January

January was kind-of a blur for me.  I welcomed in the new year by throwing up on the side of the road on the way home from a New Year's Eve party, and it didn't get too much better from there.  However, we did get to go to the Rose Parade on New Year's Day!

And...that's really all I have to say about January.

December

December was, of course, full of Christmas celebrations!  Disneyland is always super festive, and we still had our season passes, so we went a couple of times.

Cars Land was really cute at Christmas time.

Small World

These were the Disney shirts we got for my birthday.

 

Then, it was off to our hometowns for a whole week!  I wasn't feeling very good since I was in my first trimester of pregnancy, so I REALLY looked forward to this week to sleep in!  Before we met up with anyone, I really wanted to go to this good hamburger restaurant.  For some reason, a hot dog sounded really good (of all things!).  We also thoroughly enjoyed the fry sauce!

We met Scott's family at a new outdoor mall.  This is how we told them we were going to have a baby.  His siblings all came at different times, so I had to wear it for a long time while we were walking around.  It was quite awkward!

Christmas was with Scott's family this year, and we had a great time with all of the cute nieces and nephews.  They make Christmas so much more magical and fun!

 I made Scott this pillowcase.

Christmas morning

I made matching outfits for my two nieces.

For part of our Christmas present, Scott's parents rented out an indoor surfing place.  Scott was pretty awesome at surfing!  I stuck to the boogie board.

Then it was off to my family's house where we went sledding, played tennis, and apparently took no pictures.  We told my brothers we were pregnant by giving them a group gift of a t-shirt that said, "This Guy is the Favorite Uncle."  They all wrestled each other for it, and eventually Mark got it on and has maintained rights ever since!

The only picture I have...Mark was on his LDS mission when I got married, so I tried my wedding dress on so we could have a picture.

My dad was able to use his connections and let us see our baby!  This was at about nine weeks.  My mom was convinced it was a girl since it had a fast heartbeat, but of course my brothers "knew" it was a boy.  My dad started calling it "Paul," which was it's nickname for a few months.

 

November

My New Hot Dentist

I got to visit Scott in his clinic for the first time!  He gave me an awesome cleaning.  I look forward to the time when I don't have to pay for my own husband to clean my teeth (his school charges people to get work done in the clinic--no exceptions).

Big News!

If I wasn't in catch-up mode I'm sure this would be a very long, exciting post, but here's the quick story.  I had a feeling that I was pregnant, but it was too early to tell.  A few days later after I was actually late, I took a test and it came back negative.  A few days after that, Scott and I were about to go to the temple.  I thought it would be really cool to tell him that I was pregnant there, so I literally ran to the Walgreen's on the corner, bought a pregnancy test, and locked myself in the bathroom.  I was pretty sure it would be negative.  Slowly, the second line began to appear.  It was so faint that I had to look away and close my eyes a few times to make sure I wasn't just making it up.  I was shocked!  It was so surreal and I really didn't comprehend anything other than the fact that there was a plus sign on my pregnancy test and that was supposed to be very exciting.  I didn't have time to take another one and Scott was right outside the bathroom door, so I hid all evidence in the shower and embarked on the longest hour of my life.  I didn't want to tell Scott until after we went to the temple, and it is 45 minutes away!  When we finally got done it was raining, which totally ruined my plans because all the benches were soaking wet.  I ended up pulling Scott over by one of the alcoves with a bench and we both stood huddled under a tiny umbrella.  I said, "We're going to have a baby!"  Scott said, "Are you serious?!"  He was so happy and I will never forget the smile on his face.  He loves kids and is really excited to be a dad.  He did want to see the proof, though.  I told him how faint the line was and he was a little concerned I had made it up.  Afterward, we went to The Cheesecake Factory for my birthday and I couldn't stop talking about it.  And, of course, when we got home I took a second test.  (I may or may not have taken a third a few weeks later when I was concerned that I still didn't have many symptoms yet.  I really should have just been thankful.  I didn't know what was coming soon!)

I know this might be weird to post, but I want to have it since this blog is like my scrapbook.

  

My Birthday

For my birthday we celebrated by going to the Cheesecake Factory, which is my favorite restaurant.  Scott gave me Red Robin seasoning, Spaghetti Factory creamy pesto dressing, a couple of workout shirts and pants, and a homemade card with three dollars in it so I could get Wendy's chicken nuggets, fries, and a frosty.  This was extra thoughtful of him because I once told him I think cards are a waste of money and that I would rather have a frosty for the same price.

Thanksgiving
For Thanksgiving we met my family in St. George.  We had a great time biking, eating delicious food, and playing tennis.  My grandparents also met up with us for the weekend, and we had a good time with them as well.  We hadn't planned on telling my family about the baby until Christmas, but I gave myself away by falling asleep basically every time I sat down.  When we could tell my parents knew, we decided it was dumb to pretend they didn't for a month.  My mom's first words after I told her were, "No, really?"  I guess it was pretty obvious!

I was in charge of making rolls, so naturally I had to haul my red Kitchen Aid to assist me. 

Scott and my brothers participated in "Movember."   This is where guys don't shave for the whole month of November to support prostate cancer research or something like that.  I'm all for cancer research, but I'm not really sure how growing facial hair supports it.  I think it's just an excuse for guys to not shave and to prove their manliness.  Clearly, they were very proud of their facial hair.  Personally, I was glad when November was over.

We took family pictures while we were there.

We went to a living nativity at Tuacahn.

October

Scott's Birthday
October always begins with Scott's birthday!  This may have been the most people we've ever crammed into our apartment!

I made chocolate pound cake.  I thought it looked like a chocolate cake dounought with sprinkles, which I was happy about.

I think the number of candles was just random.

 

Lots of people!

Trip to LA
A couple of my friends have lived in SoCal their whole lives, so they are LA experts.  We went to the fabric district, rode the train (I can't remember what they call it here) to Hollywood, and ate at the famous Nickle Diner.  I even tried the famous doughnut with bacon on it.

My new haircut.

 On the train (or whatever they call it).

Chinese Theater in Hollywood.

I think you can see the Hollywood sign waaaaaay in the background.

Shopping center in Hollywood.  I can't remember what it's called now, but it was fun to walk around.

Oak Glen
When my family lived in SoCal while my dad attended medical school, we loved going to Law's Cafe in Oak Glen every fall.  Scott and I have continued that tradition, and this year our friends went with us.  The apple buffet is the best breakfast I've ever had, the flower fields and apple orchards are beautiful, and there are fun shops to walk around.

Pretty flowers.

Picking apples.

Crafty Accomplishments

I usually don't have much patience for crafts, but I somehow got on a kick this month.  It may have started with my church's Relief Society Super Saturday, where I made lots of crafty decorations.  I was very burned out by the end, but I am very grateful for the decorations I have now!

 

My second crafty spurt came after I visited a street festival near my house that had lots of really cute booths.  One had some cute onesies, and my friend commented on how easy they would be to make.  I told her I'd make her some for her upcoming baby shower, so then I was committed!  I ironed the fabric on, then blanket stitched around it.  My mom taught me how to blanket stitch over Skype!  Here are a few I have made since then.

Parent Visit
Scott's parents visited for Columbus Day weekend.  We had fun exploring the aquarium, playing tennis, and watching General Conference.

Halloween
Halloween is one of the few holidays for which I have decorations!  We carried on our disney theme, and I was Minnie and Scott was Mickey.

I did this one night while Scott was studying to keep myself from distracting him.

My mom made us this cute table-topper.

Most couples carve pumpkins together, but I am a terrible and impatient pumpkin carver so I convinced Scott to do mine for me.  They turned out really great!

Mickey and Minnie Mouse!

My costume.  I made the skirt myself.  Yet another example of my increasing craftiness.  I must be getting old!

I'm Back!

I'm going to make no promises about how long I will keep blogging after this attempt to return...but I'm going to try!  The other day, Scott mentioned that he missed reading our blog, and it's a nice way to document memories.  So, without further adieu, here is my attempt to update at least month to month from last October until now!