Christmas 2008

Jon and I spent Christmas with his family in Denver. We actually left a day early and went down to Colorado Springs to check things out. Jon and I are convenience people, especially since we have now lived without conveniences for so long (think wide open spaces of WY). So we were pleasantly surprised to find that the area that had lots of houses in our price range, happened to very close to a Wal-mart, Super Target, a mall, lots of strip malls, and of course great restaurants. Of course we aren't going to be making our decision on where to live solely on the convenience factor, but it sure moved the area up in our books! It was kind of snowy off and on all day, so we didn't really get to do a lot of house hunting, but it's still early anyway. We were just so excited to see that the town we will be moving to is actually a city with things to do...and believe it or not, although it is only three hours from our house now, it is MUCH warmer, and not nearly as windy. We are finally starting to get excited about it!

We met up with Jon's parents and grandparents that evening in Denver. We had a great time just relaxing and hanging out with the family. We got to do lots of shopping, which I loved because Wyoming and all shopping within one hour of me seems to be devoid of any good maternity clothes. I was like a kid in a candy store when I saw Gap Maternity! I also found out that there was an Old Navy Maternity across town, which we stopped at on the way home. Overall it was a very nice, relaxing Christmas.

We of course, exchanged gifts, although I am pretty certain that I got the best gift. Technically Jon got it too, but we all know that it was really for me. Long story short, Jon and I saw these dishes at his grandma's house at Thanksgiving. We both thought they were so great, but weren't sure what she was going to do with them (they were all boxed up). So I guess Jon did some investigating and it was quickly decided that I would get them for my Christmas gift, as a surprise. I guess she wasn't sure what she was going to do with the dishes, hence why nothing had been done and they were just being stored. They (Geneva & Cindy) are very sentimental about the dishes, as they are the dishes that were used when Cindy was growing up, so they wanted them to "stay in the family." So I guess everyone was pretty happy about it when Jon mentioned how much we liked them. So I warmly welcomed my new (to me at least) Franciscan ware dishes. Aren't they great?

Sorry, I had to take lots of pictures. I was just so excited about them!

The whole slew of them. There's definitely more dishes there than what we had in our cabinets, so it took some serious re-arranging. We did manage to find room though!

My favorites. Teapot, coffee pot, and water pitcher!

Now, I would hate for you to think that I was the only one that made out like a bandit this year. Trust me, my dishes have paled in comparison to Baby Haddy's loot! This is her combined loot, from all family and friends so far, and she's barely 2/3 baked! I am sure that her wardrobe will continue to increase as her arrival gets closer and closer. A friend of mine from work also gave me a lot of clothes for her (not included in the picture), so needless to say, I am pretty sure she already has more clothes than me! It was a lot of fun receiving these things...miniature sweaters, fleece, footed jammies, and onsies. Yea, for already excited grandparents and friends!

She did finally get her first Broncos garb. I was getting worried, as my mom had already gotten her a few Saints items, and my sister Yankees stuff. The kid needed some Broncos stuff! So this is one of her items, and cozy Broncos blanket. The rest will have to wait until she's a little older. It was purchased in season sizes!
I am already beginning to fill up her dressers! The first drawer is already full of blankets, hats, and miniature socks! You can also briefly see the Radio Flyer that Mom get her in NY.

Speaking of dressers. Finally a picture of the finished product. Remember the $30 dressers that we found?? Here they are, and already functioning! We got a lot of stuff done over the Christmas break, which was really nice. We also have a crib now, which Jon has already put together. It's not ready to be displayed yet, so you will just have to wait for pictures of that! We are slowly beginning to move things out of the extra bedroom (baby's room) and moving her new furniture in. We are going to leave our guest bed in the room as long as possible (although I suspect it will go sooner than Jon thinks). I mean we have to be able to start decorating and stuff. We've only got three more months! So anyway, we are really excited and the reality of it all is starting to hit us. Yea for baby making, right?!? :)