Mele Kalikimaka

Merry Christmas to our friends and family!

Well, as we are getting ready for the busy holiday season, we have reached the half way point in this pregnancy! Baby K is moving around much more, and it's great to feel those little kicks! He seems to love music--especially Corey Smith, and when I eat food!

Joey and I celebrated Christmas at our house on Saturday, Dec. 19. We enjoyed watching Kimo and Naia open their gifts (Naia was especially good at ripping the wrapping paper off). As we were relaxing on the couch later that afternoon, Joey felt his son kick him for the first time! What a great Christmas present for his daddy!

We enjoyed spending Sunday with Joey's mom. She made an amazing dinner and we opened gifts. We watched a movie and had some good laughs. Too bad we forgot to take pictures! Did I mention that dinner was amazing?! Thanks, Mom! We love you!

We are spending Christmas in Ohio this year--we brought the dogs and drove the 15 hours! The trip was great and we even got to see some snow in Tennessee! This was Joey's first snow experience...ever!

So, my parents have a full house this year: Brian, Ashley, their 6-month old, Stuie & Beanie (their two dogs), me, Joey, Kimo & Naia (our two dogs), Mom, Dad, Katie, Andie & Bob (their dog and cat). Yes, that adds up to FIVE dogs and a cat. Needless to say, the cat has not been spotted. The dogs all get along surprisingly well! They love playing in the field at the end of the street.



23 Weeks

It's starting to snow! We are in a winter advisory right now...maybe we will get a few inches today (Dec. 27)!

Cousin Wedding #2 (Vegas)

We really enjoyed our time with Joey's extended family! And there couldn't have been a better occasion than April and Brandon's wedding to get together. It was our first time in Las Vegas and we made sure we saw as much as we could in the two days we were there! The Christmas decorations were amazing! Here are some of our pictures:


The Bellagio (where we stayed)

Fountains of Bellagio--the music, lights, and fountain went together beautifully and were spectacular!

The Christmas decorations in the lobby of the Bellagio were made out of flowers. They had to change the flowers every 4 days to keep them fresh!



Our favorite slot machine: the nickel Wheel of Fortune! Joey even got the spin the wheel!



The wedding was beautiful! It was held at the Wynn and then the reception was in a suite back at the Bellagio. Joey looked great in his suit! :) And of course, the bride, April was gorgeous!!

Pink and Blue Day

What an exciting day! We finally found out FOR SURE that he is a boy! It's always so much fun to go to the ultrasound appointments knowing you get to see what's going on in there, but this one was especially fun! We even got to see him open his mouth! Pretty amazing! Here is his latest portrait (you can see his little hand next to his face)...

And here is his first Christmas ornament. :)

Thanksgiving: Office to Nursery Conversion

So, the office is now on the way to becoming a nursery and the garage has been converted to a "man room." I wanted a place to put all of Joey's awards and accomplishments other than a box when we turned the office into the nursery. Joey had talked about making a hang out area in the garage, so I decided to surprise him while he was at work. Joey's mom and I did our own episode of "While You Were Out" and finished the "man room" by the time he came home (glad he works 12 hour shifts)! We painted the garage wall the same color the office was, rehung all of his FSU memorabilia and Sheriff's Office awards, and relocated the futon to it's new home in the "man room." Mom even added an awesome dart board!



My parents and sister came to visit for Thanksgiving and brought their work clothes! They were able to tackle the daunting task of painting over the merlot colored walls in the office and creating a "hazy sage" nursery. Joey and my parents did most of the painting and did an excellent job. The color came out great and I can't wait to add the crib and baby accessories...and baby!

We were so blessed this year to be able to enjoy a Thanksgiving feast with Joey's mom as well as my parents and Katie. It was great to have some of our family here with us and to give thanks together! What a great Thanksgiving!


Joey did a great job of carving the turkey!


Baby K's room so far...

Kimo and Naia loved having grandpa, grandma, and Aunt Katie come to visit!

18 Weeks

Go Buckeyes! We beat Michigan this weekend. Glad my OSU PJ pants still fit!

Joey and I went to dinner and a movie on a Friday night. We can't remember the last time we actually followed through with the dinner AND a movie plan and didn't go home after dinner to go to bed! I am very proud of myself for staying up so late. :) Blindside was an excellent movie and it was fun seeing it on the opening night!

Cousin Wedding #1

We went to Ohio the first weekend of November to celebrate my cousin Kelley's wedding. We really enjoyed seeing family (especially our 4 month old nephew)! The weather was great and the wedding was beautiful! Stay tuned for Cousin Wedding #2 in a few weeks from Vegas!


Mom & Dad enjoying having their family all together...

Mom surprised at my baby belly!

Katie, me, and Brian all dressed up.

Brian and Joey lookin' good!

Brian and Ashley--I'm so glad we were all able to make it to Ohio.

Joey with his nephew :)

Joey and the deer. Yes, deer.

So, we didn't get a picture with the bride and groom at their wedding, but we were happy to meet them for dinner while they were in Florida on their honeymoon and grabbed a picture then!

Second Trimester

Fourteen weeks and it's "wear-your-favorite-jersey-to-school day." Of course, I chose Joey's Florida State jersey. :) Every year I get the, "You played football?!" comment from at least one of my students when they see KALEIKINI across the back of it! My belly is definitely getting bigger--can't fit into my regular clothes anymore...


Some other things going on in our life so far this trimester:

Halloween

Kimo and Naia loved the pumpkin-I think they thought it was a toy for them to play with.

And we had to make them take turns putting the jack-o-lantern costume on! Naia played it up for the camera (as always)!



Our first Kaleikini Jack-O-Lantern!