Its Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!!

 We have had a fun last few days here!  Last Thursday I turned 31 weeks and everything is still looking good :)  Here is a photo:

In case you were thinking that I still look somewhat small, the next photo will give you a better idea of how I look relative to normal people :)  Poor Rick looks like he is being swallowed by my tummy! Today I uploaded some pictures to the computer and Daci saw one of me and goes, "Woah!  You are FAT!" I said, "Hey! No I'm not, I'm just pregnant!" She said, very seriously, shaking her head, with her eyebrows raised, "Nope, you are FAT!" So sad :(  But so true.  I don't know how I'm going to handle the growth that is going to happen in the next few weeks.  I am already dying!

 Rick's company's Christmas Party was held at a restaurant downtown called Vivo.  I was so excited my doctors said I could go if I promised to sit during the party.  It was so much fun to actually put normal clothes on, do my hair and makeup, and get out of the house!!

Carly and Micah at Vivo

This weekend we spent a lot of time decorating the house and setting up the Christmas Tree!  I knew it would be fun this year with Daci, but I didn't know how much fun!  She had a blast putting on the ornaments!  This is our first Christmas Tree since we have been married.  I bought brown and gold ornaments and turquoise ribbon to wrap around the tree.  Then, we hung all of my childhood ornaments. My grandparents always sent their grandkids an ornament each year.  Daci absolutely LOVED looking at all my fun ornaments and finding a good place for them to hang.  Daci has also accumulated some ornaments since my grandparents decided when their grandkids start having kids, that they get the ornaments instead.  My mom has also decided to carry on the tradition so Daci gets ornaments from my grandparents and my parents each Christmas.  She was so excited to hang all of her special ornaments!

After the tree was done she kept jumping up and down and saying, "Hooray! Its Christmas!"

This is one of my favorite ornaments.  My Great Grandma gave it to me in 1988!

I also have a ton of beautiful ballerinas

I've been working on a bunch of crafts in my bedrest days.  We put them all up this weekend.  I made a banner that says "Holiday" and I got a garland and some pretty picks to go across the top of the hutch. 

I did white pennants and random stamped holly leaves and berries, then I made red accordian flowers and sponged some chipboard letters red and covered them with glitter

Here is the lower half of our hutch:

I made these the same way as I made my candy corns for Halloween.  I wrapped strofoam cones in green yarn and then attached sparkly pom poms for ornaments.  For the stars I sponged chipboard stars in yellow then covered them in glitter.  I attached them to toothpicks and stuck them in the top.

My mom (www.karenpedersen.blogspot.com) designed this cute little box.  It is an advent calendar.  There are 24 tiles inside, each with a special activity to do as you count down to Christmas.

The big 12X12 box is one that my mom designed a few years ago.  I store my Christmas cards that I get in it.  I found those peppermint picks at JoAnns and put them in a clear vase.

I bought a bag of cinnamon scented pinecones at JoAnns and glittered them. I put them in this glass vase and my house smells like Christmas!  

Here is our banister.

Our three handmade stockings.  My mom made me my stocking for my very first Christmas.  It is white lace with green ribbon and my name is cross stitched in green.  Rick's mom made him his stocking for his first Christmas as well.  She cross stitched the whole thing. I made Daci her stocking for her very first Christmas.  Its not traditional Christmas colors but I think it still turned out cute :)  I love that we all have handmade stockings from our moms!

Some of the pretty picks in our garland on the banister

And on my kitchen table I have a Nutcracker (I was in the Nutcracker ballet 10 years in a row, it has a special place in my heart) and a bowl of the cinnamon glittered pincones

This is the first year I have decorated my house for Christmas and it is so much fun to get in the spirit!  Its even more fun to have a child that is so excited about it :)