I have the sweetest friends. Let me just say that first. I mean who gets a baby shower with their third baby usually? I had never heard of that before I moved here. Well, I LOVE that they throw little parties and get-togethers for just about everything here and everyone supports it! It is so fun to hang out with these women. They certainly made me feel special on this occasion... which I really appreciated, more than they will know. Preparing for the birth of a new baby so far away from my mom and sisters has been hard, I'll admit it. I miss the support of my family. I mean, what can be more life-changing and exciting as having a baby?! But being so separated from my family, especially the women, at a time like this has been a difficult challenge... one that I have struggled with my entire pregnancy. So having these wonderful friends that I know care about me and support me has made that ache in my heart less. I am such a lucky girl to have them! Here are some pictures of the lovely Irish tea party shower that some of them created for me...
There was a gorgeous silver tea set with several delicious herbal teas with honey, sugar cubes, lemon slices, and cream of course, as well as a rich hot chocolate with caramel, whipped cream, and marshmallows to top it off with. (I have to say I had at least 6 cups of yummy drinks... but they
were tiny cups!) Then there were beautiful and delicious scones - raspberry white chocolate, lemon, and lemon poppyseed. Dainty little Linzer cookies, fresh fruit and gold chocolate topped it all off. And all was arranged beautifully under and around the cutest decorations ever! It was darling! I appreciated and enjoyed every single detail... it was totally a girl party, my favorite!! :)
Below are the talented hostesses: Kristina Wi, Aubrey Petersen, Stephanie Rigtrup, Marcie Paternoster, Alexis Allen (and Kelly Jensen who could not attend). Thank you so much!! 
I had such a wonderful time!! Here I am ready to leave for the party... me and my torpedo tummy at 35 weeks!! Hopefully only a month to go... woohoo!
Nyah Noodle turned 2 last week!! (Or Gabe would say "Nyah Papaya" - a nickname from Uncle Brad and the boys over Christmas that stuck!! We have so many silly names for her!) I can't believe my little darling is growing up so fast. Not only physically but her personality gets larger every day! :) She is such a little firecracker!! And so so sweet at the same time. We all just adore her. Here are some pictures of her fun day. From baking with Mama first thing in the morning (check out that great morning hair!)... to decorating cupcakes with Grandma R.... to blowing out candles and opening presents... with a lot of silly play time with Gabe in between. What a wonderful day celebrating our sweetheart!! 
We love you, Nyah... bigger than the sky!!!!!!!!!
Those sneaky leprechauns came again this year, playing tricks and spreading around gold coins. Gabe and Nyah were delighted! After gathering up all the hidden gold, we enjoyed a green pancake breakfast... and lo and behold the milk was green too!! :) After that Gabe opened up a package from Grammy and Papa that was full of fun games to play at our family party that night! And of course some yummy treats as well. We are so spoiled with awesome grandparents on both sides that send fun packages and love us so much!
When we all came in to warm up, Gabe went right to the window, asked me to draw up the blinds and positioned his stool for the best viewing of his snowman. Of course 
I have to add that Gabe told me the reason his snowman is short (2 balls instead of 3) is because he's a baby snowman. Oh, and you can't see his mouth because it's like "this" (his lips are folded in a straight line...invisible!) He is so imaginative! I know he was having trouble forming balls with the wet heavy snow and he couldn't figure out what to make a mouth out of... so this was his answer to both 
This weekend we wanted to get out of the house and enjoy the sunshine, so we packed up and drove to the temple and our favorite park. Here are some cute pictures of Gabe and Nyah having fun on the playground. They are so fun! Gabe is getting so much more adventurous and "crazy" on the playground... Eric and I love to see him venturing further out of his cozy comfort zone! ;) By the way, it's really hard to get candid photos of Gabe because he moves around so much when he is excited... so I get these goofy-intense smiles instead! Haha!
A little under two months left at the time I'm writing this. Whew! I feel (and look) like he could come next week but honestly I really do need the time to finish getting ready. And you know, it hasn't been too bad so far. For one thing, I've tried really hard this pregnancy not to complain. (Eric doesn't count though, heehee!!) I know it is such a blessing to be expecting a child and I'm so thankful and excited to welcome him here too! It hasn't been a breeze (boy am I jealous of the women that go 9 months with relatively few problems) but all things are manageable thanks to a lovely block of time every afternoon where I'm free to relax. Thank you naps and quiet-time! :) (I'm certain Heavenly Father made babies and toddlers need lots of sleep as much for their growth and development as for their mother's sanity!!) Of course having a supportive and loving spouse makes all the difference in the world too. Thanks babe.
At preschool a mom brought Jello jigglers for snack time and boy, was Gabe impressed! He thought it was the coolest thing and described it all to me in detail. (Obviously he hasn't had a lot of exposure to Jello!) So anyway, I agreed to take him to the store to pick out Jello and make our own jigglers! The best part was picking out the shapes to punch out or cut. Or maybe it was watching the way they ate their treats... haha! 
We started out Valentine's off with a festive breakfast of pink, heart-shaped pancakes and a strawberry smoothie. During the day Gabe went to his preschool Valentine's party, we put our finishing touches on our valentines, and got ready for our fun family night! That evening we had our traditional doorbell-ditching of valentines... Gabe and Nyah were delighted! :) So were Eric and I! It was so fun to receive those little notes of love from each other. My favorite was Gabe's valentine to Nyah. First of all he put dog stickers on the front (because she loves doggies, he said!) then he drew a picture inside:
Yes, that's me with the enormous stomach!! I bet he explained a hundred times how that was me with the really fat tummy! In fact when Eric asked why he wasn't in the picture Gabe immediately said there was no room for him because Mommy's tummy was SOOOOO fat!! Lovely. :) We had so much fun that night. I sure love my precious family.
Later that evening I made him a special dinner and topped it off with his favorite: cheesecake, of course! This year he requested the Decadent Chocolate Cheesecake... and it sure was! 
As you can see, our VIP wasn't the only one that loved it... Gabe had to lick his plate clean and Nyah snarfed her own slice then moved around the table begging bites from everyone else! :) Eric even discovered that weekend that cheesecake makes a delicious breakfast too!
The next evening Eric and I were able to go on a birthday date while grandma and grandpa babysat. It was a lot of fun to hang out with my BFF! ;) Thanks Cheryl and Don!
