Little Thief

I've been enjoying my first couple days at home with Aspen. I think he's getting a little spoiled having almost no time to himself. Eric and I decided to run some errands last night, and we came home to a suprise. Eric used his investigative skills to discover who stole the donuts.


The evidence...

The Crime Scene...

The suspect...

You'll also notice he had a FULL food and water bowl when the crime occurred.


I had to scold Aspen to let him know that eating 2 donuts for such a small dog was not a wise decision. We are getting some good practice on this whole parenting thing :)

Goodbye St. Louis!

I'm sitting in the St. Louis Airport for hopefully the last time in a long time! This is my final flight back to Philadelphia as my project is ending. There are lots of holiday travelers all around, and excitement is in the air! I had a busy week packing up my apartment and saying goodbye to my teammates. This was truly bittersweet as it's officially the last project I will be a part of before the babies arrive. After this major life change, I can only imagine that my experiences will be vastly different than they have been in the past. This chapter of my life is coming to a close, and while the 6 1/2 years of travel was not always easy, I wouldn't trade the experiences for anything. I have learned so much and opened my mind to many different people from varying backgrounds. I have made some truly wonderful memories in my travels along with some life-long friends, and I will always cherish them. The people I have worked with have never ceased to amaze me with their integrity, dedication to the work we do, and overall fun loving outlooks on life. They are the reason I have endured some of the client ridiculousness that I have :)

I have been assigned to a development project with my company until June, and I'll be involved in some very cool cutting edge stuff. The best part is there will be limited to no travel involved, so Eric and Aspen will get to enjoy myself and the twinkies for many weeks to come. I'll be happy to have someone there to run to Wawa when I need olives or milk (or any other fun cravings that are coming my way)!

We are very excited for this Christmas as it will be our last to just focus on each other and our families. While next year will be very different for us, we are ready for the change and will be overjoyed to see our children's excitement for many years to come. We will be spending Christmas with the Schmidt's including Grandma Bunny. Aspen especially loves Grandma Bunny and sometimes chooses to sit with her over myself, Grandma Schmidt and even Aunt Lyndsay. He will also be spoiled with gifts, perhaps for the last year :) Then we head off after the new year to Hilton Head to be with the Purcell side. What an exciting couple weeks we have coming up! We can't wait to see our favorite Nephew, Jack!!

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and hope you are blessed as you spend time with friends and family.

Twinkies Update (and other stuff)

Since I'm new to this blogging world, it's hard for me to think of interesting and fun things to update on. I figured since I just had another doctor's appointment, I could update on how the Twinkies are doing. I've gained about 12 pounds already, and my belly is really starting to show! Even my bellybutton is starting to disappear, which I thought would take a lot longer, but I guess that's the reality of two babies in one belly :) My blood pressure still looks really good, and we heard both heartbeats! What an amazing sound that makes it even more real than seeing them on an ultrasound. They sounded strong, and it was music to our ears! I have to go see the maternal fetal medicine specialists soon to have another ultrasound, and hopefully learn the genders! We plan on having them write it down in an envelope, then doing something fun to find it out together! We are having a really hard time thinking of cute names that go together, so hopefully we'll have some inspiration once we know if it's boys, girls or a combo. So far we are just so excited that they are doing well and growing normally. Below is a picture of how my belly looks now. We really can't wait to meet the Twinkies!!




Eric is doing very well. He has finally gotten the promotion that he was promised over a year ago! He was supposed to begin training Monday, but it got moved back to after the new year (hopefully for the last time!). It will be a huge adjustment as he will be working third shift which is 10:00 PM-6:00 AM or somewhere around those hours. Luckily I should be home for the first few weeks (as long as I don't get assigned to my next project), so I can help Aspen adjust :) It will be interesting to see how that will work out once our babies arrive! I guess I'll be on night duty with the feedings and diapers...

I am finishing up my last couple weeks in St. Louis now. It's been a great time, and I've really enjoyed the city and the client. My team has been awesome, and I will miss everyone on my team! We will be doing a full day celebration on Thursday complete with 80s costumes and surprise fun destinations... hopefully all that are pregnancy friendly!! The upcoming assignment is still very unknown, and I'm hoping for a couple weeks at home after the holidays.

We will be staying around here for Christmas and New Years, then we head to Hilton Head with the Purcells the first week of January. It is an annual trip where we get to see Drew, Keri, Jack, Joel, Mom and Dad, and even the crazy Handy's for a couple days. We always enjoy all the golf, shopping and hot tubs at night, although I'll probably have to sit out of most of the activities this year, but it will be awesome to just be with the fam. We always have an amazing time together, and it always makes me wonder why families can't all live close. If only jobs, houses etc. etc. didn't always get in the way!

And here's a pic of Santa's newest reindeer, just for fun! He doesn't like the bells on the collar, but he puts up with the outfits I love so well! He will be happy when I have some babies to dress up instead!!