Christmas 2010

Once again, we had a fabulous Christmas with both of our families! We are so thankful to have both sides of our families in town- makes Christmas Day (and other holidays) a little easier.

On Christmas Eve, we spent the late afternoon and evening at my parents' house for our annual Mexican Christmas with my dad's extended family. Lots and lots of yummy food, lots of family, and of course, the White Elephant gift exchange. This year Mike and I came away with a Starbucks gift card and one of those brownie pans that makes all the brownie corner pieces. And somehow, Mike managed to get his original gift back from Uncle Steve- an Aggie vs UT chess set.
After our fun, fun evening, we headed to Watermark for the 11:00pm Christmas Eve service. Again, one of the things I look forward to during the Christmas season. I love how Todd doesn't mince words and tells it like it is. And, there's just something about all of the lights turned out, singing "Silent Night" by candle light at midnight.

Mike and I at my parents' house on Christmas Eve


All my siblings and their spouces

On Christmas Day, we woke up early and headed back to my parents' house in our PJs to open presents. Cameron was dressed up like Santa Claus (and I think he had about 6 pieces of fudge during that morning...he was a little wired).

Alyssa thought it was a little too early for morning festivities....

We opened presents with my family and had a delish brunch and just enjoyed being together before Lane and Alex headed off to Houston for his family's Christmas and Mike and I headed to his parents' for Round Two of Christmas.

Emma Leigh and her mommy, Carolyn. She's so cute!

At the Frizzell's, we had a wonderful Christmas lunch and then opened presents afterwards.

Here's the newest Frizzell Family Picture:

Big present of the day: Kathryn got a doll house! She and William played with it for hours (at least I think they did- I took a nap- when I fell asleep they were playing with it, when I woke up, they were still playing...)

It truly was a great Christmas! And I have to brag on my husband- he gave me one of the best gifts ever!! I am a words-of-affirmation gal and so he put together almost an hour's worth of MP3 downloads, where he recalled favorite memories of times we've had together, had sound-bites from our vows at our wedding, recalled our wedding and engagement, our first date, etc. I, of course, was bawling while listening to everything he had recorded. It was awesome and something I'm so thankful he took the time to make! Nothing like being able to listen to these sweet words over and over again.

Oh, Christmas tree...

This is way, way late, but I wanted to post this, as it's one of our favorite things to do every Christmas season. For the past 5 or 6 years, our community group as gone to Walls Family Farm to cut down our Christmas trees. It's a fabulous experience- a family-owned and operated farm with hay-rides, hot cider, Christmas cookies, hot cocoa, and of course, the bliss of seeking out and cutting down the perfect Christmas tree. This is absolutely one of my favorite things we do all year and I totally look forward to it for weeks.

On the hay ride to the tree farm....

The Treadaways

The Pokludas

The Saugiers (minus Katrina)

Mike with our perfect tree!

Mike showing the kids how to cut down the stump...

Mike putting up the star on the top of the tree

Our 2010 Christmas tree!!

23 weeks

Baby Peanut is about 8.5 inches long (apparently the size of an ear of corn, per my "What to Expect When You're Expecting" app) and weighs about 1.5 pounds.

We had our "official" sono at the doctor's office about 2 weeks ago (21 weeks along) and so far, so good. The baby's weight was at the 95th percentile, with legs in the 86th percentile - definitely a Frizzell baby. Heart rate was in the 150's. We (well, mainly I) decided not to find out the gender of the baby until he/she makes it's arrival. So against my typical type-A, ultra-planner mode, but I love surprises (and this baby was for sure!), so why not continue the surprise! Mike jokingly said he was going to pay off the sonographer to find out (he didn't).

The following week (22 weeks along), Kay at the DPRC (the pregnancy center we volunteer at), graciously gave us a 3D/4D sono. We were able to have both sets of grandparents there to see little Peanut, which was so fun! Here's one of the best pics we got:

There's a little umbilical cord close to his/her face, but I think it's so cool how you can see ears, a nose, a sweet little mouth, closed eyes and a round head.

"I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made..."- Psalm 139

House Update

Instead of re-writing what has gone on in the past couple of days with our crazy house, read Mike's blog.

Aughhh.....

Let's just say I'm really hoping the drain company we used is going to pay for the damage and cost of extensive repairs and we'll get a new bathroom out of it! Honestly, the thought of not having to re-do another bathroom ourselves is really appealing!!

Wedding!!

On November 20, 2010, Elena and Alex said "I do!" We all had a fabulous time in San Antionio for the wedding- it was truly a group effort to get everything done and finished and we couldn't have done it without Elena and Alex's friends. Because Blogger is a pain to upload pics, I uploaded a few from the weekend to show the high-lights. If you want to see more, go to by facebook page and see the rest.

Wedding weekend in review:

Alex's dad is amazing with Christmas lights- he made this sign that went on the side of the reception building wall. Pretty cool.


Sisters at the rehursal. Notice the lovely rehursal bouquet, complete with Paddy, the Leprechan.


Paige and I blocking out Liz with our preggo bellies (Paige wins the award for being pregnant the longest and for not going into labor during the wedding or reception and making it home to Dallas without delivering Alyssa).


Wedding day!!


Beautiful bride! The dress was absolutley gorgeous on her! She had my grandmother's broach placed on the side with the bow.


Papi and Mom walking Elena down the aisle


House Party with their Alex and Elena buttons


The Serna family (minus a few) outside the church



Mike and I (and Peanut!) at the reception at the Cibolo Nature Center outside of San Antionio

The newly-married Serna-Wallenders!

Another Christmas light masterpiece by Alex's dad- a peacock measuring 4 ft by 5 feet

All 31 pies mom made herself for the reception! Elena and Alex didn't want to have traditional wedding cake, so they asked Mom to make all of their favorite Serna desserts! We had Mystery Pecan Pie, Better-Than-Lemon-Merainge-Pie and Pineapple-Upside-Down Cake.

Sisters!

The reception- really pretty and we had great weather!

After all was said and done, Liz, Mike and I went to go see Harry Potter at 11:00 pm. It was fabulous!

6 years

6 years ago (yesterday), I married my best friend. First off, I can't believe it's been 6 years. Doesn't feel like it and I cannot imagine my life without him.

This has been quite the crazy year for us (I feel like I say that about every year), but really- with both of us changing jobs (me twice!), getting robbed, living and figuring out Mike's crazy travel schedule, remodeling our bathroom, remodeling the pool, adding a nephew, two nieces and a brother-in-law, figuring out community, and, of course, finding out we're pregnant (quite the surprise, and still kind of surreal)- this has truly been a crazy year.

Despite the craziness that has ensued, I am so thankful to walk through life with Mike. He is a constant source of encouragement, he leads us well, always manages to keep a level head (unlike his hormonal wife at times!). I know that he loves me, and he tells me that often. I love how he loves my changing body- this morning he told me that I now have "girth." May sound un-romantic, but it was hilarious at the time. :)

I love how he desires to make our family first- how he is striving to change the amount of work travel, how he asked to read a book about the baby before the baby comes, how he is a forward-thinker and the perspective he has about different things. I have loved doing pre-marrieds tables and 2:2's with him- he's such a great teacher!

I love how his mind works- he is so, so intelligent. He knows how to solve hard problems- he always has a solution. I love how he has been getting up each morning to spend time in the Word. I love how in the evenings he snuggles behind me, and prays for Peanut and for me and our family.

I love him. I have no doubt that he will be an excellent father to our little Peanut. I look forward to what the next year has in store for us.

Oh, and he's really hot. :)

Cancun = Fabulous

Mike and I went to Cancun last week for a much-needed vacation. We did not want to come back (and being searched twice at the Cancun airport made me really not want to go back- I must look very suspicious).

We went to Xcaret, kind of like a cross between an amusement park/lazy river/ beach/ Wet-n-Wild/ aquarium... This is the beach part of Xcaret- beautiful, with clear, blue water. Mike even snorkled a little. I sat under the tiki hut and rested my feet. :) And people-watched.

Me with the Mexican pregnant stone lady

This is the hotel where we stayed. All-inclusive, very nice, just re-done 2 years ago. We loved, loved, loved our time laying by the pool or beach, having unlimited sources of delish food and beverage (too bad I couldn't drink wine) and excellent service.

Mike and me on our way to snorkling! Snorkling is one of our favorite things to do on vacation. Because we went during off-season, we actually got a one-on-one snorkling tour and got a private boat-ride back to the dock. Seeing the coral reefs was pretty amazing, as were the fish- but not the baracudas. That I could have done without.

On our balcony at the hotel with the sunset.

Chilling at the Isle Mujeres at Playa Norte Beach- this is the beach where they filmed the Corona commercials. It was absolutly beautiful. White sand beach, clear, blue water, only about 3-4 feet deep for a long while- it was great.

What we woke up to every morning.

More pics to come of our random photo session at the hotel....

14 weeks

And, in other news, demolition and construction began on our shower today!! I can't wait!!

Hello, second trimester!

We are now in the second trimester! 13 and a half weeks so far. We got to see little Peanut last night at the pregnancy center- crazy how much he/she has grown in just a few weeks. You could totally see both parts of the baby's brain, an intact spinal cord, individual fingers, hands and feet and a sweet little profile. He/she was quite shy, and we only got the side or back views- I told the baby that he/she had very camera-happy grandparents and would need to get over his/her shyness soon!

Love this song

Andrew Peterson- Dancing in the Minefield

What a great song about marriage- reminds me of how thankful I am for Mike- how our relationship has changed over the years- for the better, for sure, but as life has gotten more and more crazy, I am thankful that I have him to dance through life with.

Pregnancy so far....

I thought I should record these things so that I'll remember one day (especially with how you can now turn your blog into a book- maybe I should do that sometime).

Random trivia thus far:

- Coffee totally makes me nauseated, which is tragic since I've been a die-hard coffee drinker for the past 6 years. I've had to succumb to mild chai tea for breakfast because there is no way that I can break my caffeine addiction when waking up at 5:30am for work. I did try a pumpkin spice latte a couple of weeks ago because I was so, so, so sad that when they came out originally at the beginning of September- even the act of walking into a Starbucks made me nauseated. So I tried it for the first time last week and didn't realize the amount of caffeine I had consumed= heart racing, feeling headachey, etc. This even occurred on another day with the half-caf version. Guess I will have to resort to decaf lattes.

- I have variable cravings for certain foods. At times this has meant Central Market's pimento cheese, homemade macaroni and cheese, baked potato soup, and Crystal Light's Grapefruit Drink mix.

- I used to have Kashi's instant oatmeal for breakfast every day before I got preggers. Now, I can't even imagine putting the stuff in my mouth. I've tried it and it didn't go well.

- I cannot stand the smell or taste of BBQ. Chicken and pork are getting close on the list.

- I do like soups and casseroles. Potatoes of any kind as well as cheese of any kind I like.

- I stopped being able to fit into my jeans and dress pants without the help of the friendly Belly Band at around 7 weeks. I have been so thankful for several friends who have let me borrow their maternity clothes. Maternity jeans are some of the most comfortable things I've ever worn. Don't diss the elastic panel!

- I'm so confused about my due date. I have been consistently measuring a week ahead of what my due date is based on my last period. So, by my doctor's records (based on my period date) I'm 10 weeks, 3 days. Based on my latest sono, I'm 11 weeks, 3 days. Oh, well.

- This baby will probably be the most photographed baby ever. Because Mike and I volunteer at the Dallas Pregnancy Resource Center on Monday nights, I've been told I can have as many sonograms as I want to. Fabulous! So far, we've had 4. I know. And I'm 10 1/2 weeks (ish). Ridiculous. But it's so comforting to see the baby. And cool to watch him/her grow and to see how quickly they change!!

- hearing the heartbeat is probably one of the best sounds I've ever heard. It is so surreal to hear a heartbeat of 150 bpm, knowing full-well that mine is half that, and that there is truly something growing inside of me. CRAZY.

- Thankfully, I've not thrown up at all. When I thought about being pregnant, I thought I'd be making mad dashes to and from patients rooms to the bathroom to toss my cookies. But, fortunately, this has not been the case. I have been nauseated off and on, and have had a hand full of bad days, but nothing too terrible.

- Growing a baby makes me TIRED. I would equivocate this to having mono in college. Sometimes all I can think about at work is going home and going to sleep. But then, it seems like I get home and get in bed and then I can't fall asleep even though I'm so dang tired. However, I did sleep for almost 11 hours straight last week and that was fabulous.

- I've never had to pee so much in my life. And so many times at night. I'm told this gets worse as the baby gets bigger and decides to jump on your bladder in the middle of the night. Going to the bathroom has become my new favorite hobby.

- One thing I'm not sad to give up is having to mess with Bella's litter box. Now Daddy gets to do that stinky job.

- I've become maybe a little too unworried about food that I shouldn't eat. I LOVE any form of stinky cheese. I check on the labels to make sure that it's pasteurized, but if the feta or Gorgonzola is already in a salad, and there's no way to check, I have definitely still eaten the cheese. Not ashamed.

- I don't think I've ever been so ravenously hungry at a moment's notice before. I've tried to tell Mike this is what he's like when he gets hungry (and why I carry snacks in my purse and in the car for him- and now for me). We call it "feeding the beast." I've stocked up on snacks (healthy ones, mind you), at my desk at work, and at home and feel like I'm constantly snacking on something (that is if I'm not peeing or sleeping).

- The gag reflex is so much stronger these days. I always brush my tongue while I'm brushing my teeth and I always gag a little (my roommates thought I was bulimic in college at first). Now, I truly should stop doing that because it almost makes me puke. But there's something about having a minty tongue that I just keep doing it.

- Oh, and the hormones. Poor Mike. There's just not much to add here except I can cry at the drop of a hat and something that truly doesn't matter will matter a lot. And I will cry about it. Ridiculous.

So, that's probably more than you ever wanted to know.

This is me preggers at almost 9 weeks. Sporting my Aggie shirt and maternity jeans. The baby bump has started.


Peanut at 9 weeks, measuring 10 weeks- you can see arms and legs and a big ol' head!

Peanut at 10 weeks, measuring 11 weeks. He/she was sitting upside down and didn't want to change positions so I turned the picture sideways. You can see his/her face, arms, legs. You can't see it here, but I could totally see his/her individual arm bones. At times, Peanut was moving around and kicked a leg out. Mike goes, "there's my soccer playing legs!" Mike also had fun playing sonographer and enjoyed trying to see our little one (until Jules politely removed the wand out of his hand)