Marcae's Blog: Where did December go?

I can't believe it's January 9 already. The last part of December just flew right by.

So many times, I had "ideas" or things I wanted to blog about, but didn't make the time to get online and get it done. I figure I'll do a quick summary and post some photos ...

Bianca's first Christmas turned out to be quite an adventure for her. From knocking down the tree (thank goodness it was BEFORE the ornaments were on it) to getting tangled in icicles (she kind of looks like psycho kitty in the photo, doesn't she?), she had quite a good time. She especially enjoyed her toys that Santa and cousin Gracie Lou gave her. She's still playing with them all ...

The Christmas photos went out without letters this year, although we had a ton of news to share. It was either that, or they wouldn't have gone out at all, though! No Christmas baking occurred in apartment 627; we were very blessed to have my mom supply a VERY large tin of our favorites, so we didn't miss out at all!

My dad came for a short visit over Christmas, which was WONDERFUL. Both Nathan and I commented later that week that Christmas actually turned out to be a lot better than we had thought it would go. Although he had to work during the day on Christmas Eve (he had one of his biggest days!), we were able to attend a really beautiful candlelight service that evening at a huge Methodist church near our place. After that, we picked up Dad at the airport and were up past midnight chatting and getting settled. We had a nice breakfast Christmas morning, and took our time opening gifts and relaxing. My dad had a nice introduction to The Office that afternoon -- I gave Nathan Season 1 of the series for Christmas. Dad seemed to get a kick out of it. And of course, no Woodward Christmas would be complete without a viewing of A Christmas Story!!

We went to Galveston the day after Christmas so my dad could get a good "hit" of seafood, and he treated us to a GREAT seafood dinner at Casey's. We also walked up and down "The Strand," checking out the cool shops and relaxing for a drink at a sidewalk table at one of them. The weather had been very warm before Dad arrived, but it had cooled down a bit over Christmas. Still much better than being up north; it was funny to see other people bundled up in jackets.

Nathan and I had a pretty low-key, but very nice, celebration for our first anniversary. Nathan had been wanting to take me to Benihana for as long as I can remember (since I'd never been there), so I suggested it be our anniversary/New Year's destination. We had a really fun time. Our chef was fantastic and we had great table "company." One guy dining with us bought champagne for the whole table! Too bad I couldn't enjoy some. Nathan and I got home about 10ish, opened some "crackers" he had picked up Target (those nifty, poppy things that have prizes inside), and then toasted the New Year with Korbel (for Nathan) and sparkling grape juice (for me). But since Nathan had worked that day and I turn into a pumpkin after 10 p.m., we headed to bed after the ball dropped.

My mom has requested more "pregnant on the beach" pictures of me, so I figured I'd post a few pictures taken of me over the last few months. We'll end with that ...