{It was awesome & a small tribute!!}

Ahhhh.....the holiday season is coming to a close. One final hoorah - New Years Eve (which come on people, I'm 8.5 months pregnant. The hoorah will be pretty mild this year) - and then it's onto to 2012. Needless to say I am SOOOO excited for what the New Year will bring and I anticipate myself being the HAPPIEST girl around!! :)!!! All of that being said, this 2011 holiday season went off without a hitch. It was festive, it was yummy, and it was actually . . . relaxing. After celebrating Hanukkah with my husbands family, it was on to Christmas with mine. I did all of my wrapping on Christmas eve day (listening to holiday tunes, of course), and spent a ton of time eating and chatting with the people that I love most! I didn't have my camera out for much of the weekend, but trust me when I say that it was a very happy time.

Just for the record, here I am at 32.5 weeks along.....

(this picture makes me look much smaller than I am/feel (I guess black is slimming). I feel pretty uncomfortable in my jeans now...I am ready for him to come out (lol)!!!

And now, back to my holiday spiel. Even though as I grow older, the holidays (for me) are less about presents and more about family, I did want to share one gift that I gave this year that I put some thought into.

Back-story - I don't talk about him too much on here, but my husband is a wonderfully sweet and funny guy. He has a huge heart and is SOOO excited about the upcoming arrival of our little boy in February! As he relates to this post, he has not traditionally been a Christmas celebrator. He grew up Jewish, and his family is amazingly festive and fun during the holidays...it's just a different kind of festive than having the tree, stockings, and jolly-big-fat-guy that a lot of us identify with. I am in love with his mom's enthusiasm when it comes to the holidays. She makes it clear that it's not about getting, it's about being good people in the world and loving wholeheartedly. She truly is an amazing lady. In regards to "our little family" and how things will go in the future, I have been planting the seed that while I am not really a religious person, I am a VERY festive and traditional person, and I have such fond memories of celebrating both Christmas and Hanukkah (my dad is Jewish too) as a child. I really want our kids to have similar traditions to the ones that I have always cherished; the best of both worlds, we would always say. Soooo.....this year, I did get my husband a "Christmas" gift (well....a holiday gift that I put under Ali's tree and gave to him on Christmas morning).....


Ok, so I don't have a picture of the actual gift (ha!), but that was the card attached to it. I got my husband a super cool backpack filled with all of the "baby essentials" that he will need when he and Oliver venture out into the world together!! You know....a changing pad, diapers, wipes, diaper creme, powder, burp cloth, dirty diaper disposal bags, toy (you get the idea). Now I know that Ollie will be attached to me mostly in the beginning (being that I plan to be his food source), but if and when his daddy is ready to take him on a solo adventure (and give mommy some much needed alone time that I am sure she will be craving), he will be all set!!

I wanted to make sure that my husband knows how much I appreciate him and how much he will be needed during this special time. He is a very hands-on guy, and I feel SUPER lucky about that! So, I hope the gift showed him that I am looking forward to being "Mom and Dad" with him and that I can't wait to see him with his very own mini-me!

Now we get to wait in anticipation to see who he will look like most. Here is an adorable picture of my husband (the little Jewish boy) dressed up like Santa back in the day..... (ha!)

Look at that double chin and those hazel eyes - SO cute!! Oddly enough, I can't put my finger on any of my baby pictures at the moment, but once I do, I will post some. It will be fun to compare and contrast!

And finally, just for fun, here are some pictures of my husband and me from 2010 (some of our engagement photos)....



...and soon....baby will make 3! :) YAY!

xo Happy Tuesday!

-lisa