Out With the Old....

... in with the new!

We got the car today! After getting to the dealership at noon exactly, we rolled off the lot about 2:30 with this shiny new car. It took a lot longer than I had anticipated, and since I woke up a little late this morning, I hadn't had anything to eat. I was feeling pretty crappy by the time we got done, but it was nothing Portillo's couldn't take care of. Mmmm.... Italian sausage....

Steph's really going to miss the "stump", and we'll both miss the amazing gas mileage it gets, but we simply had to have something bigger. The payment is only about $10 more a month than the Scion, so there really isn't much of a difference as far as that is concerned. I'm certain this will be a great car for us when the baby comes, and it's something we could keep if 5 years down the road we decide to expand the family a little more.

Whitewashed

Today I woke up to be greeted by one of the bigger snowfalls we've had this year. It snowed pretty steadily for about 4 or 5 hours, then petered off to a gentle flurry. The snow is pretty heavy and wet, which made for some great shoveling. We didn't get a lot of snow, but it was enough to blanket all the trees and make it look very "seasonal".

I called the dealership this morning, and told our guy that we are indeed going to get the car. Considering my job situation, it was a very difficult decision. At the end of the day, we are going to have that payment no matter what, and we really need something bigger and more family-friendly than Stephanie's little Scion xA. Pics to come!

New Baby is Born!

Well, I screwed up today. We went to visit our newly born niece, Lilian Alaine, and I left my camera at the hospital! To top it off, it's highly likely that either tomorrow or Saturday, we'll be trading in our 2005 Scion Xa for a brand spankin new 2008 Jeep Patriot. Hopefully I'll have my camera back by then so you al can see the new ride.

I'll be editing this post tomorrow or the next day with the photo I took. It figures. 4 days left of this thing, and I probably won't have my camera for two of them....

*EDIT*
Okay, once again I'm an idiot. Turns out by when I said I left my camera at the "hospital", what I really meant was "Steph's car". Anyway, here's a really great shot of Steph holdning her new niece, while her slightly-less-new niece Juliana poses for the camera. Cute!

Building the Baby Bed

Steph and I braved the nearly 2 hour drive through Chicago traffic today to go to the giant blue box, also known as Ikea. Our intention was to look for a bed for the baby, since the prices there are pretty good for furniture and we were okay with the styles. What we came home with was exactly what we wanted-- something affordable, that will convert to a "toddler bed" in a few years when the baby gets bigger. We also picked up some decorations for the room, 12 really nice glasses (for 6 bucks!), and other assorted odds and ends.

Opening the box was a bit intimidating. There were tons of parts, and the hardware bag was full of what seemed like far to many screws and bolts for something so simple. In the end, it was far easier to put together than I had anticipated, and to be perfectly honest, I kinda like doing stuff like this. Am I a freak or what?

Christmas Day/The Third Shot

Not only is today Christmas Day, but it's also been two weeks since I took a baby belly shot! It's now been 6 weeks since I took the first one, and you can clearly see a difference from then, and also from the second shot. Steph says she can now feel the baby kicking on the outside, but I have yet to be lucky enough to be around when it happens.

Today Steph and I drove all over creation. We started by stopping in at my Aunt Linda's house to visit my Dad's side of the family. I don't get to see them very often, so it was nice to go and see everyone. We then drove all the way to Pecatonica to Steph's Grandma Eaton's house. We got there a little late, so every one wasn't there anymore, but we did get to see almost everyone. I had a great conversation at one point with her Uncles, Mike and Jim, about Mac vs. PC. I love talking about that stuff.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas Eve

Tonight is Christmas Eve! I spent the evening with family in Poplar Grove, and shot mostly video. Since I've bought the video camera, I've been neglecting my SLR a little. This picture was actually taken with my video camera, and it will likely be one of the last I take with it. It's pretty clear it's not really made for that. Steph and I usually separate on Christmas Eve, since both our families have gatherings on that day. With the baby coming, this will probably be the last year we do it this way. I really don't want to be separated from my family at this time of year. I think mom mentioned something about having it on a different day, so hopefully that will happen.

Oh, and yes, I did miss another day. I think 2 days out of 365 is acceptable, right?