December

 

California International Marathon

 

Jason and Stacie were signed up for the last Boston Marathon qualifying race in Sacramento the second weekend in December (Jason somewhat illegally haha) Stacie had high hopes of qualifying for the 2015 year (the bombings created a huge group of entrants that got free entries into 2014 so most people qualifying this year got bumped to next year to give the runners who didn't finish a chance at a real race, hopefully without anything going wrong) Jason and I have our fingers crossed for her to qualify so we can have a reason to get to Boston and cheer her on! I made a deal with my folks that I would watch Zorro for a weekend if they took Alyssa overnight giving Jason and I a weekend getaway...and a chance for me to do more spectator stuff with the race without entertaining a toddler at 5 am! The weekend called for snow...and we wanted to get over the pass by 8 am to watch the Western States drawing because Jason had his name in the hat and its a huge prestigious event that means a lot for him to complete someday. Well, Alyssa and I stayed at my folks the night before so Alyssa could stay asleep if we were able to make the drive but we woke up to about 6 inches on the ground and chain controls over the pass. Oh well, Jason and I were able to take Lyss to breakfast down the street and then enjoy some 'slebbing' before chancing the roads over the pass.

 

 

We made it over the pass without any incidents and barely squeaked into the expo to pick up the runner packets before it closed for the day. We met Stacie there and were able to go to dinner with her. We found a vegan/gluten free bakery for dinner and I got to try some new things (I'm not actually a fan of trying new food haha) it wasn't horrible ;) Jason and I made our way to our hotel and called it a night. Such a nice day, chatting with my husband, staying out all day without worrying about naptime or making sure Alyssa wasn't causing unnecessary noise for people around us. I feel like I'm constantly worried about her so it was nice to get a breather.

 

The next morning...SUPER early, was exciting! We got up early and got some peppermint coffee for me to make it through the day. I dropped Jason off near the start of the race (road races are a  bitch because there are so many road closures) and I tried to navigate to mile 6 where there was supposed to be a big show for spectators and the runners of course. This race also had relays so a few stops had relay exchanges making it more crowded...Once runners started coming through, it never ended!! The picture below is the HUGE group of runners taking up the whole dang road. Jason said he would strip off his long sleeved shirt and gloves at mile 6 but it was freaking COLD!! So when I finally found him, he said No WAY! He was keeping his gear, I passed him some energy gels and away he went...and back to the car for me to find my way to mile 10. I got to see a lot of Sacramento/Folsom area that I was not familiar with haha. I made it to mile 10, then to mile 13, 20 and eventually to the end at the Capital Building in Sacto. The day never warmed up and I was freezing, I would see runners come through shivering.

 

The race was fun and I was glad both Stacie and Jason finished, Stacie did not qualify but because next year is a jump in age categories and a lower time to qualify she doesn't need to gain speed, she should qualify after her birthday with her normal time!

 

Cousin Dinner!

 

This is my last cousin dinner at our house until the babe comes...pretty scary to think about, he is almost here!

 

Vacaville Christmas

 

We decided to make the trip over the pass one more time to visit with the in laws for Christmas. It was an easy drive and Alyssa did great, no tantrums, no fussing...just chilled in the back seat the whole trip. She was spoiled rotten by Nana and Papa and CeeCee and we were too! The trip was short but nice.

 

Stacie's cat Liao making a menace of the tree...knocking ornaments off like crazy!

 

Christmas Eve

 

Day 4 with no nap. I was expecting a meltdown but it never came. We did our usual trip to Pat and Teri's and had a blast! The kids ran around like crazy and we got to see Maureen and Greg and Brett. One exciting topic is how the family is growing and growing, and not just with our babe; Rory and Emily made it Facebook official, they are pregnant!! Greg and Maureen were so dang excited about welcoming their first grandbaby :) So fun to see how babies change everyone's lives, not just ours.

 

Grandpa NoNo has upped the game and got the kids matching Dolphins jammies...nice play Nono, nice play.

 

Luckily I had already put together the cradle and high chair for Alyssa's Santa gift because I was POOPED after getting home. We set up Alyssa's gifts and called it a night. Next year I will have to be more sneaky, the kid is gonna figure out that we are doing all the work and Santa isn't  real. First world problems ;)

 

Christmas Morning

 

I had done most the prep work the day before so it wasn't as hectic as it could have been but it was fun to have the gang together and squeeze into our house (I'm really getting the itch to tear down our wall in the kitchen) but the food was great, the keurig came in handy and the kids opened gift after gift! After everyone left we put Lyss down for a nap and layed on the couch and watched a movie...in peace and quiet! Jason and I had a busy busy few days so a relaxing quiet break was just what we needed!

 

 

School

 

I passed!! Two A's and 2 C's. Not too bad. Only 8 more classes to go before graduating. I did sign up for classes next semester so it may be an exciting time...a newborn and homework...and a toddler!  Oh well, gotta do what ya gotta do!

 

Winter!

 

Halloween!!

 

October ended with a super fun holiday, Alyssa got the hang of saying Happy Halloween! We took her to Truck or Treat at the local community center and she was a bit shy but didn't really hesitate approaching the people with candy. She learned Trick or Treat and enjoyed herself.

 

Jason took her up and down our street to trick or treat and she did so well! She was so dang cute as a kitty cat! I tried to get her into a different costume, either a fairy with big pretty wings, or Minnie Mouse, but nope, she wanted to be a Kiki. After trick or treating she even went up to the door and helped hand out candy to all the other 'friends' that came to our house. I LOVE our neighborhood and the amount of kids that were all so well behaved and decent, even the teenagers ;)

 

Kylee Turns Two!

 

Kylee had her birthday party at Flips gymnastics and I think it was a major hit! Alyssa loved the physical stuff at gym, just not the coach telling her what to do and when to do it. So open gym was a success. All the cousins had a blast and were pretty tuckered out by the time we got home.

 

 

Thanksgiving!

 

Thanksgiving was going to be quite the holiday this year, Jason's parents and sister came up and joined in on the Foley fun. I think our big gatherings are become a little less daunting and it seems everyone enjoyed themselves. Alyssa was funny eating Patrick's ham and pickle rolls, she was chowing down! Until she got to an asparagus one...spit that sucker out onto the table. Haha, that's my girl.

 

Stacie stayed with us for her stay and she brought her kitten Liao, who is super close in age to our Chappy. The kittens played like crazy and become best friends. I'm not sure Stacie got much sleep on the couch with the cats running rapid though. One of the things Stacie brought is a play pen for Liao, she had the roof covered in ribbons so the cat can have kinda of a ribbon forest to play in...I got out of my shower and came out to Alyssa locked in the play pen and all the ribbons pulled off the roof...woops! Sorry Stacie ;)

 

 

Thanksgiving day was fun, lots of family and activity! I forgot to drink a lot of water and my stomach got super cranky, but I was able  to rehydrate and the baby settled down. I even managed to stuff two full plates of turkey, stuffing, potatoes, green beans...but only one piece of pie. I would have LOVED another pumpkin cheesecake piece but nothing else was fitting in this belly :)

 

 

Chel took some family pictures and I love them :) Funny how we are all in short sleeves or sleeveless...it didn't feel like winter yet...that was soon to change!

 

I replaced my Nanas old glass bulbs with a few newer strands for the house and LOVE driving up to our lit up holiday house :) I even scored 5 more strands of pink lights while out Black Friday shopping so next year I may be able to do both the trees in pink...slowly getting to my all pink house!

 

 

My damn Jeep has been having issues, I brought it into the shop and it got a thousand bucks worth of damage fixed...only for my transmission to go out a week later! So I skipped my last class of the day and dropped it back at the Jeep Dealership...just in time for our first snow!! Sorry Dad, your Caddy doesn't fit in my garage!

 

 

 

This is my all time favorite season though, we had nowhere to go and all the time in the world to play in the snow :) Alyssa had a BLAST! She did not want to come in and even helped me try to shovel. I think Ill wait to really shovel at naptime because a toddler is not quite as OCD as I am when it comes to clearing the sidewalk. I'm drinking my water to prepare the babe for our workout...I think we got about 6 inches so far. Ill try to measure it in a bit...

 

This is Alyssa and I enjoying our mornings. I have about 2 more weeks of school before we get to do this everyday, until the babe comes ;)

 

28 weeks! For our Christmas present Jason and I got a 3D ultrasound of our little man. He has flipped to head down and kicked the ultrasound wand the whole time! Cant wait to meet him in just 9 more weeks!

 I told Alyssa to go clean her room...this is what I came into about 20 minutes later. Brat. Not that I expected her to actually clean...haha.

 Chappy and Bentley are seriously BFFs. Our pets are pretty funny!