Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! The holiday season keeps going and going around the Newman household. Mark and I spent Christmas Eve with the painter, who was busy painting the nursery. It looks really cute! We then went to the 6 p.m. Christmas Eve service at our church. We ran into Deanna, Andrew and their family and ended up sitting with them. The service was beautiful and ended with a candle lite version of Silent Night - my favorite. We then headed home to eat fondue (a tradition we started last year with the girls) and watch Christmas Vacation (our tradition since we started dating).

Christmas morning I had to wake Mark up so that we could open gifts. I think that this will be the last quiet Christmas morning that we will have for years to come! We had a nice morning and then got busy baking desserts for Christmas dinner at Bill and Lisa's and packing for our trip.

Last night we had a great time with all of the Ogle's, including Bill, Lisa, Will, Sonny, Ginger, Carol, Rich, Connor, Steve, Jennifer, Courtney, Harrison, Payton, and Meredith; plus Lisa's mom Nina and our friend Kim. What a wonderful dinner and mass chaos with all of the stockings and presents!

Today Mark is going to pick up the girls and then we are heading to the airport. We're flying to Atlanta and then driving to Chattanooga to spend the rest of the holiday with Mark's family. We can't wait to see them all, including those precious nephews of ours!

Merry Christmas to everyone!

Santa's Helper Debut

Mark made his debut as "Santa's Helper" Wednesday night at Bill and Lisa's holiday party for his Samsung marketing staff. I laughed so hard while he was suiting up that I was snorting! It was hysterical! The pants were high waters on my long and lanky husband, plus we had to add lots of stuffing... image that!!! Thank goodness for the black shoe coverings and pillows! I'll post pictures later today. He was a really cute helper and the kids (not to mention the adults) ate it up. Personally, I think that he really enjoyed himself!


Bill and Lisa with Santa's Helper, Mark

Thursday and Friday

What fun we had at the Christmas Party for our Sunday School Class on Thursday night! Andrew and Deanna have the perfect house for our annual party and it is so festive and fun with all of the great decorations that Deanna puts together! The food and company were great, but I think the highlight of the evening was everyone acting out the 12 Days of Christmas. Too much fun! Mark, Andrew and Peter were 12 drummers drumming and I was part of the 8 maids a milking with Laura and Jessica. It was hysterical and so much fun! Of course we forgot our camera (even after talking about taking it). However, Chuck and Sarah had theirs, so as soon as we get some pictures from them, I'll be sure to post a few!

I took my last vacation day for the year on Friday. I had a great time at a craft fair with Laura and Deanna and then a fun lunch with them and Laura's girls, Allie and Avery. I then headed to the Grand Spa to use my gift certificate that Mark gave me for my birthday. I was completely spoiled for 3 hours! I had a pre-natal massage, a facial and a pedicure. It was wonderful! What a great treat! I told Mark that he can do that for me every year.

Princess Peanut

Mark has officially re-named our baby girl Princess Peanut. Pretty darn cute, if you ask me! I actually felt her move for the first time today. How exciting! We were sitting in Sunday School listening to a lesson about angels. All of a sudden, I felt that little fluttering in my belly. How amazing! It is a moment that I will never forget. How special that it happened when we were talking about angels!

Yesterday Mark & I went shopping for the nursery. We had a great time looking at all of the cute baby stuff! It is a bit overwhelming. However, we decided on bedding for the crib and the twin bed that we are going to put in the nursery as well. I think that it will be very cute! We've also decided that we are going to have the nursery painted a pale green. Since Hayleigh's room is right across the hallway and it is Pepto Bismol pink with hot pink and white polka dots, we thought that we would tone down the pink a bit in the nursery!

Friday night we had a fun time at my office Christmas party. How fun it is to work for a toy company?!?

It's a Girl!

As if Mark wasn't already outnumbered, he certainly is going to be now! We found out this afternoon that we are having a baby girl! I guess that Mark is 3 for 3, or maybe 0 for 3, depending on how you look at it...

We are so excited about our baby girl! Everything measured perfectly, so that is a huge blessing to our family. Oh - the fun clothes to be bought and the cute nursery to decorate. I bet my mother has already started sewing!



Thursday night we celebrated Hayleigh's 9th birthday a little early. It is hard to believe that she in 9 years old! We picked the girls up from the dance studio and took them to Waffle House (Hayleigh's choice) for her birthday celebration. That Waffle House may never be the same again! We were the only ones in the place and took it over with presents and cutie pie cupcakes. The staff even played the Waffle House Birthday song for us from the jukebox. It was really cute and they were so sweet to us. We definitely had a good time!

Baby Update

I went to the doctor on Monday for a follow up visit due to my constant nausea. I am happy to report that for the most part, that has gone away. Yippee!!! I was also able to hear peanut's heartbeat, so that was exciting. The doctor said that it sounded perfect. We have a sonogram scheduled for next Thursday, December 6th, to find out if we are having a boy or a girl. We can't wait!

Thanksgiving at the Beach!

Mark, the girls and I have had a relaxing Thanksgiving at the beach. Mark and the girls started the day early, getting up to watch the sunrise from the dock. We then watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade before getting ready to head to Mom and Dad's for our turkey fix. The six of us had a good, quiet Thanksgiving celebration.

Later in the afternoon we headed over to Jeff and Jennifer's house. Hannah and Hayleigh had a great time playing with Maxwell again. He just adores them and followed them around like a puppy dog. He even learned some new dance moves with the help of his cousins! Now we are back at Mom and Dad's having a good time playing with Maxwell, who is spending the night here. It's been a great day and we're looking forward to a fun one tomorrow!

Vacation in Orange Beach

Mark, Hannah, Hayleigh and I drove 10+ hours to arrive in Orange Beach for Thanksgiving week. It was a long trip, but definitely worth the ride! Mark's parents, Darrell and Dean met us down at Mamaw's house. We are all having a great time visiting with my parents, playing in the sand, shopping, playing games, catching hermit crabs, and just having some general fun!





Today the girls played down at the water with cousin Maxwell. They all had a great time playing in the sand and dipping their toes in the water.

Later in the day, Mark, Hannah, Hayleigh and the Newmans went shopping at The Wharf and then headed to the beach to put their toes in the water before dinner with the Powell's. After dinner, the girls and Mark went ice skating outside at The Wharf. What an experience!

Halloween

We spent Halloween night with Baby Will, Bill, Lisa and Bill's mom, Ginger. We had a great time eating fondue and seeing all of the Trick-or-Treaters. Will was the cutest frog ever!

We are 13 weeks today! We are officially into the second trimester. I felt better today, so that was a nice feeling. Hopefully it will continue!

First Purchase

I was trying to be so good about not buying stuff for the baby too soon, but I couldn't help myself! I think that I showed a lot of restraint, but that may be because we don't know what we are having yet! Most likely! Here's a picture of the onesies that I bought. They are pretty darn cute!

On another fun baby note, we found out yesterday that my cousins, Bill and Lisa, parents of Dream Baby Will, are having twin girls! We are so excited for them! I don't think Will is going to know what hit him, or Bill and Lisa for that matter. They are due about a month or so before our Peanut. We can't wait!

On a not so fun baby note, I've been sick again for most of the week. I keep hoping and praying that next week (Week 13) that I will start feeling wonderful, having energy, being a sweet wife to my husband, having that preggo glow instead of a green pallor, etc. Hopefully I will not keep repeating last night when I got physically sick for the first time. THAT was not fun. I can't even imagine what women who do that for three months go through. I'll keep you updated (on the feeling better part, that is).

Telling Hannah & Hayleigh

Mark and I took Hannah and Hayleigh to dinner last night and told them the BIG news! They are so excited, which just fills our hearts with joy. We've had a really tough few months with them, so I really wasn't sure how they would handle the news. They were so sweet and excited about it that I started to tear up. Mark just sat there beaming. It was all very sweet and I was really touched. They have both decided that we are having a boy. Too funny! Guess we'll all find out in about 8 weeks!

First Gift

While I was shopping with Chris and Sarah a few weeks ago, Chris surprised me with our first baby gift! These little note cards are so precious! I can't wait to use them soon.

We're Officially 10 Weeks Pregnant Today!

Mark and I are thrilled to announce that we are 10 weeks pregnant today! We didn't even know if we could have a baby, so this is an amazing blessing in our lives. So many of our good friends have baby blogs. What a great way for family and friends across the country to keep up with everything that is going on with other families. I guess that we are going to join the craze!