for a snack.

So............ it has been a full two weeks of relaxing and fun with family and now it is coming to a close. It feels a little like the calm before the storm because I know as soon as I head back to work this week things are going to accelerate. I have a lot of work obligations and things to prepare before my maternity leave-- not to mention weekly doctor's appointments now.. and in just a few short weeks --Lucy arrives (and I'm guessing things won't slow down then  for quite a while :) So, I am thankful for the time I have had off and a little anxious about what is to come. We will keep you all posted-- Merry Christmas!

Ready... set....

Lucy Leppin is set to arrive January 31st via C-section (unless she comes early on her own). So.... we decided it was finally time to get her room put together. We are pretty much just going to recycle Bel's old furniture for Lucy (hope she doesn't mind the pre-made teeth marks on her crib :) However, I didn't really want to use the same bedding and colors we used for Isabel. Maybe it is because she was the "queen of reflux" and puked on her old bedding 4 million times.. or maybe it is because Isabel's current room is the PINKEST thing you've ever seen-- but I decided to go with a totally different color scheme. No pink this time. Her walls are called "baby fawn" (a color I saw on Pottery Barn's website and fell in love with-- but that looks NOTHING like it did online) and her bedding was made for me by my VERY crafty Martha Stewart sister for Christmas. It is paisley and oh so pretty. We are accenting it with a green and cream color. Overall, it is a soft and muted room- but I love it!

I tried to take some pics of her room-- but I can't get the lighting right. With no flash it is too dark-- and with a flash everything is washed out and appears white. Too bad--you can't see just how cute it is. Here you can sort of get the idea though.

Tis the Season...

This has been such a fun holiday season so far. Isabel is finally old enough to be really excited about everything Christmas related. We have been reading her stories, watching Christmas movies, and singling carols---Here are some of my favorite pics from December so far...

At South Elgin's "An Almost Winter Day" with the grandmas :)

Payton and Belly

Decorating our tree

Decorating YaYa's tree too

This year we started the "Elf on the Shelf" tradition too. Isabel gets so excited every morning when she wakes up-- she can't wait to search the house for "Max". Here are some of the places we have found him.

Perched on the light fixture in the dining room

Having a tea party with dolly

On his way to school..... and several other places.

On Dec. 9th we got our first snow of the season. Isabel was excited so we took a few pics before school.

It wasn't much-- and it didn't last long (just the way mom likes it)

But it was fun, nonetheless

Isabel took a trip to the mall with Ya Ya and cousin Payton to see Santa. However, she would not even go NEAR him. So when her daycare said that they would have Santa visiting this past Saturday we were hesitant about going. Luckily, in this environment she was slightly more comfortable.

While she wouldn't sit on his lap-- she did give him a "high five" and a hug-- and shouted what she wanted from across the room (an Angelina Ballerina doll and band-aids-- who knew?!)

Hugs for Santa!

A quick pic with one of her boyfriends from school- Garrick

Our Christmas card picture...

Such a fun (and busy) time of year!! We are looking forward to celebrating the birth of our savior Jesus Christ in just two short weeks. Merry Christmas friends and family :)

Gobble.. Gobble...

See that?!

That is our Thanksgiving turkey.. and what you CAN'T see is that this is my mom holding this 20 pound guy and giving me a turkey making tutorial at 9:00am on Thanksgiving morning. This year we hosted Thanksgiving for twelve at our new house. It was so fun to have everyone over for our first official holiday. The Leppin-Kerruish-Davis family all pitched in by bringing lots of side dishes and desserts -- so it was actually pretty low stress for all. And that turkey turned out yummyif I do say so myself :)

Isabel....is watching and learning.

Cousin kisses! The girls always have fun playing together

My beautiful sissy! (aka Rapunzel)

awwww... our first holiday in the new house

Kind of came in handy not having any furniture in our front room- - just rented some tables and chairs and voila!

Delish

Just because I am not feeling short and squat enough these days... :)

Isabel made necklaces for all of the ladies

Pretty grouchy after her nap

wow--now that looks good

Definitely not my favorite part

More food than we could possibly eat!

Dig in!

really?! cute cowgirl

Everything that I am thankful for is right here on this couch! God has blessed me greatly.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Good News!!

As week 29 approaches.... I am feeling OH SO pregnant. The heartburn has gotten out of control again and TUMS just weren't cutting it. Dr. Michael prescribed me some prescription strength meds. this week, and luckily these seem to be taking the edge off. I am entering my third trimester now and slowing down. I feel so tired after work on most days that I am pretty much useless by 6:30 pm. That means I have to make the most of my weekends and I really need to start working on the baby's room. Soon it will be the holidays and then Jan. 31st.... and then baby girl!!!!!!

.. and speaking of baby girl--- Yesterday, we got some really great news. We went to see a specialist  because my doctor had been concerned about how the baby's kidney had been developing. After a 2.5 hour appointment Jason and I were reassured that everything looks great. He does not think I will need any more ultrasounds and measurements are right on track. Now I feel like we can take a little breath and start to prepare for our girl.

By the way.... do you want to meet her? Here is the latest picture............ of Lucy Kathleen Leppin.
That's right- once again the cat is out of the bag and Jason and I can't keep a secret. We have decided to name our little girl Lucy (how cute is that?) Both Jason and I fell in love with the name. Kind of old-fashioned, kind of classic, very cute. And Kathleen is of course in honor of the most important woman in my life-- my momma. I have always liked the fact that my mom named me after her mother -- and I wanted to honor her by doing the same. I know that Lucy will love sharing this name with her Ya Ya. Besides, Kathleen is beautiful.