Ten Feet Shy Of A Griswold Christmas Tree...

We have started a tradition and on the Friday after Thanksgiving we go to 'Wintergreen Tree Farm' and cut down our own Christmas tree! Yes, 'Griswold, Christmas Vacation' style. It is so much fun! Chandler's aunt Cindy and uncle Dave told us about the tree farm and we usually meet them out there with their two girls Ellie and Macie. This year was the last year we will do it just Chan and I. Next year we will have Channing girl with us to help pick out the perfect tree!

One of the guys getting the tractor and hay ride ready to take everyone to the tree fields to cut down their tree.

Some of the guys shaking out one families tree. They didn't go out to cut their own down like we did... they chose a pre-cut one. Just not as fun!

Macie and I on the hay ride out to the field!

Chandler's Grandmother in the blue sweater and his aunt Cindy in the brown jacket!

Chandler's uncle Dave in the blue getting ready for the hay ride and his cousin Ellie in the red shirt and brown vest... Sorry Ellie; I think you turned right as I was taking the picture.

Chan and I on the ride out to the field! We look forward to this every year. It really is a lot of fun!

Taaaa Daaaa... there she is: the PERFECT tree... for this year anyway! We walked all over both fields to find this BEAUT! They are so hard to chose from once you look at so many!

Chan starting to cut down the tree!

Success!!!!

We went straight home and started our Christmas decorating. Chan even put up outside Christmas lights this year! I will take pictures of all the Christmas decor soon, the tree looks great decorated!

I even put on Home Alone while I decorated and yesterday we watched Christmas Vacation! I love the holidays!!

Cluck Cluck Gobble Gobble Cluck Cluck

This last Sunday started the 'Week-O-Thanksgiving'! My brothers came over to the house and brewed beer with Chandler. I think they had a great time in the 'Man Room' aka garage with their own TV out there and a few beers. That makes the perfect guy hangout right?

Then Wednesday night we did our 'Thanks-Mas' with my side of the family. My brother and SIL and niece are not able to make it down for Christmas this year but were able to come for the whole week of Thanksgiving so we improvised and did our Christmas with them early! 'Thanks-Mas'!

I think the greatest part of the night was watching Judah open her gifts! It is so fun for her and so fun for us to see how excited she gets! She loved everything she was given and I think she has already played with every bit of it. What a sweet girl!

This morning we started off with the Thanksgiving Parade and some coffee... one of my FAVES of the season! We got our food prep done and then we went over to Chan's parents house for Thanksgiving. We were lucky enough to have both of our families together today! We are so happy that we all enjoy each other and all get along. Its not too often that both sides of families spend holidays together and we had a great time! Below are some family pictures we took today with my family. We also took several with the Balch side but they are on someone else's camera. As soon as I get a copy of those I will be sure to post them!

We all enjoyed an AWESOME spread of food and everyone that isn't pregnant, everyone but me ha ha, enjoyed Chan's 'Dirty Pilgrim' beer that he brewed! The day was a success and we had such a good time.

We have A LOT to be thankful for this year! GREAT families and GREAT friends. Thankful for our little girl on the way. Thankful that we both have GREAT jobs that we both enjoy a lot. Thankful for our health and our puppies. Thankful that we are so blessed beyond measure!

Again, I have a lot more pictures to post as soon as I get them from everyone else's camera! We had a great Turkey Day! We hope all of you guys did as well and are as thankful as we are for our families and friends!

All things Girl....

After we found out we were having a girl we were able to go get some GIRL things. Some of the things are below, but I need to take a picture of the other stuff we have received! We have a few onesies from my mom and also something else special that Chandler bought our little girl. I just need to get it all out and make sure to post the pictures of all of it! I promise I will. I am also going to be posting the samples of the fabric we are using and the paint samples we are choosing from. Hopefully everyone will be able to follow the progress of the nursery as we get things done bit by bit! Chan should be getting the crib put together sometime next weekend and we will post that as soon as we have it up!

Little outfit from the Children's Place

One of many swimsuits I am sure! What girl can only live with one? This little beaut is from Nordstrom Rack! 6 dollars buys a CUTE little suit!

'Not your average PRINCESS' onesie from the Children's Place!

All of it together! Behind the little swimsuit are some Robeez I found Channing for 9 dollars! Can't beat that for some trendy little kicks for the already trendy little girl!!

20 Weeks!

Yesterday marked my 20 week mark!! HALFWAY!! I am feeling great... a little more pregnant each day but feeling great! As you guys know we found out last Friday that we have a little girl on the way! We have had so much fun getting our plans going for all things GIRL! Channing Layne will be taken care of!! She is moving more and more and it has been awesome feeling her move around in my belly. I am SO thankful everyday that I get the opportunity to have a baby! It really is something that is so precious and I am thankful God let me experience it! This week I went with my mom and SIL and picked out and bought ALL of the nursery fabric. Bedding...curtains...rocking chair cushion fabric! We are well on our way and so HAPPY with the fabric! Thanks to my rents for the fabric for Channing's room and thank you thank you to Jeannie for making ALL of the nursery gear! We are sooo thankful that we are going to have something so awesome, different and special for our little girl! Also, the crib is finally on the way and should arrive sometime next week! We will have the nursery ready in no time!

IT"S A...

GIRL!!!

We went to the doctor this morning and received the BEST news! We have a HEALTHY and PERFECT baby GIRL on the way! The sonographer and the doctor both said everything looked great putting our minds at ease! It was really such a great and awesome experience to see the little 'bean' we saw seven weeks ago now looking like a healthy baby! She was moving the whole sonogram and had her feet and legs up by her head and kept grabbing her feet! She might be in drill team like her mom was!! We also heard the awesome heartbeat again! What a precious sound! We even caught her looking at the 'camera' a few times... we must say that was a tad bit creepy haha! We have a few pictures of her sweet profile (ie: above) but they also gave us a DVD of the whole sonogram for EVERYONE to see... I am sure we will keep it with us at all times so just in case you guys want to see it, you will be able to!!

Thank you to everyone for your continued thoughts and prayers! We are so blessed and grateful to be able to have this baby girl.


Channing Layne Balch is on the way April 2010 and is already loved SO much!!!


HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!!

Also, we need to give a shout out to Grammie Lynda... it is her birthday today! Happy Birthday!!!

UPDATE

Today I am 19 Weeks pregnant and we go in Friday for our BIG sonogram!! We are so excited about it! Below is a description of whats going on with the 'little one' right now!! We will be making a huge post on Friday! in the meantime ENJOY!!

Your pregnancy: 19 weeks

How your baby's growing:Your baby's sensory development is exploding! Her brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that she may be able to hear your voice now, so don't be shy about reading aloud, talking to her, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you.Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large heirloom tomato. Her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of her body now. Her kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on her scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on her skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.

18 Weeks and Counting!

How your baby's growing:

Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If you're having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.

Speaking of ultrasounds; we get to go Friday morning November 20th to find out if we are having a girl or a boy! I have been feeling pretty good and we are both getting so excited to see our little one on Friday! We have not had a sonogram since I was seven weeks along!

Please keep us in your prayers and we will be updating everyone on the good news Friday!!

Keegan's Twin Baby Shower & Ft Worth FUN!

Last Saturday we headed out to Ft Worth so the girls could honor Keegan, Callen, and Camden (to be)! The boys headed to breakfast and to a friends house to watch college football. Keegan is 28 weeks along with twin boys and is looking and feeling great! Tami and Shelby hosted a great shower with lots of great food! Yes, that's what draws me in these days! We had a great time at Shelby and Brandon's house making sure these baby boys will be set when they arrive!

Keegan and I: Belly Shot: Keegan 28 Weeks Twins Kelsey 17 Weeks One

Everyone at the shower!

Sweet Friends: (L to R) Kelly Harper, Keridan Davis, Tami Galloway, Keegan Webb, Shelby Diviney, Kelsey Balch

After the shower the girls headed to a patio in Ft Worth to enjoy the great weather and visit and the boys headed to a sports bar to finish the games. The girls got their drinks and Shelby asked if they had Odoule's; the non-alcoholic beer. They did and brought me one. I have to say it tasted pretty good. It was a great afternoon relaxing with friends.

We ended the night celebrating Chandler, Tami, and Ife's birthday's at 'The Covey' and with a game night back at Brandon and Shelby's house. I will have more pictures to post soon from dinner with the whole gang. We are so thankful for our great friends and for the times we all get to hang out together!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

The birthday boy EARLY in the morning on November 6th.

Family birthday celebration at Zanata...

Me and the Husband on his birthday! Everyone below is watching the birthday boy open his gifts!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

To the BEST husband around and the greatest DAD-TO-BE!

Cheers to year 28!!! Love you!

17 Week Baby Bump

An update at 17 weeks on the 'baby bump'! I feel like more people are starting to notice this week; I must have popped a little bit. A side note: we always end up taking these pictures at the end of the day, usually after I have worked out...hence the outfit I am wearing. Still feeling great! We are looking forward to this weekend. Friday is Chandler's 28th birthday and we are celebrating with our families at dinner! Saturday we are headed to Ft Worth so the girls can honor Keegan and her little twin boys to be; we are also celebrating Tami and Ife's birthday that night after the shower. I will update on all the festivities on Sunday. Have a great rest of the week!

Soccer Injury & 17 Week Update

Chandler plays soccer on a team with some guys around the area. A few Chan even played with when he was younger on a select soccer team! Well, Monday night they had a game and although they came away with a WIN; Chan also came away with a pretty nasty injury. He went in for the ball and slid into the guy and somehow got kicked and twisted his knee and ankle at the same time. When he got home his ankle was already swollen and bruising and he stayed off of it all day yesterday with heat and ice and elevation. Thankfully it doesn't seem to look any worse but below are a few pictures to document the injury. He is back on his feet today and hopefully can make it through the day without too much pain. We are thankful it doesn't seem to be broken though, whew, that was a close one!

Now for the pregnancy update! I am 17 weeks along today. Below is a description I get sent in an e-mail every week about how the baby is growing. I will post a picture of my 'baby bump' tonight. We are getting closer and closer to the sonogram and are anxiously waiting to see if we are having a Channing Layne or a Beckham Cohen.

Your pregnancy: 17 weeks

How your baby's growing:Your baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and she's around 5 inches long from head to bottom. She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop.

Halloween & Ice Cream

This week Benz and Bentley took a trip to the groomer. They came home all ready for Halloween and we could tell that they felt much better! They also got a special treat this week; dog ice cream! Thanks to our friend Shelby she introduced us to a brand of ice cream made specially for dogs and Benz and Bentley LOVED it!

We had a great week and weekend! Chandler brewed a beer that will be ready just in time for Thanksgiving called the 'Dirty Pilgrim'. He went to Blane's house and they brewed and 'tasted' the beer that Blane had brewed in weeks before. I did my mom's hair and then met Valerie at her salon and got my hair done! I love it and it was so good to see her and catch up! We also met Cole and his girlfriend Kati and my mom and dad at Buffalo Wild Wings to watch football and eat dinner. All in all it was a great week and awesome weekend! I am feeling great and growing a little each week! Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers! We hope you guys have a great week!