popcorn, a love affair

just as a warning, this post is super random. 

popcorn is my absolute favorite snack, ever. the history behind my love affair with popcorn dates back to my childhood, specifically sunday evenings as a family. our family was big on eating out after church sunday morning, so we typically were still full from lunch and made popcorn for dinner. we often completed the experience with a family movie. it became a family tradition, and ever since then- popcorn is my go to for snacking. 

my ideal popcorn experience is popped over the stove with our popcorn popper, salted as soon as it is done. occasionally i enjoy lemon squeezed onto my popcorn, but salt typically hits the spot. i am not a butter person when it comes to popcorn, and can't stand movie theatre buttered popcorn. yuck. 

now i'm going to enjoy a bowl of fresh popcorn!

it's a girl!

this past week, the allens got our whole family together to reveal the gender of their baby! since my parents live overseas in Thailand, and michael's parents live in california- we had skype going from two different computers! there were lots of fun details involved with the big reveal, which bethany put together on her own. we were instructed to wear pink or blue, depending on what we thought their baby was. the majority of us wore pink, which turned out to be correct! 

auntie lori surprised the allens with a sweet gift. 

bethany went through a list of "old wives tales" to see if they were correct or not- surprisingly the majority indicated their baby is a girl.

cutting the cake to see the big reveal... it's a GIRL!

we had such a great time celebrating this baby girl, and are so excited to meet her in august. thanks michael and bethany for letting us celebrate with you!

nathan turns two!

this past weekend, we celebrated nathan's golden birthday. he turned 2 on march 2nd!

we went over for a family dinner at the foltz's, and had a great night celebrating nathan. his momma, marisa, made an incredible race track cake- which was perfect for nathan. he is "all boy" and loves cars with a passion.

this last picture still makes me laugh. nathan loves lining up his cars, and i wanted to take a picture of the cars ben & i gave to him- but he would not let me. after several failed attempts at taking the picture, nathan eventually won, as you can tell!

nathan, you are such a joy to be around. you are so sweet and cuddly, yet playful and always on the run. from one youngest child to another, hang in there. sometimes the bigger kids may leave you out, but in a few years age won't matter and you brother and sisters will soon recognize how great you are. for now though- please don't grow up too fast. your uncle ben & i love you to death. 

pregnancy diaries: week 22

How far along: 22 weeks

Maternity clothes: i'm still trying to maximize my current closet, and have even separated it into clothes that -are way too small (after baby), - current clothes, and - clothes to wear when I am the size of a whale. i have been advised to not buy tons of clothes until i absolutely need to- so that i can get clothes that will for sure fit.

Sleep: i have started sleeping with a pillow in between my legs, which has provided great comfort so far.

Best moment of this week: starting a afghan for our Little One. i'm hooked, and can't put it down!

Miss anything: warm weather... are you tired of hearing that yet, mr. weather??

Movement: yes- and Ben is now feeling baby kicks too! 

Food cravings: milkshakes galore... specifically fruity flavors.

Have you started to show yet: more & more every day, and also depending on the time of day. by evening, i for sure feel bigger!

Gender: excited to find out in July! 

Belly button in or out: in 

Happy or moody most of the time: i'm pretty happy for the majority of the time- but so far this pregnancy has been a breeze (fingers crossed)!

Baby is the size of a: Papaya

collin's 2nd grade program

 this past week, ben, summer & I were able to take collin to his 2nd grade program. we felt a little silly amongst all the picture taking parents, but realized that this will someday be us too. collin did a great job singing and doing the hand motions, and even had a very special speaking line. we were very proud to be his aunt and uncle!

we decided to celebrate collin's spectacular performance with a trip to our favorite, chick fil-a! the kids had ice cream cones, and the big kids had milkshakes. if you have read any of my pregnancy diaries, you will know that milkshakes seem to be a reoccurring craving! I don't think that anything can taste much better than a strawberry milkshake, with a cherry on the top.

thanks jon and marisa for letting us steal your kids for the evening, we had a blast!

celebrating bethany's birthday

our family celebrated bethany's 28th birthday with a dinner at the foltzs, per the birthday girl's request! it was a fun night together as a family celebrating bethany's birth. I helped the girls make a special crown for the birthday girl, which was a great hit until mr. nathan decided it was more fun to rip it up. toddler boys! we also made bethany's favorite, an angel food cake. the kids (and ben!) were big fans.

bethany, you are a great sister & it has been a blast living RIGHT next to you these past (almost) two years. next year at this time you have a little one in your arms, and I am thrilled for you to be a mama. thanks for being a great sister- i love you!

an eventful trip to tulsa

this past weekend, we celebrated my sister's birthday with a trip to tulsa, oklahoma. it was such a great time spending time with two out of my three sisters, and our husbands. we left home around 10, and arrived in Tulsa in time for lunch.

one of our favorite tulsa restaurants is CHUYS, home of great tex-mex. our trip marked my third trip there, first our sisters trip, and then my birthday trip with ben. the thing about Tulsa is- it's not the biggest or fanciest town, it's just fun to travel to a bigger city with restuarants and stores that we don't have in nwa. my sister, bethany, is also expecting, so we both were looking forward to a better maternity selection. below is the birthday girl, bethany!

somehow we took a lot of pictures with ben, lori, and I- and ben of course kept making jokes about us being sister wives... oh my!



we spent the entire day shopping (at least our poor boys had each other), and ended the night with the birthday girls request- the cheesecake factory. after a very filling meal, we decided to call it a night- or so we thought...

 

about 30 minutes outside of tulsa, our car had a flat tire. with no spare. yuck.

after many calls to aaa, we decided that a tow truck back home was not an option for our party of five, since most tows can only carry two. we decided to call bethany's old high school friend, who miraculously hosted us at her house, while we were waiting for the tire shop to open. it was such a blessing to have a home to stay in, rather than cramming into a cheap hotel. missionary kids are truly the best, especially since we hadn't seen our friend in ten years! thanks hannah!

 

the next morning we were safely on our way home after our unexpected night in tulsa. what a trip!

pregnancy diaries: week 21

How far along: 21 weeks

Maternity clothes: Still regular clothes but enjoying any opportunity for sweat pants.

Sleep: I'm still pretty normal on this one. Although those body pillows are starting to look more comfortable!

Best moment of this week: While shipping in Tulsa for my sister, Bethany's birthday, I was holding open the door as we were walking out, and a older lady said, "Thanks for holding the door open, Mama to be!". This was the first time a stranger noticed I was pregnant!

Movement:  Little One is sure active- it is so fun to feel him/her wiggling around.

Have you started to show yet: It sure feels like it... especially I wear a tighter shirt with a belt, it is really noticeable. 

Gender: excited to find out in July!

Looking forward to: Warmer weather! I am getting tired of layers and jeans, jeans, jeans!

Baby is the size of a: Spaghetti Squash

looking forward to our little one

one thing that I can hardly wait to do with our little one is read books together. especially the books that I grew up reading. originally, I had a collection of books mainly for my nieces and nephews when they would visit at auntie's house. now it is fun to collect books for my very own little one.

one of my fondest memories from growing up was when my Dad would read to us girls each night. I especially remember reading the chronicles of narnia series, and another book called the tales of the kingdom. that was our special time with my Dad, and I still treasure those moments he spent with us reading. maybe Ben might let Papa sneak in ever so often to read our little ones.

 these were some of my favorites from growing up:

"a bargain for francis" by russell hoban

 "petunia" by roger duvoisin

 "winnie the pooh" by a.a. milne

i still have a wish list going, which includes "this is the way to the moon", "harry the dirty dog", "raggedy ann", "loveable lyle", "put me in the zoo", "stone soup", "the house on east 88th street", and richard scarry's "what people do all day" & "the best story book ever". 

the list could go on & on!

pregnancy diaries: week 20

How far along: 20 weeks, aka HALF-WAY!!

Total weight gain: my Doctor told me I have gained 5 pounds so far. I guess I am on track for a pound a week until baby comes!

Maternity clothes: Still regular clothes but starting to stay away from a few shirts. Tight= not comfortable these days.

 Sleep: going to the bathroom quite frequently in the night lately. I used to sleep like a rock!

 Best moment of this week: Seeing our Little One at our twenty week ultrasound! Baby is healthy and progressing perfectly. We now have a DVD of our baby, which has been fun to re-watch. We have decided to not find out the gender of our Little One which has been such a blast so far. My laid back side is really coming out! 

Movement: Yes! I have been really enjoying feeling he/she move around. It's starting to feel normal, which is so cool. I can't imagine what it will feel like a few months from now. Still waiting for Ben to be able to feel the kicks. 

Food cravings: similar to last week,  but this time it is the Peanut Butter Arsagachino. yum.

Have you started to show yet: Still not obviously pregnant to others, but we are getting there!

Gender: excited to find out in July! 

Looking forward to: my glucose test next month. Just Kidding!

Baby is the size of a: Banana

our morning donut run

 this past saturday, ben & I FINALLY decided to visit our neighborhood donut stop. it is just right down the road from us, so we have been planning on incorporating a morning walk into our donut run. luckily, our neighbors, aka sister and brother-in-law were up for the trip last minute too.

you have gotta love this combination: the arkansas razorbacks and donuts.

thanks for your yummy donuts, the royal donut company! we are thankful you are so close to us. also thanks to the Allen's who were up for a last minute advenure. you are the best neighbors ever!  

our valentines day

happy belated valentines day! 

we had such a great valentines day this year- nothing extravagant, but filled with hearts and love. valentines day is such a fun holiday! at work it was so sweet to see all the candy and flower deliveries from boyfriends, parents, dads, and husbands. ben actually surprised me with a dancing hippo and flowers when I arrived at my desk. 

Free Printable done with the littles from http://www.gerberadesigns.com/triedandtrue/?p=3151

when we celebrated Lori's birthday back in january, we each made valentines garlands. I decided to add embroidered hearts spelling out L-O-V-E to mine.

we still had our sisters lunch, but decided to have a mini-valentines party complete with a DIY valentines themed gift exchange. my contribution was a small bag of homemade strawberry cookies. 

that night, Ben and I enjoyed dinner out just us two where we had great conversation, and maybe even started talking about baby names. we have got a important job ahead of us! we ended up watching a movie at home afterwards together which was perfect for our busy week. 

I hope that your Valentines was sweet and special!