So I have to say that I was a major slacker at taking pictures on Christmas. Matt took a few pictures at his family's, and that's about it. However we did have a really great Christmas! I always love Christmas, and it makes it especially fun and more magical when the kids are all excited. I can't wait until next year when we'll have our own little baby to celebrate with! (Check out Hadley's crazy hair. It must be a lot of work for Amy every morning!)
This picture is on the balcony of the condo that we stayed in. We always stay at the Bella Sirena when we go. I love that place! It is so beautiful!
Here's the view from our balcony.
Matt was checking out the water and wishing that it wasn't too cold to swim!
We went to the aquarium in Rocky Point. There was this cute sea lion there. He was so funny. We swam around his pool made huge waves and every so often would pop up out of the water. You were allowed to feed him for $2. I convinced Matt that we should feed him, and when Matt went over to pay and get the food the sea lion popped his head over the enclosure and was watching him pay and get the food. Apparently, he knew what was coming. When Matt brought the food over, the sea lion came right up and poked his head through the hole in the fence. It about scared us to death, but he knew how it worked!
We also got to pet and feed these huge sea turtles. They came right over to us looking for food. The sea lion was jealous and was barking at us while we were feeding the turtles. Apparently, he was still looking for some more attention. 
After the baby shower we went to Matt's aunt's house for a Christmas party with the cousins. It was fun to see them because we don't get together that often. Matt's aunt got cute Ruldolph noses for the kids. (Kaylee didn't really like hers!) We ate yummy mexican food and sang some Christmas carols. We even had a special visit from Santa Claus. (aka Matthias, but Austin was the only kid that figured it out.)
On Saturday I had my sister's baby shower at my house. Baby Max is due on February 21st. We can't wait until he gets here! Sarah got lots of good stuff at the shower and we played a some fun games. Grandma Shobe particularly enjoyed the game where you tried to guess which candy bars were melted in the diapers. It looked pretty disgusting!
So even though I've been pretty tired lately, we were able to put up the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. (Usually we put it up on Thanksgiving, but oh well. I know I'm a slacker.) I have to admit that I wasn't really feeling that excited about Christmas this year, but the tree has put me in the holiday spirit! I always have to have the Christmas tree lights on when I'm home. Matt worked from home the other day, and when I got home he still hadn't turned the lights on. Seriously, what's wrong with him? The kitties also love the Christmas tree. I think that perhaps what they enjoy the most is trying to open the presents under the tree. I think that the teeth marks in the corners add something special to the wrapping. Wouldn't you agree? We also put up the outside lights. The picture doesn't really do them justice, so if you want the full effect you'll have to come over!
Here is everyone at Grandma Shobe's. We actually had a pretty small group because a lot of people were out of town. (including all of my family)
JJ & Hadley were so cute holding hands!
Carter really enjoyed his turkey leg!
Here's JJ eating his dinner.
We had another ultrasound today. I am officially 8 weeks and 4 days, and the baby measured as 8 weeks and 6 days. The heartrate was 178 bpm. Dr. Moffitt said that everything looks good. I still have to take my hormones until I am 12 weeks, but I have graduated to see my regular doctor. I guess that means no more ultrasounds until 20 weeks. I've gotten a little spoiled with all of the ultrasounds. I am so happy that everything is progressing so well. It still seems a little surreal to me, but I think that I am finally starting to realize that it's true. I've been pretty lucky because I haven't really been too sick. Sometimes I feel icky, but I haven't had any throwing up. (That is what I was dreading the most so yeah!!)
I was rearranging my filing cabinet and I found this picture of me and Roger. This was when he still in the Refreshments, so I was probably about 15. It was in the midst of my obsession. Sarah and I used to go and see him in concert. This picture was taken at Gibsons (It was in Tempe, but now it's called something else.) We used to wait out back after the concert so that we could meet him. I used to love this picture. I blew it up in my photography class and hung it up on my wall in my bedroom.
I had my first ultrasound today! Dr. Moffitt said that eveything looks really good! We even got to see the heartbeat which is really good because sometimes you can't see it this early. He also confirmed that there is only one baby. I have to go back on the 24th for another ultrasound, and then I get to go to my regular doctor. I am so glad that everything is going well! The waiting part has been so scary for me.
Matt finished his 3rd Desert Grande Triathlon in Casa Grande yesterday. He had to swim 400 meters, bike 10 miles, and run 3 miles. His time this year was 1 hour and 19 minutes. When he started training he recruited some people from his work to compete with him. Matt's friend Glen and his wife Jana also competed in the triathlon. I'm proud of him for all of his hard work! 
While I was on bedrest I borrowed Grey's Anatomy from someone that I work with, and now I am hooked! I watched seasons 1-3 while I was on bedrest. That's all I did all day. Matt had to make me turn it off and go to bed at night. (At least I wasn't bored!) Season 4 just came out on DVD, but I couldn't quite bring myself to buy it and it's $5 per disc to rent it at Blockbuster. (That's obscene!) Luckily I found a website that I can watch the season 4 episodes online, and I've been recording Season 5 on my DVR. I've been spending lots of time in front of my computer lately!
We had the frozen embryo transfer and everything went well. They gave us pictures of the embryos before they were transferred and they both looked very good. Cindy was on bedrest all day yesterday and is going to continue to stay in bed as much as possible for the next couple days. It takes 3 days for the embryo to attach so we want to make sure she doesn't do anything to disrupt that process. We will find out the results on the 24th. Until then we will just wait and hope for the best.
I swear that this is last birthday post I will make. :) Matt always makes fun of me because he says that I get a birthday week instead of a birthday day. On Sunday (my real birthday!) our families came over for a break the fast/birthday celebration. It was fun just to hang out. Hadley wanted to help me blow out my candles. Thanks to everyone who fasted and prayed for us!
I asked for money for my b-day, so I did a little birthday shopping yesterday. I got the ipod touch (which I am really excited about, but haven't gotten to play with yet due to technical difficulties with i tunes.), and this beautiful picture by Greg Olsen. They were having a Greg Olsen roadshow at the Costco near my house. It was so hard to pick which one I wanted. This picture is called Walk With Me. I love it!
JJ loves playing foosball. 
JJ shot hoops at Chuck E Cheese.
JJ and Kaylee posed with Chuck E Cheese.
Shh! Kaylee is sleeping! (and I was tired too!)
Matt and me with Emerald Bay in the background.
Matt and I were hanging out on the pier watching the sun set and we noticed that these birds that were really far out were actually walking around and not swimming. The water was really shallow for a long ways out, so I decided to see how far that I could walk out without getting my clothes all wet. By the time that I made it all the way out there my feet were numb! The temperture outside was probably in the fifties, so you can imagine how cold that the water was!
We went on a hike to this place called Eagle Lake. The only way to get there was hiking, so there weren't a lot of people around. It was so beautiful and peaceful.
Here is me, Matt, and Jolene with Emerald Bay in the background.
Matt's dad went to the doctor yesterday to get the final results after the chemo treatments. We were all excited to find out that he is now cancer free! It has been a long road for him, but all of his hard work has paid off. He even got to ring the bell at the doctor's office to signify that his cancer is gone. We are all so grateful! We all got together today to swim and bbq and celebrate the great news.
We went to the Diamondbacks game again on Saturday night with Janeille, Matthias, Jeremiah, Kaylee, Andy, Austin, and Carter. According to Matt, our seats were so high up that if the top would've been open we could've stuck our heads outside. Let's just say that we had a bird's eye view of the whole field. We got free Eric Byrnes' hats (hence the blond hair). I don't think that Kaylee had very much fun because every time people started cheering she started crying. Unfortunately the Diamonbacks lost.
Yesterday I was itching for a new purse, ( I love purses. What can I say?) so we decided to go to Vegas. We flew there in the afternoon for a little bit of shopping at the outlets, and of course we had to make a quick stop at the casino. We hung out at the Excaliber for about an hour and a half, and then we caught the last flight home at about 9:45 pm. It was a quick trip, but what the heck? It was fun!
