New Year, New Tradition

We hopefully started a new tradition this year - a cousins sleepover on New Years Eve. At least as long as they want to hang out with us, sigh.
A baby boom is in full swing in our family and New Years Day we spent our time baby watching instead of game playing. Next year could be interesting...

Chirstmas 2010

Was a whirlwind as usual. We packed our bags December 22nd and bounced around until December 28th. We got to spend time with lots of family along the way but as usual it went way to fast.

24 Week Update

Thankfully the last month of my pregnancy was uneventful. I'm not sure I could have handled any baby drama with the busy Christmas season and the arrival of my niece. I'm starting to show a little more at least to those that know I'm pregnant. These pictures were taken at the same time so you be the judge :) I can definitely feel the baby move more which is fun and reassuring minus the bladder kicking.
I also reached the point in the pregnancy where baby has a chance of survival if it needs to be delivered, kind of a relief after all we have been through. Not that I want to meet baby any time soon! I remind him or her daily that a nice weather maternity leave would be better for both of us.

I also got a little reassurance from my doctor about baby measuring small. She agreed with the perinatologist that everything looks fine and I'm probably just having a small baby. She said the perinatologists are always overly cautious and if they thought there was anything wrong I would be having more tests. However, I am going to have another ultrasound later in my pregnancy just to make sure.

The Year of the Burger - Final Installment

Mom chose King's Place in Miesville for her burger birthday. I was skeptical since it is a bit of a drive and (as per usual this winter) it was snowing but this place ended up being the clear favorite when votes were cast.
Last but definitely not least (especially since it was the big 3-0) we celebrated Jessie's birthday at Chatterbox Pub. Burgers were only ok but atmosphere was really fun!

Brian celebrated his burger birthday at Red Robin. I know this picture didn't turn out but it was the moment we told our families I was pregnant. We had the waitress announce it by saying "on the count of 3 everyone say "Rachel's pregnant." Many people's first thought was that was really mean :)
We celebrated with Ken V. at Smashburger. I personally think the chain burgers are not as good.

I missed Ken Z's burger birthday at 5 Guys Burgers and Fries.
Bianca chose Buster's on 28th for her burger birthday. Burgers were good but I think I prefer juicy lucies. She really wanted to choose My Sister's Place so Brian had a burger in her honor when we were in Grand Marais.
We spent Maren's birthday at The 5-8 Club. I did not order their specialty burger. Big mistake!
Bernie chose The Blue Door Pub to celebrate his birthday. I'm willing to bet this will end up being my favorite burger. However, this place is tiny and uncomfortably crowded especially with a big group. My unsolicited advice, eat quick and head to Izzy's for dessert.


For family birthdays this year we have decided to sample the best burger joints in the Twin Cities according to Minneapolis/St. Paul magazine. I kicked things off at Matt's Bar. Divey but Tasty.
The rest of that day I hung out with my buddy Everett.
Jeff's birthday was a week later and he chose Shamrocks (a larger version of The Nook.) I had the juicy lucy again. I personally thought Matt's was better.