Oh Come All Ye Faithful!

We were lucky enough to be able to see the Living Nativity that our previous stake puts on every year. It was such a wonderful way to bring about the Christmas spirit and have some fun with family!

I got to play with my new camera! I love it!! There is so much to learn before our little lady arrives. hopefully I'll be able to get at least some of it absorbed. I should have brought my tripod to help avoid all of the shaking! It's hard enough to capture moving animals and having a shaky hand does not help one bit!! I love the above picture, can you see the little goats eating the manger?

This sheep was a little bit nervous, probably because people kept blinding him with their flashes.

Collecting taxes. Since it was our previous stake who put on the program Jakob and I knew several people in the production. It just makes the play that much better when you recognize some of the cast members.

Baby Jesus lying in a manger.

The angels.

Shepard's and towns people worshiping the babe.

The three wise men who followed the star. It was such a wonderful production!

After the show we went inside to look at the Crèche display. They had nativity scenes from all over the world. The ones above and below were from Germany.

This set just seemed to say Mom Tobler, a little unique and Mary is holding a chicken instead of her baby. Would you also take a moment to observe the sheep. :) Love it!

And of course... Charlie Brown. It was a wonderful event and I was so thankful to be able to have the opportunity to attend this year. I am so grateful for beautiful events such as these to remind us the true reason for the season.

The Good Ol' Days

Yes, you read the post information at the bottom correctly. It is currently 12:34 A.M. Man night is in full swing downstairs and these boys can make an offal lot of noise. Never the less I love them dearly and I love when man night is hosted at our house. :)

While Jakob was in Boston I moved back in with Mom and Dad Tobler (I don't do so well on my own!) It was just like the good ol' days when I used to live with them full time. Mom and I had so much fun! We laughed so hard we cried. We even stayed up late at night laughing at silly things on Pinterest. Yes, we're pretty cool like that.

There was a day full of shopping. We hit up Khols, Savers, Children's Orchid, and Ross all with coupons in hand! It was so much fun!! I came home with a little bouncer that vibrates, clothing and baskets from the dollar store (I love the dollar store!) Mom returned with some stunning heels amongst other things. Our mission over the weekend was to clean out her closet and coordinate some outfits for her. It's all about the shoes and most of hers just shouted Grandma. Not cute. It's a good thing Mom isn't easily offended, things could have gotten nasty ;).

Here are our matching boots. Love them! Warm, comfy and cute!! It doesn't get much better than that! I had so much fun with Mom and Dad. I felt like I was leaving home from a vacation when Jakob returned. Thanks to Mom and Dad for taking care of me! I love you dearly!

Jakob's Solo Adventures

May I start off this post by saying how incredibly difficult it is to blog about someone else's trip. You don't have the memories or silly little stories that are part of every picture but asking Jakob to blog would be rather humorous. I wonder if he'd go for it?

Last weekend Jakob flew out to Boston to take part one of the CFA exam (Chartered Financial Analyst). There is a 35% pass rate and they recommend that you study for 300 hours before the exam. Jakob was sliding in with 90. He said that there were a lot of questions he knew and a lot of questions he didn't know so he wouldn't be surprised if he had to take it again. We are keeping our fingers crossed however and are looking forward to getting his results come January.

Jakob's eldest brother Chad and his darling family live in Boston and graciously welcomed Jakob into thier home! We love being able to get together with the Toblers, I was rather jealous that not only did Jakob get to visit without me but the majority of the Toblers will be gathering for Christmas. So fun!

Apparently Violet LOVES Ariel. I love reading books with children, cuddle time and learning all wrapped up into one! Sounds perfect.

A quiet start to Jakob and Janet's morning adventures. And everyone said being a parent would be hard. ;)

I can not wait to visit Boston, it just looks so quaint! Talk about cozy and festive! I did notice the serious lack of snow! December 5th in Boston with sunshine and no snow!

Some cute houses.

I wish I had a window box!!!!

Jakob's napping so I can't ask him what this is but I'm almost positive it's Bunker Hill. (Janet correct me if I'm wrong!)

U.S.S Constitution

U.S.S Cassian or as Jakob said.... a big boat.

Thank you so much to Chad and Janet for taking care of my husband! We really appreciate your hospitality. We look forward to visiting you with the little lady next year!!

Picturing Christmas

I'm sure Most have you have already received your Christmas Cards, (if not it's on it's way I promise!!) I decided to once again to make my own cards, I went for something plain and simple and then I still got some Wal-Mart cards as well. I love them both and it took me much less time than last years which is always a bonus!

We also skipped a grand photo shoot this year and just headed up the mountain with Jenna, James and Ryan. Jenna and James needed a Christmas picture as well so we had fun playing around and going out for dinner afterwards. A huge thanks to Jenna! Once she gets a business up and running, she'll be unstoppable! Here are some of our favorites from the day!

Poor Jenna tried to get this shot for like 15 minutes. She was so funny! Her boots had zero traction so she was slipping and sliding all over the place. What a trooper!

Jakob was being a bum. I told him that he had to take this seriously and that I wanted good pictures... thankfully Jenna is super awesome she managed to capture some good ones even though Jakob was totally not cooperating. He just couldn't keep it together with the boys there. Gosh I love him.

This year I got all tied up. They didn't want me to slip and break my neck or worse hurt the baby. :) Stillettos in the snow are amazing FYI. The heel sinks in like a spike and it keeps you from slipping around.

For the folks back in Canada, since we'll be having a Canadian Christmas I thought the gloves were fitting.

Warning: Bare Belly Image Ahead

I just love this picture!! And I made the mistletoe ball five minutes before we left. It came out pretty nice if I do say so myself.

Jakob is so cute!

It's Jenna!!! Love her. I know, we're pretty adorable!

Poor Ryan wanted to get in on some of the action too!

Ryan is our stand in husband for when James and Jakob are unavailable. Once we get the crib together I'll be posting a story about Ryan and his abilities as a stand in husband. He makes me smile! What an awesome guy!

At this point in time we were on our way back to the car. Ryan decided to try and grind the rail (which was randomly laying in the snow on a mountain.) Jenna had the camera ready and just before he took off Jakob warned him not to "take out his wife" which I thought was ridiculous because I was well out of the way. Well apparently I was wrong, he biffed it and was headed straight for me. Jakob had to pull me out of the way to avoid being crashed into. Silly Ryan!

Coming down the super slippery stairs in stilettos was not easy! We had a wonderful time with some wonderful friends! Once again thank you to Jenna!!

It's A {Shower}

This weekend was my LDS baby shower. We will be hosting a welcome to the world party after Ethnie arrives and having a luncheon when we do her baby blessing in April. I have only ever been to one other baby shower that I was helping to host two years ago, so once again I did not know what to expect. It was FABULOUS! Karen and Mare put on a perfect shower! Thank you so much ladies for all of the time and effort you put into planning, sending out invitations and cooking! I look up to you both so much! Words cannot do my gratitude justice!

We had brunch and it was to die for! I went back for seconds and perhaps possibly thirds ;).

Opening presents in front of people is always an awkward thing for me. I know everyone whats to see but I feel so guilty having gifts. I got so many wonderful and precious things! Thank you to all!!

The ladies. Some were not able to make it but left a gift behind. I missed their smiling faces! Like I said spoiled!! I love all of these women! They have been such an example of wonderful mothers for me to look up to!

I must post this picture simply because this is rather humorous. Once upon a time Jakob Tobler told me that he always wanted to have our girls hair done. (I mentioned this to him yesterday but he swears he never did.) Aunt Nancy gave us this onesie that says "Daddy does my hair" on it. I thought it was pretty cute!

Once again a huge thank you to Karen & Mare and to all of those who attended! I had a wonderful time! Ethnie is going to be one fashionista!

Third Trimester

I am in my third trimester!! Where has the time gone? I remember in June thinking December was eons away! I must boast a bit however; our Christmas cards are sent, the tree is set up and decorated and I am 100% done my shopping! I feel so proud to be so on top of things this year because I know next year we'll be lucky just to have my hair done let alone Christmas cards.

How far along? 28 weeks
Total weight loss/ gained? +22 lbs (142 lbs)
Name? Ethnie Lauren Tobler
Maternity clothes? After a fabulous shopping spree with Mom Tobler I can officially say that I should be set. I only have 2 pairs of official "maternity" pants but my lulu lemons have served me well! I have gained some serious inches in my hips however! People are starting to notice not only my bulging belly but my curves as well.
Stretch marks? Not yet... I say "yet" because I already have some from pre pregnancy so I know my skin is susceptible. Here's hoping I can avoid getting them on my belly.
Sleep? It is a never ending battle. I toss and turn all night. Sometimes I feel like a pancake being flipped from side to side. I fall asleep really easily which is a bonus but the constant need to readjust is slightly less then pleasant.
Best moment this week? I got to go to the specialist and see our little girl via ultrasound for an hour. I also felt her first case of hiccups.
Missing anything? Currently, my husband. He is in Boston taking his CFA exam. I am anxiously awaiting his return so he can spend some time with me instead of a text book studying. As far as the baby goes... I miss being thin and trim. There are so many cute Christmas outfits that I cannot wear. Alas... next year.
Movement? We have a very busy girl on our hands. She is on a pretty steady schedule which I find very odd. She greets me with a "Good Morning Mommy" dance first thing in the morning. She then makes her precence known right before lunch and then again as I am trying to fall asleep. Most of the time it is right before I eat, and she settles down after. I just thought it would be reversed.
Food cravings? SODA! Yes, it's sooo bad. Chocolate and a Red Robin chicken burger. I may just have to get the latter one by myself some day since Jakob isn't a fan of Red Robins. Nothing says desperate like a table for one enjoying your super juicy and delicious chicken burger.
Anything making you queasy/ sick? No sir!
Labor signs? Nada!
Belly button in or out? Out, it's rather comical.
Wedding rings on or off? On baby!
Mood? So happy! It's Christmas season!!! That right there should be enough to make anyone happy!
Any fun symptoms? I'm moving slower, my hips are out of whack (I need to see a chiropractor), I can out eat anyone (that may be why I'm so huge!), I get some awesome heart burn (I say awesome because yes it's heartburn and unpleasant but it's super mild) and my OCD is still pretty bad.
Looking forward too? Decorating Ethnie's room and having fun being a pregnant elf! Never a dull moment!

Oh Christmas Tree

Happy December 1st!!! Can't you believe it's December already?!?! It is cold, windy, and raining/ snowing in some places here in Vegas. It just feels like a wrap-up-in-a-warm-blanket-with-home-made-soup-and-cookies kind of day. Perhaps turn on your favorite Christmas movies and sip some apple cider. Oh yes!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in this Tobler home. Especially now that we have a beautiful tree. A huge thank you to Ty and Mare! I was faced with quite the dilemma this year. We have the perfect spot for a Christmas tree in our living room. Let's just say I wanted one pretty badly. I did not however want to buy a fake one simply because I didn't want to store it after and possibly lug it across the country when we move. Then I thought of having a real tree. I've never had one before so the thought of our first tree being real was kind of poetic in my mind, but then again Jakob and I are not even going to be here for Christmas as we will be going home to Canada for the first time in 4 years; so I didn't want a real tree to go to waste. I posed this problem to my friend Mare and she looked at me and said "We have an extra one... would you like to borrow it?" PERFECT!!!! So here is my perfectly beautiful borrowed Christmas tree! It makes me so happy... now all I need is some ornaments, and another string on lights to cover the top!

I also got the pleasure of having craft night with both Mare and Cortney. We made salt dough tags for Christmas gifts. I got the idea off of Pinterest (of course) the first batch with Mare didn't come out exactly right so Cort and I made a second attempt. Much cuter. I'll post pictures of my Christmas wrappings at a later date. There are so many cute ideas out there!!

While we waited for the tags to bake we made Christmas trees. Another wrapping craft. I really want to make some tree's covered in fabric, perhaps next year.

For this, all you need is a cone and some streamers. I got my cone on clearance at Michaels last year for $.15 and the streamers were $.25 for the two at a yard sale. Just keep wrapping.

The finished product. Nothing in my house is green so I am not exactly sure where to put it. It totally needs some ornaments and a star though!! I can't wait to make an ornament one.... anyone want to have a craft night??