Baby Update--Week 24

Where's our baby at for Week 24? Well, "at a weight of 1 1/2 pounds and a length of about 8 1/2 inches, our baby has outgrown the fruit references and is now the size of a standard letter (but would take a lot more than a standard stamp to mail). Baby's weekly weight gain is now about 6 ounces...much of that weight is coming from accumulating baby fat, as well as from growing organs, bones, and muscle. By now, our baby's tiny face is almost fully formed, and achingly adorable--complete with a full set of eyelashes and eyebrows and a good sprinkling of hair on her head (which is currently snow white, since there's no pigment in her hair just yet)."
It's been fun to day dream about what she'll look like when she comes--likely a blondie, but will she have Travis' or my eyes? And whose nose? And will she be a bitty thing like all her little cousins? Well, we'll know for sure in just 3 1/2 more months!
And to build off of what I said in my last picture update, our little girl continues to kick--a lot. I think she might have had the hiccups the other day too, because it felt like she was both kicking and punching at the same time, in really close intervals, for several minutes yesterday morning. (I was bummed that Travis had already left for school, because there was NO WAY that he could have missed any of these little movements!)
In other baby news, we recently recieved some super cute baby clothes from my mom and our friend Shantyl--thanks guys!--and are thus (already) slowly beginning to build a little wardrobe for our little one (she's going to need her own dresser drawer soon!). (Sorry, no pictures, so you'll just have to come visit us to see them!)
And, for my mom, here is a picture of me at 5 1/2 months (the last one was at 5). Both Travis and Shantyl remarked to me the other day that there's no doubting that I'm pregnant now--I've got a definite baby belly (and after you see these pictures, you'll probably agree)! It's also starting to FEEL like a bonafide baby belly too!

(I couldn't decide which picture showed off the belly better, so I posted both! Thanks Travis for taking these for me!)

Well, there you have it for now. =) We go to the Dr. again on February 9th, so I'll have some more "official" updates for you then!

Christmas Cookies and More...

(Note: This post will make a little more sense if you read the "Christmas in Wyoming" post first, which I also posted this morning=).)
Making sugar cookies is a fun Christmas time tradition in my family, and we thought that the kids would enjoy it as well, so we all did it as one of our fun activites while in Wyoming for Christmas.

Gavin was Travis' and Cassie's apprentice for the suger cookie making, and he got some great lessons from them in everything sugar cookie!

First, we make the sugar cookies dough:

Then, flour the table and press it out...

...and roll it with a roll pin (here with Travis Sensei):

He did a pretty good job on his own too!

Then, one of the best parts: using the Christmas cookie cutters! (Can you tell that I am loving trying new shots and settings on my new camera?!)

Gavin liked deciding which cookie cutter we should do next (snowflake, tree, gingerbread man, star, or snow man--so many great choices!), and liked using the cookie cutters even more!

He even did them two at a time!

Cassie and Travis helping transfer the cookies onto the cookie sheet:

Gavin was definitely their little helper!

Here he is doing some cookie transfering himself (he did a great job of being gentle!):

Again, me having some fun with my camera (I was the official photographer of this fun project):

Then you bake them in the oven...

...wait for them to cool...
..and finally do the best part of all--DECORATING! And I'm gonna be honest, there was a lot of spreading, sprinkling, and sampling involved! (Gavin found out by the end that even easier/better than decorating your cookie was to just eat the frosting and m'n'm's--what a smart kid!)

Me with my own plate of Christmas cookies:

Our beautiful and scrumptious finished product:

What else did we do while on our Wyoming vacation? We had a whole lot of "heel-clickin'" fun, that's what!

(Trying out the action setting on my new camera):

We played with our Christmas presents some more...

Megan--jedi knight:

...including having some light saber wars, playing Travis' new game "Speak it not," watching movies I got for Christmas, and watching the kids have a good time with their new presents.

Here's Megan stuffing her new magnets down her shirt (a recent favorite activity). It was sooo cute!

We also visited the "Second Rescue of the Martin and Willie Handcart Company Room" at Cassie's Church, and had a neat experience with that...

...and jumped in the hot tub, swam at the pool, went out for Mexican food, played more games, and read some books.

Here's "Grandma Lita" and Gavin reading his new Book of Mormon book:

Jenny and Megan reading one of Megan's favorites:

Megan reading the "Friend" with Grandpa:

And best of all, we got some sweet loves from Gavin and Megan (one of our favorite things)!

Megan and Grandpa are good buds:

The kids giving Grandpa some loves:

Overall, we had a GREAT Christmas, and a wonderful time in Wyoming! Thanks Cassie and Mark for letting us come, and everyone there for letting us share it with you!

Christmas in Wyoming

This year, we spent Christmas at Cassie and Mark's house in Wyoming, with Travis' parents and sister Tia too. We drove there on Christmas Eve to find no snow (it came the day after Christmas), but lots of fun ahead of us! After doing some of the traditional Holloway Christmas Eve activities of eating a scrumptious dinner (of ribs), snacking on our favorite snacks (like sausage, cheese and crackers), visiting with each other, and setting out our stockings, we finally went to bed so that Santa could come!

And woke up with Gavin and Megan on Christmas morning to go down and see what Santa had brought all of us!
First, we opened up our Santa gifts and stockings (as per tradition):


(Travis and I had decorated the other side of our stocking this year, as we are soon to be parents):


Tia, Dad, Mom, and Gavin checking out what they had gotten in their stockings:


And then we opened tree presents!

Dad unwraping an electric skillet from Brandon and Rachel:


Megan loving her new Dora couch (that was just her size):


Cassie unvieling her new violin (which she LOVED):


Travis with one of the books I gave him:

Mom and Dad opening their new salad tongs from us (they had NO idea what it was before they unwrapped it, he he he...):

Travis with his new Church game "Speak it Not":

Travis also got: Superman pjs, "Angela's Ashes" (an autobiography), a handsome sweatshirt, a picture frame with his favorite scripture in it, and a Harry Connick Jr. CD. And we both got a Coleman camping stove (from Cassie and Mark), and an electric skillet and dutch oven carrying case and lid lifter (from Travis' parents). Thanks guys! We LOVED our gifts and feel like we hit the jackpot!

And what did I get for Christmas? A candle warmer, a chick flick movie, (both in my stocking from Santa)...and A NEW CAMERA! MUCH TO MY SURPRISE, Travis had gotten me a Nikon D-40 (SLR) camera for Christmas! I had known that these kind of cameras were expensive, and didn't even put it on my Christmas list because I didn't think I could even HOPE to get it, so you can imagine how surprised I was when I opened it Christmas morning! I remember taking off the wrapping paper and seeing the camera box and saying "Are you serious?!," then opening the box and knowing it was for real! I must have thanked and kissed Travis about 10 times! It was the best Christmas present EVER! Thank you Travis!!! You're the best!!!

After opening all of our tree presents, we ate our yummy Christmas breakfast of cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate. Mmmm...

And then talked to Elder Tyler Holloway in the Dominican Republic!


After the morning festivities, I took a nap and then we got ready for the day (notice how we're adorned in Christmas colors)...

...and played with our Christmas presents!

Gavin and Megan got a wagon for Christmas, so we all decided to take a stroll with it later in the day to get out and get some fresh air:

Then we had the traditional Christmas dinner of prime rib, with twice baked potatoes and green and jello salads. It was SO GOOD!

And in the evening, we visited and played games, and Cassie and I sang some songs with Megan.

Here we are singing "Popcorn Popping":

And doing "Ring around the rosy":

And in the end, we had a wonderful day celebrating the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

Update

News from us for today:
I just went to my monthly checkup with my OBGYN, and everything is looking good. My belly is measuring at 23 cm, which is right on for being 23 weeks along (a cm per week, cool huh?). Also, they listened in on the baby's heart beat, and everything sounds good there too. I met the other Dr. at our clinic for the first time at this appointment as well, and he seems soft-spoken, but very knowledgeable and nice. The only "bad" news from the appointment was that he informed me that this (the sixth) is generally the last "good" month--and that for the last 3 months of pregnancy, I will get to experience all sorts of new pain and discomforts (giving me the slightly pained and glazed over look that many full fledged preggo's have)--wahoo! But for now, all seems and feels well. =) Another fun new thing is that our baby has been moving and kicking LOTS, and more strongly, the past 3 days. (For the past month or so, I've felt her everyday, but only a couple of times each day.) So, Travis might actually (finally) get to feel her move one of these days! =)
Speaking of Travis, he just started his LAST SEMESTER last Wednesday, and so far is enjoying his classes and doing well. It seems like this semester won't be as busy (aka as full of homework and tests) as the last few semesters, which will be really nice (especially as I'll be at home all day every day preparing for our baby girl and for our move in June, so I'll definitely be appreciating any extra help I can get from him and especially more time to spend together). He's still working at Great Harvest twice a week, and is enjoying that too.
And THAT is the latest from us. =)

Another Landmark

Today marks only FOUR MONTHS LEFT of pregnancy! Wow! I know that that's still a ways, but it's beginning to feel so close! And tomorrow, I enter MONTH 6 of pregnancy. Crazy.
But for now, an update for Week 22: "This week, we're talking a whopping weight of 1 pound and a length of nearly 8 inches, about the size of a small doll. But your doll is a living one--with developing senses, including touch, sight, hearing, and taste. What's your baby hearing? The sound of your voice and that of your husband, your heart beating, and just about everything else. And what's your baby tasting? Prettying much everything you're tasting (so pass the salad)." It's so crazy to think how in touch our baby is with the outside world now--can't wait to meet her!
My mom requested that I post pictures of my belly as it grows, so here is my belly at 5 months:

It looks so big, and yet I feel so small still. But I know that won't last for long. =)

And, KMart was having an after Christmas sale on baby clothes a couple of weeks ago, and we couldn't resist getting a thing or two, so I thought I'd share what we got (because little girls clothes are SO CUTE!):

Fun, huh? Well, we have another Dr.'s appointment on Monday (just a regular check up), so I'll be sure to let you know what we learn from that.