Thanksgiving at the Beach

This year for Thanksgiving Nate and I met up with my family at a beach house in Topsail, North Carolina. Growing up we used to go to a beach house in North Carolina every summer for a week with my cousins. My Dad thought it would be fun to have a change of pace for the holidays this year, and have everyone meet at the beach for Thanksgiving instead of in August. I know I currently reside 10 minutes away from the beach on the other side of the country, but we've recently turned into those lame people who live next to something awesome and never go. So we were excited about a week at the beach, and even more so a week with family!

Being OCD, I always book flights months in advance for the holidays to make sure we get a good price. It is not cheap having to make a transcontinental trek at the peak of the travel season every year. We booked a red-eye flight for the Saturday before Thanksgiving back in May (before we were aware of the fact I would be 7 months pregnant for the trip). I had visions of having to go to the bathroom or needing to get up and stretch out my puffy feet while being trapped in the window seat by a sleeping fellow passenger. Luckily it turned out ok and I passed out the whole flight out of exhaustion from packing up our apartment that day.

We arrived in Raleigh the next day, rented a car, and drove 2 hours to the beach!

The first part of the trip was great because just my Mom, Dad, and brother Wade were there with us, and we all got to hang out and catch up before the crowd arrived on Wednesday. The beach house was amazing! Nate and I got one of the first picks of 10 bedrooms and it even had an elevator. My favorite part was the kitchen.

Wouldn't you just love to stare at the ocean while doing the dishes everyday?

Hello Ocean

Topsail island is usually pretty remote, but there was hardly a soul at the beach the first part of the week.

Sometimes I think I look obese... Then I remember I'm pregnant.

The weather was awesome the whole week. We had a great time flying kites, playing
Frisbee, going to Wilmington, going to the movies, playing games, and walking on the beach.

My Dad insisted that he take his "California Son-Law" to experience some real Carolina BBQ. We usually stop at this hole-in-the-wall called Wilbur's BBQ on the drive down from Virginia. But since we were already at the beach we looked up some places on yelp and found one with a bunch of good reviews. After driving to the middle of nowhere near Jacksonville, NC we pulled into what literally was somone's house.

They turned the side of their house into a BBQ restaurant? My Dad fairly anti-chain restaurant and always says there's no way to eat but local on trips. This was a new extreme.

I'm sure it would have been awesome according the yelp reviews, but unfortunately they are only open Thursday-Sunday... So with a change of plans we decided to go to "Thigs" down the road.

How could we go wrong with a restaurant with dancing pigs on the sign?

Sadly, Thigs wasn't that good. The hush puppies and fried okra were great, but the usual tangy shredded Carolina barbecue was more like a pile of mush.

Note the slightly pained expressions on everyone's faces.

On Wednesday everyone else arrived! It was fun to have a full house and visit with everyone...

Crazy boys swimming in the cold ocean.

My new best friend Hallee! Cutest little girl ever...

My husband rolls with the 16 year-olds...

Thanksgiving dinner was delicious granted my family is full of awesome chefs like my Dad and Aunt Tracy! Everyone was jealous of my stretchy pants after dinner...

Assembling the pies...

Overall it was a great trip! We loved the big group games of Catch Phrase and Balderdash, delicious food, gorgeous beach, and time with family. That was the last time I'll see everyone before our little mister arrives.

But only 2 more months till that happens!

Goodbye Ocean! See you on the other side...

Observations

• I look a lot like a plump stuffed turkey in my maternity shirts these days.

• My baby loves jamba juice - it sends him on a dancing/kicking spree for several hours.

• I love stretchy pants and maternity pants. How am I ever going to go back to wearing regular pants? All pants should be maternity pants.

• A few months ago Nate and I decided to commit to him starting his own company. We feel great about that decision and like the Lord has really been guiding him. Nate is always a hard worker (much of our dating life was spent in the library), but he has been working especially hard these past few weeks. We're talking up till 1am programming, sleeping for 5 hours, then up again at 6am. Him and his friend Lee are both computer programmers and have been designing a client management system for life insurance. After over a year of hardcore working on this project, they are weeks away from finishing it, which is exciting.

• Does it bother me he has to work a lot? Not at all! Because I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that I come first. And he is doing all of this for the future of our family and our baby. He always cares most if I'm happy and sets aside time just for us each day. I think it is important to be a supportive wife rather than a complainer about him having to work. I am so proud of him and grateful for his efforts!

• I am excited to see all my family next week at Thanksgiving. And I have been drooling over Thanksgiving food on blogs and the Food Network. I can't wait for pumpkin pie, turkey, sweet potatoes, and cranberry sauce.

• I am extra excited about the Christmas season this year. Not that my baby is coming anytime around Christmas (let's hope not..). I just think it's really enchanted to be 8 months pregnant around Christmas. Like I have the greatest present of all inside of me.

• It really bothers me that it never gets cold in San Diego. People always talk about that like it's a positive thing, but I love seasons! As excited as I am for Christmas, it is just not as festive without the cold.

• Nate looks handsome in his new glasses. I like it when he wears them.

• I am excited and nervous about being a new Mom. There is nothing else I would rather do with my life right now, but I can't help feeling a little nervous sometimes. I used to feel kind of bad for being nervous. But then I thought about how my old cross country couch used to tell us that if we weren't nervous before a race, it meant we weren't taking it seriously enough. At the same time he would say it isn't good to be overwrought with nervousness to the point of not functioning - but a little nervous energy can be a good thing.

• It's definitely just moments I feel nervous. Not constantly. I don't think you have to be nervous to be taking it seriously, but I personally feel nervous sometimes because of what an important responsibility it is to be a Mom.

• I am in love with our baby. I can't wait to meet him. I keep his ultrasound pictures by my bed and look at them before I go to sleep a lot. I already think he is the cutest baby in the world. Probably because I think he has similar facial features as his Dad!

Moving and Nesting Mode

Many of you probably already know - but Nate and I decided to move to a bigger apartment before we have the baby! We love where we live now and there were many pros and cons (beyond the obvious need for more space) that came with deciding to move. But overall we think it is the best decision for our family! We searched and searched for about a month for 2 bedroom apartments in San Diego. Everything is so expensive! But we actually ended up finding a great deal at a fairly new apartment complex in the La Jolla/UTC area. Its in a great area, has lots of places to walk, is next to a new park/library, and much closer to the beach than where we're at now! We are moving November 29th and I can't wait to get everything set up for the baby.

Now that we're moving I keep having to control my urge to redecorate. I have all my projects in order for the nursery and have been making progress on those. But I keep dreaming of redecorating our living room. Probably another product of being in nesting mode. I love blog stalking design blogs like high street market and stephmodo and these pictures have totally inspired me!

I have been doing lots of craigslist hunting and thrift store browsing to bring in some of these ideas at our new place. It's fun to see what you can do on a budget and what deals you can find! More to come later!

Spades is Trump

Growing up, I always knew that part of being a Whitt was being able to hold your own in a game of cards. My family is huge into games and this tradition goes back generations. When I was a kid my grandparents used to live 15 minutes from us and a lot of my Dad's family would come in town for various holidays. All us grand kids knew what it meant when my Dad, Grandpa, and his brothers would gather down at the large oak table and break out the dominos. We would disperse and leave them be as they all engaged in the much anticipated and competitive, father-son domino games. The kind of dominos they play is not the "Mexican train" kind - but rather the real game of dominos, that takes quite awhile to get a grasp on.

From a very young age my parents taught my brothers and I how to play cards. Nate and I are heading back east for Thanksgiving this year and playing Spades, Pinochle, and Up and Down with my family is something I always look forward too. When we were little my parents started us out playing Hearts. Hearts can get old quick so they then taught us more complicated games like Spades. It may take an afternoon to learn how to play Spades, but it definitely takes a lifetime to master. The family dynamics of these games are so familiar and fun.

In addition to counting cards and studying the nuances of the game my Dad would always be teach us "card etiquette" about proper shuffling, dealing, and playing cards. It's ironic because I feel like I learned how to play cards properly, but have never met anyone outside my family who would actually notice. Card playing in general is becoming kind of a lost art. I remember at indoor recess in Elementary school some of my friends had cards and suggested we play Egyptian Rats. I remember saying we should play Pinochle and having everyone stare and not know what I was talking about. I didn't realize how rare it was to play real card games! Every once and awhile I'll sign onto Yahoo games and join in an online game of Spades. But its usually boring and slightly disappointing. Getting to play with my family is the real treat! It's been funny introducing Nate into this aspect of my family because his family didn't play a lot of games growing up. Nate likes Up and Down best but tells me he secretly feels stressed during Spades. I think he does great! It's all just for fun. In addition to playing cards, all my cousins and extended family love playing other games like Settlers of Catan, Risk, etc.

We are excited for Thanksgiving this year and, amongst other things, are looking forward to playing some games!

What a Wonderful Weekend...

This past weekend we went up to Provo... My friends threw me an adorable baby shower.

Have I mentioned I have the best friends ever?
We flew up Thursday night and stayed at Kasee and Jason's apartment the whole weekend. They were fabulous hosts! When I arrived at Kasee's apartment on Thursday night - Caroline and Jessica were there to welcome me! It was a great surprise. I just love them.

On Friday highlights of the trip included:

Going up to campus and enjoying fall leaves... Oh how I miss them!

Brunch with Danielle

Nate visited his engineering friends and professors.

I visited my professors and my old work.

The classroom where Nate and I met!

Enjoying J-Dawgs of course!

And BYU ice cream...

That evening my friends threw me a "little" themed shower.
I couldn't have thought of a cuter theme!

The "It's a Boy!" banner Jess made - so much cuter in person! I love it.

We didn't get a group shot of everyone but here are a few!

After the shower Caroline, Jess, Jen, Kasee and I stayed up till 2am talking!
Such quality girl time :) We could talk forever.

On Saturday we went to breakfast with some of Nate's friends. It was great to see Broc/Joanna and Brett/Sydnie. We went to Magelgy's Fresh and guess who walked in while we were eating? Nienie! Sydnie and I introduced ourselves and said we love her blog. It's always kind of been my dream to meet NieNie. She was so nice!
After breakfast we went to the BYU Football game.

Hello baby!

My handsome hubby!

After the game Jess, Kasee, and I went thrift store shopping and Nate went to hang out with some of his friends. Later we all met up with Jen and Lasee and our husbands for dinner at Terra Mia. Yum!

Love them.

And good thing our husbands love each other! Because even if they didn't they would still have to hang out.

Then we went back to Jen and Lasse's house for a hilarious game of "Battle of the Sexes". Naturally the girls won. It was a hoot.

Jen and Lasse's house is amazing! They have completely gutted the house and are in the process of re-doing everything. Such talent!

On Sunday we went to church and had a lovely brunch at Jess's. We also hung out with Nate's little brother Mikey.
Overall it was a fabulous weekend with:
Tons of girl time
No sleep
Laughing
Quality conversation
Reminiscing
And excitement about baby!

Thank you girls for making it so great! We sure have lots of people we love left in Provo!

24 Weeks!

Here is my bump at 24 weeks!

I was under the initial impression that our boy was fairly gentle with his kicks and only moderately active. At 20 weeks he cooperated very well during the ultrasound and a few weeks before that I had started feeling the first pings and kicks movement. At first it felt like popcorn and was very faint, but definitely the baby! Over the past few weeks, he has become extremely active. He now does huge kicks, somersaults, and enjoys pushing all over in my stomach. Nate and I can now just sit back on the couch and see him move all over from the outside of my stomach! I love it. Although he especially likes resting and kicking my pelvis which can get uncomfortable.,,

He doesn't move all day and seems to have developed a pattern. He moves most after meals and at night when I sit down to relax. I read in a book that's really normal. You always hear about babies moving the most when Moms lie down at night because the swaying and rocking of your stomach when you're running around during the day usually puts the baby to sleep. Then when you sit down and finally relax the baby wakes up! Ironic right? Given how strong his kicks already are, I am slightly concerned about when he gets bigger. But mostly I love feeling him move because it reassures me that he is growing and developing away!

I get weekly emails from babycenter.com (which I love!) that tell me about the exciting things happening in the baby's development. A few weeks ago I read that my baby can now hear noises outside the womb, including my and Nathan's voice. Last week I was making some frosting with a hand mixer and as soon as I turned on the mixer I felt him leap and kick really suddenly! I think the loud noise of the hand mixer (which was right near my stomach) startled him and woke him up! Poor thing. But so cute and cool that he could hear the noise!

At my most recent appointment eveything still looked good and healthy. The ultrasound pictures were all normal after review and the baby's heartbeat was just where it should be. As far as how I'm feeling - I have been great! I know it sounds crazy, but I actually love being pregnant. Strangers are nicer to me, I get to register for things at Baby R'Us, and nobody can judge me for eating every 2 hours at work.

I haven't been seriously sick or naseous at all. The only things are that my feet and hands have been getting more swollen lately. My ring is quite the squeeze to get on these days and I will probably have to get a fake one soon. Also sometimes if I've been overdoing it, running around a lot I'll get cramps. I still have trouble sleeping. When I sleep it’s only for an hour or two before I have to wake up to go to the bathroom, roll over to shake out my sleeping arm or throw off the covers in a heated fury. Sometimes I forget that my body looks completely different and catch a glimpse of myself in a mirror or window during the day. It surprises me how big I am!

I can't believe this month I'll be in the third trimester! It seems like the 1st trimester dragged on, but the 2nd trimester flew by! And the more I think about it, the more excited I am we're having a boy!

Looking Forward to:

1. Finishing my baby crafts and things for the nursery!

I looked at crib bedding and nurserys for hours and nothing was quite what I wanted. So I decided to make my own crib bedding! As well as a few other fun crafts for the nursery (like a bird mobile, lamp shades, pictures, etc.). I searched for a few days to find the perfect fabrics and just got everything I ordered in the mail. I LOVE the fabrics! Last night I started cutting, sewing, and crafting away. I ended up staying up wayy late working on it because it was so fun (and partially because Nate had to stay up late working from home). In the past I've never really had time to devote to a hobby like this, so it feels good to be creative and actually make something. Plus making everything is way cheaper than buying everything so it saves money. We'll see if my limited sewing skill pull through. More posts to come on on this later!


2. Going up to Utah November 4-7 for a baby shower my lovely friends are throwing me!

I am so excited to see these girls!

We are also going to hang out with some of Nate's friends and their wives, see Nate's brother, and go to a BYU Football game. Yay!

3. Seeing my family for a whole week at Thanksgiving!

This year for Thanksgiving my parents decided it would be fun to rent a beach house on Topsail Island in North Carolina and have everyone meet there. Usually going to a beach house in the Outer Banks is my family's summer tradition. It will be fun to go at Thanksgiving as well! We are going to do awesome southern things like deep fry a turkey.

Some of my cousins and extended family will be coming and going throughout the week as well. Seeing my family for a whole week is a dream - granted I usually never have enough vacation time from work to take off that long. It will be great!

4. Mini Babymoon!

The first weekend of December Nate is taking me on a mini "babymoon" for the weekend up to LA. We are going to see Westside Story on LA Broadway and I can't wait! I love musicals. It will be fun to have one last get-away just the two of us before the baby arrives.

5. Caroline's Wedding on December 18th!

Aren't these two adorable? Caroline is my dear friend from freshman year and long ago she and Aaron feel in love. We were all in the same freshman ward together and now they are both back from missions and are getting married! I am SO happy for them! I can't wait to go to their sealing and see her on her big day! It will also be fun to see all our friends from freshman year. Nate and I finalized our trip plans earlier this week! Yay!

6. Christmas/New Year's with Nate's family!

We are doing Christmas with Nate's family this year and all his siblings are coming in town again. I can't wait to see everyone! It is great to be part of such a big family, ever-growing. Since this picture Steve and Angela had their cute daughter Alice. Nate's older sister is also pregnant and due about a month after me!

It's also nice we live in San Diego and get to see everyone without having to travel more. Nate's mom and my sister-in-laws are throwing a shower for me over the holidays as well. So nice of them!

We are having the baby about a month after all these fun events occur! That is by far the best thing to look forward too.

I'm excited for the upcoming weeks and everything we have planned!