Catching up!

Well, it has been a few weeks since I have updated... Christmas "this" and Christmas "that" have taken up 95% of my free time (..I love it)! So, let me just make you a little list of updates:

1.  I know you looked twice, thinking that was me! I feel just like Wonder Woman! I feel great and have had tons of energy the last 2 weeks. I feel like I never sit down, and am the most productive person in the U.S of A! :) I am most likely making up for the 3 months that I was a vegetable (Luke is loving having a little time off of laundry duty and every other household job that I didn't do).

2.  I am pretty sure I felt the baby kick on Saturday, for the first time. It was a fast flutter, and I am sure it wasn't my bubbly stomach! It was very exciting, but I second guessed myself because it was so fast. However, I have felt the same type of movements throughout the week, so I am sure it is Lil' Wayne dancing around.

3. Our next appointment is on Thursday. I'll be just about 19 weeks, which is one week shy of the anticipated 20 week ultrasound. We will most likely head back for that after Christmas. We're really excited to see the changes in the baby, and will hopefully get a better glimpse at some of his/her characteristics...but NOT that close.  Most people can't wait for this appointment because they are finding out the sex of the baby. Weirdly, I don't feel anxious about not finding out. I haven't even tried to convince Luke to find out, so I know for sure that I don't want to know. Typically I bug and bug and bug until I get what I want! ;)  

Week 19: The baby is the size of a mango! 6 inches long and 8.5 oz. (Only 8 more pounds to gain, and he/she will be right on target with Luke and I when we were born). Next week it will grow to a whopping cantaloupe! A mango to a cantaloupe is quite a jump, I wonder if they ran out of fruit?

4. I am in L-O-V-E with grapefruit and Cocoa Puffs this week! For Christmas, if you just wrapped up a box of fresh grapefruit..you would be my best friend! Don't forget the sugar to sprinkle on top, though! ;) Typically I don't have the patience to cut up grapefruit, as you have to carve around each little triangle, but now I just drool and cut as fast as possible ;) Whoever decided that eating a grapefruit that way was convenient, was way wrong. My mom was obsessed with Cocoa Puffs when pregnant with me, which is ironic! We decided tonight that it was the chocolaty flavor mixed with a titch of salt? I am still not hungry for chocolate like normal, but those puffs just seem to hit the spot!

5. Just wanted to share this picture of a sled my Dad had when he was a kiddo! It was in our garage and he gave it to us to add to our Christmas decor! We were going to put it outside,  but because our house is on a hill..everything blows off, over, away...Let's just say it would be out on our steps for 2 months and Luke would be picking it up/adjusting it from the wind for 2 months, and I would be listening to him complain about it for 2 months! :) Therefore, it ended up in our kitchen next to the fireplace! We love it!! :)

6. Handy Hubby: Luke had been busy working on a few woodworking projects the last few weeks. Each year the Recruiting Battalion out of Harrisburg has an ATC, which is a training event, followed by a formal dinner. I will update about that more later, but each Company (Luke's the Commander of the State College Recruiting Company-which has 7 Recruiting Stations across Central, PA) presents awards to its most successful recruiters. Luke made the plaque's this year and they turned out fantastic! The awards mounted are R-E-A-L guns and swords. I think the project took him longer than anticipated because he would stop and play with the guns and swords every so often! Men! ;)

 7. My FAVORITE Part of Christmas is wrapping. If I could become a professional wrapping paper-er, I would! This year I was so stressed out because I couldn't find the perfect paper. If you have ever been to State College before, they have the worst shopping E-V-E-R, and shopping for wrapping paper was no exception. I love Hobby Lobby's selections 1. because they give you a million feet on a roll and 2. they offer a wide array of choices AND color "themes". However, there is not a Hobby Lobby in sight (I thought about driving back to Fayetteville-hehe). Well, I finally compromised with some paper I found at Walmart. I think it was 30 feet for 4.99, which is absurd, but it is thick and glittery. You probably think I am crazy for analyzing wrapping paper, but it is just "one of those things".Sadly, I am not in love with my theme this year, but I tried to spice it up with ornaments and personalized name tags. Next year I will be SURE to plan ahead!

(If you are expecting a gift from us, don't be analyzing which one is yours and what it could be-that's cheating!) ;)

The cats made a new friend through the window! We have a stray in the backyard, and it is probably the ugliest cat in America, but you can't help but feel sad for it! Luke wants to bring it inside, but 3 cats (especially one that is so ugly it will give me nightmares), isn't a good idea. Not to mention if we had 3 cats we would looks like freaks! Anyways, this past week it snowed and there were little paw prints up our stairs to the window. It explains why the cats sit by the door window and wait. Here they are at the side window waiting for their little friend. Makes me so sad!

Well, that is it for the random updates! I promised my Grandma this would be updated by Sunday, because I was afraid she would stop being one of my faithful little followers if I didn't. Happy Sunday!