third trimester

27 weeks

154 pounds (26 pounds gained. this seems high, but i don't really have a goal weight and expected to gain around 35 pounds based on my bmi.)

i can hardly believe there are only 3 short months until our baby comes into this world! we have everything we need (i think): crib, arms' reach co-sleeper for our room (thanks mom!), tons and tons of outfits, diaper bags filled with goodies (thanks sis!), books, baby monitors, boppy pillow, bumbo, bathtub, rocking chair, car seat, wipe warmer, bottles, medela breast pump, blankets, and a million other things that could come in helpful with a newborn. it is nice having the first grandchild on james' and my side of the family! now we just have to organize everything and get the baby's room ready.

i sent what i thought was the worst christmas e-newsletter this year and got a surprisingly positive response! my original intent was the send the printed letter with handwritten christmas cards in the middle of december, but when that didn't happen and the kehrli update wasn't finished until christmas day, i decided emailing the document to relatives and a few random friends would be better than nothing. after looking up friends' email address on facebook (i have no address book) wondering how many of them still check the account listed and then replying to all on an email my mom sent to relatives months ago, my inbox started filling with responses! maybe an e-newsletter christmas card will be our new tradition. or maybe i still think it is a cheap and thoughtless alternative to sending cards, but will be my last resort in busy years to come. we'll see...

after a relaxing vacation, james and i are headed home tomorrow morning. we're breaking up the 11 hour drive by celebrating new years and staying the night with friends in st. louis and finishing the drive thursday. friday we're unpacking and then james leaves saturday for a 9 day work trip to mexico--sheesh! it is the last time we will be apart until baby kehrli arrives--i do not want to go into labor without a chauffeur!

in other news, one of my best friends in arkansas, brittney, just found out she is pregnant!!!! i am so, so excited for her. and one of my best friends from high school, heather, just got officially engaged!!!! the wedding is in may and i'm determined to be back to my normal size by that time so i am ordering a size 4 bridesmaid dress whether it is foolish or not.

i feel guilty that this entry is not about christmas, family, or new years resolutions, so here's a festive pics (my camera cord is lost so these will have to do until i can upload my own):

sarah, kim, em and me decorating cookies! (notice my terribly sad christmas tree)

the kehrlis, my sis and me eating at olive garden. abbey flew to wisconsin for my shower!

love!!

movin in

it's taking quite a while to unpack our new house and decorate, so pictures are coming slowly.

i do have one, though. say hello to my beautiful 50" plasma christmas present:

i'm not quite sure why it is my christmas present since james will probably watch it more, but i got to pick it out. we weren't going to get one until my old tv died, but i comprised by getting a cheaper fridge than originally intended so it worked out well. we're still trying to figure out how we're going to hide the cords.

last night james and i helped with the annual camp war eagle christmas dinner. we invite the 150 lowest income families that come to camp (80% of the summer campers come for free--thank you alice walton) for a christmas meal and give the children and parents presents. it is one of my absolute favorite events of the year because the families are so happy and thankful. somehow my husband gets suckered into playing santa every year, so here is a pic of him holding my friend kristin's baby, rachel (good practice!):

last but not least, my friend, sarah, from work gave us a few pacifiers. i just might have to start posting pictures of all of the fun gifts!

things to be thankful for this week: a place that james and i can finally call our own, a successful store call with clorox big wigs, james' picture in modern bride (ha, but really it makes me happy), many upcoming christmas parties, friends who genuinely care, generousity of people helping with the move and visiting, my work/colleagues, free membership to village on the creeks athletic club for a month, college bowl game pick 'em contests, and chocolate chip cookie dough, yum...

getting huge!

24 weeks

148 lbs (20 pounds gained)

this picture from thanksgiving doesn't really show how big i am, but there is no doubt that i look pregnant now! strangers are starting to ask when i am due, and i love that i have crossed the point of looking semi-pregnant (i could feel people's eyes staring at my belly questioning, "pregnant? fat? pregnant? maybe...")

my little sister, a nurse in the neonatal icu at children's mercy, says that our baby should survive if it is born any day now, woohoo! i'd like to keep it in the oven as long as possible, though. a majority of the babies abbey works with are premies and spend months in the hospital, so the longer the baby grows inside me, the healthier it should be. even though we're due april 1st, i'm guessing that baby kehrli will arrive around april 14 (both james and i were two weeks late, and i'm not nearly as big at 24 weeks than some of my other friends).

james and i've had a wonderful few weeks. being in lawrence was as heartwarming as usual, and it was a blessing to see family and high school friends. free state made the high school football championship game for the first time in school history, and part of me really wanted to go while we were home. however, the weather was nasty cold, and i didn't want to feel like a creepy high school has-been, so we went to the yatcht club with molly and jd and watched the ku v. mizzou game instead (go jayhawks!!).

i almost forgot how much i love hanging out with girl friends until these past few days. we had a panty shower for my friend, whitney, wrapped christmas presents for the camp war eagle christmas dinner, had a few other get togethers and loved every minute of each others' company. there is no doubt that i re-energize by being around people, and it's been hard not having all of my college friends around all the time, but i appreciate each time i can get together with friends. i'm so excited about christmas. james and i are taking two weeks off so we can go to kansas and wisconsin and spend lots of quality time with our families.

time to write our christmas letter. a few fun pics from thanksgiving break (i'll post pics of the house whenever we finish unpacking!)...

sis and me with our little cousins on thanksgiving

molly and jd were sweet enough to get us a baby gift

this might be one of my favorite pics ever. abbey and her boyfriend, brett, being goofy:

the boppy from my sis!

last but not least, some of my girlfriends at bella arte for a christmas dinner!

loves!!

wedding photo book

i promise i will write a longer post later, but my BIL is in town and we're moving tomorrow, so life's been a little crazy. in the mean time, i finished my first shutterfly album and am being an attention whore by posting a link if anyone wants to see (hey michelle did it too :)). i am pretty pleased with how it turned out!

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AcsW7Jw0bNma6&notag=1

Love yall!!!!

i love monday nights

three posts in one week, new record! i really wanted to go buffalo wild wings tonight to watch the packers' game and eat some delicious parmesan garlic wings, but seeing that my husband is out of town, i am resigned to sitting at home eating frozen lasagna and blogging. i thought about calling some girl friends to see if anyone wanted to join me at bdubs, but then decided to spare the rejection by admitting to myself that none of my girlfriends enjoy watching football. thought about calling my girlfriends to see if they wanted to do something else, but realized that i would rather watch football by myself than socialize and miss the game. it crossed my mind to call some of james' friends to see if anyone wanted to go out, but thought that might be a little weird. finally contemplated getting wings to go, but realized that if i drove all the way there i would want to stay and watch the game on the big screen and i would be all by myself, so here i am.

on saturday night i went to one of my favorite weddings of all time--jenny and jesse loyd's. my favorite part was the incredible potato bar. wish i would've taken pictures, but in the center of the ballroom guests were invited to grab a martini glass from the huge glass tower and fill it with mashed potatoes and toppings of their desire. i loaded mine with cheese, bacon, chives, and sour cream--so delicious and such a cute idea! the dinner and dancing were fabulous as well, and it was fun to see a lot of camp friends who i haven't seen in a while. oh and they had two photobooths, which i did with brittney and my mom since james is in wisconsin. i'm sure their wedding was pretty expensive, but i thought it was a nice treat for all of the guests. sometimes i get so frustrated with people when they brag about how cheap their weddings/receptions are. i'm all about being frugal, but having a nice reception is more of a gift to guests than anything else.

speaking of gifts, i've developed a new subconscious system for determining how nice of a gift to give another couple tying the knot. the following factors all play a role:
1. how close of friends/family they are
2. what they gave us for our wedding
3. how nice of a wedding/reception they are having
4. how many times they've rudely mentioned gifts and where they are registered

#4 kills me. i went to a wedding where the couple mentioned where they were registered at least 3 times and how much they were looking forward to getting all of the wedding gifts. it frustrated me so much that i almost did not get them a gift, especially since they had a very low-budget reception and did not give us a gift for our wedding. however, my conscience got to me and i made a pact to myself that even if i feel like a couple's behavior does not merit a gift, that is not what the spirit of giving is all about. i know there are other factors that play into weddings and often a couple does not have a large budget to work with, but if that is the case, then they should work extra hard to make the event entertaining for the guests or not expect as nice of a present. this might be the most twisted gift-giving philosophy ever, but it works for me.

at our wedding, the gift-giving was similar to church tithing in that a small percentage of the people gave a majority of the gifts (actually not really a small percentage--probably 1/2-3/4 of the guests gave gifts, but it still surprises me how many people think their presence is enough of a gift). we are very thankful and were blessed beyond what we deserve, but it was humbling to look through my spreadsheet of thank yous and realize that many of the couples who gave us pricey wedding gifts also gave us generous shower presents and now are buying even more gifts for our baby. a special shoutout to some of my bridesmaids who not only bought gifts for the wedding and lingerie for the bridal shower, but also gave james and me a fabulous spa package. thank you erin, sarah and megan!!! i love you, and you will be rewarded when your weddings come in time :).

it's almost time for kickoff. happy thanksgiving to everyone if i do not talk to you before then!!!