Katelyn's First Sleepover!

Katelyn hosted her first sleepover this past Friday night! Her best friend Reese came over, and they had a blast! I didn't get pictures of everything, but a few highlights were:

1) Playing at the park
2) Eating ice cream for a treat after dinner!
3) Putting on jammies and cuddling up on the couch to watch Veggie Tales
4) Reading and praying at bedtime
5) Giggling, giggling, and more giggling before, during, and after bedtime!
6) Enjoying chocolate sprinkled donuts for a morning treat!

Reading time!

Say Cheese!!

A video I took of the girls reading to each other...caught when they weren't looking!

Sleepover interview (the morning after)

38 weeks and goin' strong!

Here are some pics at 38 weeks! Due date is still on target for Feb. 10, and we finally decided on a name: Anna Grace McCurdy. A few factors we took into consideration when choosing the name (in no particular order of importance):

1) Easy to say
2) Easy to spell
3) Initials didn't spell something crazy
4) Luke 2:36-38 Anna was a prophetess in the Bible who worshiped God day and night. We pray this will be a defining characteristic in her life.
5) My mom's name is Anita, so this name was a way to honor her
6) Middle name "Grace" because it is by the Lord's grace that we will have her in our lives.... grace, by definition, is the receiving of a gift that we do not deserve.

We look forward to meeting her and welcoming her to our family!

Me and Anna

Candid, just-for-fun shot my sister took!

Me, Dave, and Anna

34 weeks!

Every week I get these e-mails from BabyCenter.com sharing a little about our baby girl at each stage of pregnancy. They always compare her weight to some fruit or vegetable and this week, she is the size of a cantaloupe! So, for those interested in learning more about a 34-week old fetus, I included the e-mail I received this week below.

Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers-which she'll need to regulate her body temperature once she's born-are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever.

Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

Christmas!

We had a great Christmas in Austin and Waco! We spent the three days before Christmas in Austin and headed to Waco on Christmas Eve. One of Katelyn's favorite gifts she received (along with a baby doll from my parents) was a bright, shiny Red Rider tricycle from Dave's mom.

During our time in Austin, we hung out with my dad on his days off and went to play at the Arboretum. They have (since I was a little girl) had these cows made out of marble that you can sit on. Katelyn loved it!



Also, a special tradition our family enjoyed again this year was putting symbols on and reading corresponding devotionals for our Advent Tree. Katelyn looked forward to it each night, and it was compact enough to pack and take with us out-of-town.