Busy holiday season

It's been a busy few weeks for Nate and I with the holidays. Nate's cousin Steph got married in Hollandale 2 1/2 weeks ago so we traveled to southern MN for the day to help her celebrate her and Jason's big day. It was a beautiful wedding and it was nice to be able to gather together with family for such a special occasion. The picture below was taken at the church that day...doesn't Nate look nice in his suit?!?

The following Sunday we got together with Bob, Mo, and Wes for Christmas, which started out the week long celebration of Christmas. Nate and I had our little Christmas on Tuesday night, as we were both able to get off work early Wednesday to beat the majority of the bad weather to IA to celebrate Christmas with my family. We made the 5 hour drive in 6 1/2 hours before safely arriving at my parent's house for the weekend. From there, we had a Christmas celebration Friday, Sat, and Sunday. Needless to say, we were exhausted and ready to come home on Sunday.
I had a Dr's appt. on Monday morning and was glad to see that I didn't have another record setting weight gain. My Dr. measured my belly and said that I am right on, and if anything the baby may be a bit big. He is guessing it's around 4 lbs. He also said that it's in the perfect position right now. I'm not sure how long it will stay there, as the baby continues to be VERY active. I am now 32 weeks a long. I feel like I've been pregnant forever, but also can't believe that the baby will be here in 8 weeks. Oh how our life is going to change, but we are so excited to finally to meet this little guy or girl!

I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas. Have a happy and safe New Years!

Christmas at my parent's house

Steph & Jason's Wedding

Oh Christmas Tree

Time has been flying by, and I'm assuming it will continue to do the same as the new year quickly approaches. Thanksgiving came and went quickly. I had to work during the day, but was able to join Nate and the rest of the Veldman clan after I got off. It was nice to see everybody, and we are looking forward to gathering together again in a couple of weeks for Steph and Jason's wedding.

My parents came up to visit this weekend. It was nice to see them and we appreciated them making the trip, as we know how long the drive can get and how precious the weekends are especially around the holidays. It was a pretty low key weekend. We did some shopping, played a lot of cards (which my mom and I beat Nate and my dad every time), had dinner with Nate's parents, and were able to go and get a Christmas tree. We opted out of going to the tree farm and cutting our own down this year. We went to a lot, found our beautiful crooked tree, and were home in just over an hour. It sure beat the long drive and numb appendages that I experienced last year when tree shopping. Below is a picture of my parents and us before they left this morning.

Things with the baby are good. I had my Dr's appointment on the 23rd and was very happy to pass my glucose test with flying colors. I celebrated by going out with the girls for some Cafe Latte cheesecake. :) The baby has been extremely active, which gives me peace of mind. I'm hoping that he/she is growing well because my stomach seems to be growing quite rapidly. I can't imagine that my abdomen can continue to grow this rapidly for another 11-12 weeks. I guess time will tell.

I hope that this finds you all well and staying warm. I hear we're supposed to get our first big snowstorm this week. Oh how I hate winter driving!!! Well I'm off to wrap some more presents. I hope that you're all enjoying these weeks of preparation for Christmas!