Family Portrait

This is the time of year we give and receive family portraits printed on card stock or photo paper, sent as annual Christmas greetings.  A month or so ago, I got ahold of a magnetic drawing pad for a few minutes and sketched out our family.  Isn't it awesome!?  Soon, Mom's belly will be smaller and we will have a fourth Templin in the future sketches.  Here's to hoping all your Christmas gifts will be half as good as ours...

Preparations

Here we sit, just 1 month and 1 day from the expected arrival of our second child.  Of course, for those of you following at home, Sarah delivered a bit early last time, two weeks to be exact - and as such we had a little scrambling to do once the contractions started.  This time around we are going to be fully prepared.  Fool me twice... as the saying goes.  Today Sarah and I made several changes to the house.  As you can see above, two sets of diapers, below, the infant carseat has been officially prepositioned, and furniture arranged both in the nursery and master bedroom as appropriate.  These are just a few of the physical manifestations of the preparations that have been occurring over the past weeks and months.  Other preparations not so outwardly obvious have been, and will continue to occur right up until delivery.  Later, Sarah and I have a date to finalize our labor and delivery plan of action and then to practice our labor breathing and coaching techniques.  It's so much more interesting than dinner and a movie...

The infant carseat loaded and ready to go next to Grace's.   

Although she has no idea how much her life is about to change, 

Grace helps move the glider from the nursery to the bedroom

Wok & Roll

The two most beautiful ladies in the wold making dinner. Grace works on her original creation of "stir fried air" while Sarah cooks som veggies.

Visit to Pets Mart

I just picked up Scott from the airport after a weekend in Denver. My father/grandpa decided last minute to also fly out here from Denver an hour after Scott. He's been going through some Grace withdraw. So we decided to stop at Pets Mart to kill some time by the airport before we pick up grandpa. Grace spit up on her clothes she was wearing so she got to put on the brand new Christmas dress grandma sent home with Scott.

Utensils: No Problem

 Here's to my 3rd post in one day. Nothing like getting caught up on things I've been trying to do for weeks. I love my husband and our time together, but every once in awhile I cherish the time when he is out of town and I can be overly productive. Scott is in Denver, eating dinner with my family as we speak. He's there for the weekend meeting up with several buddies for a bachelor's party, and once again, gets to spend quality time with my family while I'm at home. I won't complain too much, Grace and I are getting some quality time together, and this pregnancy thing is getting a bit too tough to fly. Six more weeks until my due date and counting.

Tonight Grace and I had some veggie pizza and finished off with some fruit, kiwi's to be exact, one of Grace's favorite foods. We are working on the use of utensils, and like most other new things, she's a pretty quick learner. Not too messy and pretty efficient. Every day I think to myself "she's getting so big and so much more independent."

Puppy Love

Grace LOVES Porter. Porter simply tolerates Grace. The only time he really shows an interest in her is when she's got his ball when trying out her throwing arm while playing fetch. Overall, our dog is great with our daughter. What can you expect when an 18 month old repeatedly says your name, chases you around the house, wakes you from slumber, and occasionally pulls your hair or delivers an extra forceful love pat?

Now enter Gus, our neighbors new puppy. He genuinely takes an interest in Grace, following her as she moves from place to place and constantly wanting to play. Grace loves it and we get to hear her say "Puppy!" in the most enthusiastic voice! I'm sure he appreciates someone his own size, too. We get to visit Gus often which Scott and I enjoy. Nothing like getting to hang out with a puppy again, although this time without having to worry about the potty training and other responsibilities. Oh wait, we've got kids now, even harder!

Thanksgiving: The Easy Way

 Thanksgiving was a bit different this year than in the years past for the Templin household. There was no traveling to be with family and I had to work the entire week. The thought of putting together an elaborate feast was a bit overwhelming to say the least. But we ended up spending the holiday with our dearest friends Brad and Jessie, and the newest addition to their family, Gus, a black lab puppy. Grace and Gus get along quite well, and together they are just about the most adorable things to watch.
To make the holiday even better, we took the work out of it. Never thought I'd do it, but we ordered the entire meal pre made and cooked, we just had to stick in all in the oven and rewarm. The meal came complete with an 11lb turkey, yams, cranberry sauce, green beans/carrots, stuffing, gravy, rolls, and pumpkin pie. It was delicious!
We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and feel as blessed as we do to have so many wonderful loved ones in our lives!