20 weeks-Halfway There!

So, last Friday we hit the big milestone. 20 weeks! It's crazy to think that we are halfway there. That in only 20 weeks, or less, we will be holding our sweet baby girl in our arms. So exciting and so overwhelming at the same time.

Well, just wanted to share a recent belly shot and what Josh gave me as a gift to celebrate 20 weeks! So sweet!

20 weeks + 6


My gift from my sweet husband-A Valentine's day shirt for myself, bath toys for our little girl :) and the movie Baby Mama. Josh calls me his Baby Mama, so this movie was perfect, and hilarious I might add. Thanks so much for thinking of us. We love you. :)

Trip to Humboldt, TN

This past weekend we traveled to Humboldt, TN to see our dear friends Russell & Susan. They recently moved to TN, after getting married this past summer, for Russell to take a Youth Pastor position at the local church. We were so sad to see them go, but are so excited about what the Lord has planned for them there. So, here's a run down of our fun-filled weekend.

We flew into Memphis and Russell and Suan picked us up. We ate some very tasty ribs at Rendezvous, then headed to Humboldt to check out their pad. Their house was gorgeous and we stayed up late chatting and catching up. Well, not as late as the boys. They stayed up WAY too late playing XBOX. Go figure. :)







Then, on Saturday they showed us around Humboldt and we enjoyed several, I mean, LOTS of games of Hand & Foot. We totally have them hooked. It was so much fun!





Then, on Sunday we went to church with them and got to meet their church family. It was so fun to see how much everyone loved and cared for our sweet friends. We love y'all Russell and Susan and can't wait until the next time we get to hang out.

Couples Hand & Foot Night!

So, my family learned this really fun card game called Hand & Foot when we lived in Colorado. It's something we've played on and off for years now, but just recently Josh and I thought it would be fun to teach some of our friends to play so we'd have more people to beat, I mean play with. :) So, a few weeks ago we had some sweet friends over for dinner and to learn this fun game. We had such a great time and hope to do it again sometime soon.

The Girls-Kristin, myself, Erin & Lacy

And yes, Erin and I are wearing very similar shirts, just in different colors. What can we say, we both love The Loft. :)

Sorry, I didn't even think to take a picture of the guys. I don't think they minded though. :)

The Preggos-myself 19 weeks & Erin 29 weeks

We have big plans for these little ones. Arranged marriage? J/K. :)

Gas or Baby?

Okay, so I'm feeling little butterflies inside my stomach and just know they must be our little girl. Definitely not gas, this time. :) I felt her move for the first time on New Year's Day. I was lying down in bed, just about to fall asleep and I felt this little tickle. I thought, no way, that couldn't be her, but sure enough, I felt it again and again, in the exact same spot. It was so amazing and a moment I will never forget! Since then, Josh has felt her move and I'm feeling her more and more every day. It truly is a miracle and we are so awed and thankful for this little blessing.

Boy or Girl? The Best Christmas Gift Ever.

Since we've had so many sonograms, we found out the exciting news quite early. At our 13 week sono the doctor said she thought she knew, but told us she would confirm at our next sono. So, at my 15 week sono (the day before Christmas Eve), they were able to confirm. :) Since Josh wasn't with me, I had the sonographer put it in an envelope, so Josh and I could open it together. We decided to wait until Christmas morning. I could hardly sleep the night before, I was so excited! We woke up early and opened the best Christmas gift ever. Then, we went downstairs and shared the news with my family. We wrapped a little hat and booties, along with the sonogram pic and had my parents open it up as the last Christmas gift under the tree. It was really fun to be able to share the news with them on such a special day. That weekend we met Josh's family and shared the news with them as well.

So, if you've made it this far and still haven't scrolled down to the pics yet. See below for the exciting news!

Josh and I opening the envelope on Christmas morning.


Yea! It's a GIRL!




So, of course, we had to go shopping and start the collection of pink. Check out some of the cute things below. :)



And then tonight we shared the news with our community group by enjoying a delicious strawberry cake from Celebrity, appropriately decorated with "It's a Girl!". Yum! I love their strawberry cake with strawberry icing.

Sono Pics!

I know it's been awhile since I've posted new sono pics, but I finally had a chance to scan them all in during the holidays. The one good thing about my high-risk pregnancy (subchorionic hematoma) is all of the sonos. It's been SO fun to see our little one growing, bouncing around, sucking his/her thumb, waving at us, etc. Enjoy the sneak peak of our precious little baby.

6 weeks + 4


8 weeks + 4


9 weeks + 5


12 weeks + 3


13 weeks


15 weeks + 4

Belly Pics!

So, in the past few weeks, my little pudge has quickly grown to a little bump. So fun! According to my pregnancy books, our little one is around 5 inches long and weighs about 5 ounces. :)

5 weeks


12 weeks + 4


16 weeks + 4

New Year's Eve with Friends!

This year for New Year's Eve, we went out to dinner with Josh's family and then spent a relaxing evening at The Tooleys. We visited, played with Matthew (such a cutie!), enjoyed some snacks and played a few games awaiting the New Year. Josh and I taught Erin and Brett how to play Hand & Foot and got them hooked. Erin and I can't wait to continue our winning streak against Brett and Josh. Look out boys!

Here's a few cute pics from our fun evening.

Toasting the New Year - with sparkling grape juice, what do you expect with (2) pregnant women? :)





Preggos-Erin's little boy is due 10 weeks before our little one.



We hope everyone had a very Happy New Year and is looking forward to a wonderful 2009. We sure are. :)

Christmas with the Pates-2008

This year, we spent Thanksgiving with Josh's family so we were with my family for Christmas. My sister, Danette and her new husband, George flew in from Florida and my brother, Derek and his girlfriend, Anne drove down from Oklahoma. It was so fun to have everyone together.



We hosted Christmas Eve at our house and were so excited to have everyone over. We started out the day by attending the Christmas Eve service at Watermark, our home church, and then headed back to our house for a Mexican fiesta, snow ball fight and Hand & Foot, a really fun card game. Now I know what you're thinking. There was not any snow in Texas on Christmas Eve, but there are snow balls at Bahama Bucks and you can purchase them at a low cost for your very own snow ball fight. Word to the wise, be sure to pick them up just before the fight, otherwise, you may be having an ice ball fight. Ours were pretty soft thankfully, but my co-worker received several welts from her snow ball fight with her family. Ouch!





Later that night on Christmas Eve, we headed to my parents house to spend the rest of the week and weekend together, celebrating Christmas. We stayed up late, played more Hand & Foot, went to see YES Man and Marley & Me (both great movies), had a cookie decorating contest, ate lots of yummy food and just enjoyed our time together. It really was a special time.





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