15-17 weeks

I haven't updated since Thanksgiving and Christmas is this week. Sounds about right. 

In early December, we went to the Pittsburgh Zoo to see the Penguin Parade. This is exactly what it sounds like. They bring out about a half a dozen of the penguins and rope off an area (about 20 yards or so) and the penguins walk down and then back up. Luckily they're lead by Santa (and some trained zoo employees), so they don't get any crazy ideas and go running off.

Emily enjoyed it immensely! It was pretty adorable.

Unfortunately, a lovely little stomach virus was going around Emily's daycare, and she got hit with it. It wasn't too bad, thankfully. She got sick on a Wednesday night one time and then was a bit tired with a slight fever on Thursday, but that was it. She was able to return to school on Friday.

On our "day off" when Em was sick, we stayed in PJs and watched movies all day!

We've also been doing a lot of things to get ready for Christmas. We have multiple countdowns around the house, just to make sure we don't accidentally miss the big day. We've been listening to A LOT of Christmas music, which is fun for everyone, really (despite what Paul may say). Also, we've baked Christmas cookies a couple of times. The first time we used sugar cookie dough that we cut into Christmas shapes (e.g., snowflakes and Christmas trees), and then decorated them with sprinkles. The shapes expanded a bit in the oven, however, and were basically unrecognizable after baking. So, we've been going with the classic standby. The dough that's already divided into the appropriate size per cookie and pre decorated with a tree or other festive character. 

Here Emily is helping me "make" Christmas cookies!

This past Sunday, Emily, Paul, and I were asked to light the advent candles at church. I'm always a fan of lighting things on fire, so this was super fun. No pictures to share from that, but just use your imagination. We successfully lit the first 3 advent candles, followed by the Peace candle for the fourth week of advent. 

Emily's grandmother (Gaga) was in town this weekend so Paul and I took the opportunity to sneak out for a couple dates. It was nice being husband and wife, rather than mom and dad. Saturday night we went out to a fancy dinner at Altius in Mt. Washington. The view is incredible, overlooking the city at night. This was our view, but on the point they had a Christmas tree made of lights.

On Sunday, after church, Paul and I went to the Steelers-Broncos game which was a lot of fun. It was a bit chilly, but not too bad. Just good football weather.

I've also been continuing to grow this human. So below you'll see a couple of pictures. I've mostly been feeling OK, just incredibly tired. I feel more tired this go around, but it could just be because I'm chasing a toddler around this time. Otherwise, feeling pretty similar to how I felt with Em!

15 weeks and 17 weeks. Definitely getting much bigger!

I think I've gained somewhere between 7-10 pounds at this point. I'm not entirely sure, because I'm not sure exactly how much I weighed beforehand. But it's somewhere in that ball park. I feel some kicks or flutters every now and then; nothing to strong and nothing too constant, but it's always a nice surprise when I do feel them! 

We're headed to Richmond later this week to spend the holidays there, as well as partly in Topsail. We can't wait to get back home to friends and family! 

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!