This week has been jam-packed full of lots of wonderful events for us, so bear with the long post! We kick-started all the cheer when we went with Megan and Mike to dinner at Calcutta on the Newcastle Golf Course on Tuesday night. Views were beyond amazing as we could see Seattle, Bellevue, and even all the way down to Seatac. Following our meal (which was fantastic – I had steak and mashed potatoes and a wonderful chocolate mousse dessert), we headed out to the patio to take pictures with the skyline behind Megan and Mike. Little did Megan know, but we have been plotting with Mike on how he was going to propose to her and after the first photo, he dropped to one knee and popped the question. After about 8 yeses, Jeremy and I tried to make ourselves scarce so they could enjoy the moment. Congrats to them both – we are so happy for them!
Thanksgiving was a whirlwind of overeating and lots of chatter with the family. We were so happy that Jeremy’s parents decided to spend the holiday with the Skorupa side of the family – it was great to get everyone together. We were thankful that Grandpa was feeling up to the trip out, so that he could spend the day with us. Too much food later, we headed home and I crashed on the couch. Welcome to your first experience with tryptophan little one :-)
Mom and I got up at the crack of dawn on Friday to do a little shopping and were greeted by what had to be the busiest Black Friday we have ever experienced. When we got to the mall by 6:30am, people were already coming out of stores with multiple bags in hand. It was actually really great to see, as it meant that maybe our economy wasn’t as bad as originally thought (even if people were trying to get the best deals). We had fun walking around and for one of the first times ever, I actually got presents for a handful of people that morning. Scariest place by far was Kohl’s – the line to check out at 10am was over 2 hours. I didn’t need maternity clothes that bad…
Friday afternoon we headed up to Monroe to watch Mark, Kim, Jeremy, and Ryan ride their dirt bikes on an indoor motocross track. The idea was a good one when it was originally proposed … until you saw how many people were there and how crowded the different classes of bikes were on the track. Everyone decided that it would be a better idea to watch and given there were Pro’s out there practicing … it was pretty impressive the jumping they were doing – Mark and Jeremy *might* have been okay within the Juniors class. I think their ego’s might have been a bit hurt having to ride with the 13-year-olds though! Late Friday night we got to talk to Chip, Sandy, and the kids over Skype – everyone is doing well and it was so nice to hear their voices and see how much the kids have grown!
Saturday night Ryan and Nikki came over and Nikki and I decorated the house with all the Christmas decorations while Ryan and Jeremy played Gears of War 2 on the Xbox. Nothing indicates the holiday season more than the sound of Christmas Carols clashing with monsters/bad dudes heads being blown up. Nikki and I had the grand finale snowman placement in the entryway and then we made chocolate chip cookies together. We finished up by playing "Squirtil" or the Nerdz card game together – we had a fun time hanging out and the kids were great.
On the munchkin front things are still going great. I can’t eat large meals anymore without feel like I am going to explode afterwards and I think that my belly circumference has grown considerably in the last week. Even Megan pointed it out that I look a lot more pregnant than I did a week ago when she got here. The baby is moving around like crazy and woke me up in the early morning for the first time. I think in the next week or so other people are going to be able to really feel the movement and we will likely be able to see it on my belly. We are now starting Week 24 and I think that I am going to explode outward over the next few weeks. I have my doctor’s appointment tomorrow and in about a month I will be entering my third trimester. Pretty soon we are going to be on the countdown and taking bets on when the actual due date will be! I will post pictures after my doctors appointment so folks can see how much I have grown.
Okay – that is more than enough for now :) Hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving!