Merry Christmas from the Southern Hemisphere!

Port Stephens, NSW Australia

It's Christmas Eve here in Sydney and besides being a very hot day, it's cooled down this evening and is now raining. I was just thinking about when I was living in Washington State and my siblings and I would wish and hope so badly for a white Christmas and now here we are living in a country that has Christmas in summertime. I've been living in the Southern Hemisphere for 3-Christmases now and I still can't get used to that.

This is also the 3rd Christmas that we've been away from family. I can't get used to that either. I can't wait for the year that all of our families get to be together during the holidays. I miss making Christmas cookies with my mom and sister, decorating gingerbread houses, the cooler weather and all the cheesy Christmas decorations, which are lacking here. Big time. I also tried to find the gingerbread house kits and they are MIA in Australia. So are red and green sprinkles for my cookies. OH YEA- and candy canes!!!!! WTH? I finally found some after searching 2-grocery stores and they were pink and white. Not going to cut it, Sydney.

I am very thankful that I have a husband here to celebrate with and that he tolerates my love for Christmas music, Christmas movies and my Barbie themed Christmas tree (thanks Mom for all the Hallmark Keepsake ornaments you have given me throughout the years!). I especially look forward to the upcoming years that we will be able to start our own Christmas traditions with our little guy, no matter where we are in the world. I hope he will someday look back at his childhood and have as good of memories as I do celebrating Christmas as a kid.

Today and tomorrow on Christmas Day we will be thinking about our friends and family and wishing that everyone has a special day filled with memories and love.

                                 

My favorite Christmas movie of all time!

http://images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/31400000/National-Lampoon-s-Christmas-Vacation-national-lampoons-christmasvacation-31459912-1024-768.jpg

Just some images that helped me get in the Christmas spirit this year

Photos via Pinterest by: http://media-cache0.pinterest.com/upload/130674826659674497_Prv6unnH.jpg

http://www.melaniepainter.com/2012/01/holy-crickets-aaron-is-e-famous.html

http://www.marthastewart.com/921723/swedish-gingerbread-house-how

Photo via Pinterest by: http://img4-1.coastalliving.timeinc.net/i/2005/11/christmas-white-room-l.jpg?400:400

Photo via Pinterest by: http://recipenewz.com/recipe/Gingerbread-Men-201211140423/

Well hello, 3rd Trimester

Date night at the Opera House

This past weekend was a scorcher! Temperatures were close to 100 degrees so we headed to Coogee Beach with another one of my preggo friends and her husband to enjoy the ocean to cool off.  Coogee is south of the famous Bondi Beach and a lot less crowded and chaotic, has less backpackers but is just as beautiful.

We received some tickets to see Tchaikovsky's 'Queen of Spades' for later that evening. It was an opera and a symphony all in one and really interesting and beautiful at the same time. If you read my older posts about my tour of the Opera House, 'Queen of Spades' was performed in the symphony hall that has the enormous pipe organ. I grabbed a sneaky picture of the theatre; so beautiful and impressive. My cell phone picture below doesn't come close to capturing all the detail.

 I really enjoyed the music and so did the baby; he was dancing around the whole 3 hours! Isn't classical music supposed to make a baby in utero smarter, later in life? I'm thinking I should read up on this! Aside from the music, the story was a little dark. The opera was in Russian so they had the translation on a reader board up front but I found myself watching the little conductor man and all his erratic movements instead of following pieces of the story. Come to find out, Kevin was doing the same thing :).  Nonetheless, it was a fun experience to see a show at the famed Sydney Opera House.

Red lights shine on the Opera House Roof and the Sydney Harbour Bridge at nighttime. 

Wishing we were still in Maui

We had such a great time in Maui relaxing and spending time with Katie and Mister B. I'm only wishing we stayed 10-days instead of 7. It was awesome being in the US for Thanksgiving and around some family too; it's been a few years since that's happened.

The flight over was a little over 9 hours and luckily we left Sydney after 10pm so I was able to sleep most of the way. However, I had to sit next to the fattest woman in the world so it made it interesting when she fell asleep and started spilling onto my side of the arm rest.

I'm glad we decided to take this trip in November instead of December as originally planned-I think I doubled in size over the last week. I'll be 7-months prego next week!

Enjoy the pictures.

At the beach at the Fairmont Kea Lani and feeding the goats with Mister B at Surfing Goat Farm. 

Kam II beach across from our condo and surf boards at Surfing Goat Dairy.

A few stops along the road to Hana

Fruit stand on the Hana Highway and my view at the pool at the Fairmont Kea Lani

Scenes along the road to Hana

This week in pictures

Picnic dinner at Sydney Park with K. Thank you Pinterest for the yummy new recipes; I will make all of you again soon! From left to right: Chicken, Honey, Soy Noodles, Caprese Quinoa Salad, Grilled Asparagus + feta cheese + lemon juice + S&P. YUM!

Yesterdays Australian Ballet Practice. This is my sneaky attempt at a picture since photos are "strictly prohibited" inside any of the Opera House theaters'.  November 14, 2013

6-months down, 3-to go!

... and I hope you do!

He's so cute!

What's in a Name?

Picking a name for this little boy is SO challenging! Some things you have to consider when picking a name are:
1.) Is it cute?
2.) Will that same "cute" name be so cute when he's 35 years old and working in a professional setting?
3.) Can this name be shortened to a nickname? I'm big on nicknames!
4.) What's the meaning behind the name? Don't care about this one that much
5.) Do the initials spell something crude?
and lastly,
6.) Will I get sick of the name after a while?

The last one is what I am currently struggling with. We will pick a name that makes it to our top 3 list, then the next week I decide I hate it.

We still have over 3- months to go so we have some time to sort it out :).

Other than thinking about a name on a daily basis, we've started on the nursery decor! There's a sneak peak below. I'm loving the colors and can't wait until we have everything put together. We have concrete walls in our apartment so I've had to get creative with what I hang since I can't hammer any nails in the wall.  My creativity usually turns into an arts and crafts day with me painting a canvas of some sort and then using those pesky little Command Strips to hang. Yes, I know-they are the same things I cursed in one of my first posts. Whatever.

Other things to report on the pregnancy front: I'm at week 23 (I CANNOT believe I will be 6-months pregnant next Wednesday!!!) and I'm still feeling great. I haven't really been craving any particular foods. I'll just want some random food items... is that a craving? For those of you that know me, you know I have a big sweet tooth so what I'm about to write won't surprise many of you. During the first trimester I wanted candy all the time, but that has tapered off. Now every time I pass a Subway (I am obsessed with their cookies) or cupcake boutique it takes all I've got to tell myself I don't need any! As I type this I'm eating a homemade brownie! :) It's gluten-free if that makes it sound any healthier. Oh yeah, I love grilled cheese. The kind with the plastic-like Kraft cheese that I can only stand melted in a grilled cheese sandwich. Before you judge my unhealthy food intake, I do eat a TON of fruit and have been making lots of green smoothies that Kevin is always making a face at. So there! I have a doctors appointment with my Obstetrician next Friday and I am dreading stepping on that scale.

Oh! How could I forget.... we booked our trip to Maui!!!! Whoooo Hoooo!!! We will be there over Thanksgiving and get to see my sister and my nephew. It's also going to be our Babymoon. Have I mentioned I hate that word? I cannot wait for Kevin and I to enjoy relaxing days on the beach.

Last time I was in Hawaii visiting my sister and meeting Mister B for the first time-October 2009

Now, back to decorating the nursery. . .

Happy weekend!

xoxo,
Amy