It's been a while since I've been able to blog. We found out that we are having a baby boy. When we were waiting to go in for the ultrasound, Nick asked me if I would be disappointed if it wasn't a girl (because I seriously thought that's what it was going to be). I told him no and that I kind of wanted to be proved to be wrong so it'd be a surprise. Sure enough, I got my surprise and of course, proud daddy was thrilled (he would have been just as thrilled if it was a girl he says). :) His name is Elijah Cole. Here are some pictures of Baby Elijah:
We also traveled to Iowa and spent a week there. We were there during Christmas Eve and Christmas day. I was hoping that Nick would be able to feel Elijah kick for Christmas. Sure enough, on Christmas Eve, Nick got to feel it for the first time! It was great catching up with family and getting some time with my mom. I miss her a lot and leaving her this time was very difficult for me. I realized that the next time I would see her, I would either be in labor or have our baby and our lives would be completely different. She gave me a lot of great books to read about parenting and also gave me some advice as well. My dad had to spend a lot of time at work while we were visiting, but we had some more funny moments with him which was vowed to stay there! :) My brothers are getting to be all grown up now and having lots of girl drama. Boy oh boy am I glad my teenage years are over! I also saw my aunts which is always nice, and the cousins. Another special person I saw was my cousin Missy. She and I grew up together, being only a year apart in age and grade. We spent a lot of our childhood together and have lots of memories. Well, she also happens to be pregnant...about 10 weeks ahead of me. Here's the cool thing, we're both having boys! Here is a photo of us with our baby bellies. 
Isaac and his letter jacket
Nothing like a Christmas morning wrestling session
After a week in Iowa, we fought a snow storm to get to Indiana. We ended up having to stop in the middle of Illinois for the night, but we made it the next day nice and safe. The roads were horrible and so we both did a lot of praying! We had a good time visiting all of Nick's family. We got to stay with Nick's brother, Jared and his family. He and his wife, Kelly, have three girls who love their Uncle Nick a lot! Kelly also got us hooked on the New Mario Brothers for Wii, so I spent some Christmas money to buy that game to play down here as well. Our new nephew, Vincent is growing so fast. He'll be one on April 2nd. It'll be nice for Elijah to have Vincent to play with growing up. Our oldest nephew, Austin, is getting taller and taller! He recently discovered that he is a diabetic, so it's been an adjustment in his and his parents lives the past two months. Austin
Jenna
Natalie
Lindsey
Vincent
Well, that about sums it up for the past month. What's next in our lives? Preparing the nursery and doing things around the house to prepare for Elijah's arrival. Should be busy, but a lot of fun! :) Elijah actually got quite a few Christmas presents this year. We also purchased the bedding for the crib so we've already got a start in prepping. Elijah's Christmas presents
The bedding we picked out
I hope that every one of you who reads this had a great Christmas! May God bless your year to come! 
