Christmas 2014

   Even though this was our first Christmas without our families, I think this Christmas was one of my favorites!  We definitely didn't throw a big one, and it definitely didn't require much thought and planning, but it turned out just as magical as any.
     We were naughty this year and opened all of our presents from family and for Scarlett right when they arrived in the mail.  My only excuse is that we didn't know what packages were sent for Christmas or for my birthday on Dec 12th.  HA.  That's a lie.   Brian and I had Christmas mornings all month long, and Scarlett was enthralled with every gift she received-one at a time- for a couple days, at least.  It ruled.
 
At our ward Christmas party, waaaay back on Dec 5th, I got to perform as a dancer to represent the Relief Society.  It was a most embarrassing, most exhilarating moment.  We were all like graceful sugarplum fairies, I'm sure.

Scarlett enjoyed the lasagna, but not the camera.

Some of Brian's Chem buds joined us.  We like these guys.

 On Dec 23rd, we rented out a  Jacuzzi Suite at a nice hotel about two blocks away from our house.  I know, we're weird, but we all LOVED it.  We were contemplating a visit to Chicago or other big cities nearby, but we didn't feel like driving or paying for a big trip so we had a Stay-cation! I wish I brought my camera, I took a few phone pictures of our huge room but they turned out crappy.  Basically, we checked in, went to dinner at Riverside buffett, came back & swam in the indoor pool, then hot tubbed in our room with Lord of the Rings on the big screen.   In the morning, we enjoyed a large hot breakfast then Jacuzzied on 'til check out.  Scarlett is a fish and we brought our own bubble bath, so it was a hit.

On Christmas Eve, Brian and I ran to get last minute stocking stuffers for each other and Scarlett, so Santa could come.  We skyped with my family, then acted out the Nativity with Scarlett.  She was a good sport some of the time.  After, we popped popcorn and watched the Nativity Story, its one of my favorite theatrical depictions of the story of Christ's birth.  It was a very special holy night. 

 

We put out our stockings and a lot of the toys she had already received. She acted like some of them were brand new; I guess we fooled her!

The result of Brian telling Scarlett to smile.

German pancakes and a 19 week pregnant belly.

Her tiny stocking was full of pudding and gummies.  I got a lemon zester, and Brian got some beef jerky.  We are so romantic.

After taking away the Ipad, this was the best picture we could get of everyone's faces.  Merry Christmas from Bratlett (Brian, Nat, & Scarlett) Green.

Stuffs

Brian's very cool (and still single) mission friend, Nathan Marshall, called us the other day to catch up. He said he had no clue what we've been up to "cuz Nat hasn't posted on her blog" in a long time.   Ha, true dat.  Here's some stuffs about our lives going on lately:

Brian is just about to finish his third semester of grad school with a bang, probably with perfect grades, not to brag.  He has already been on several out of state conference/meeting/research trips, and we will be visiting Utah in January while he gets to recruit at Weber State for a U of Iowa Chem Intern program. Pretty kewl! Brian has gathered many a Jazz fan in our ward together to create a band of brothers to share an NBA league pass, so four bros can legally watch Jazz games on their home devices at once. Its a great way for shy(?) Brian to make friends. He has also gotten into playing League of Legends with his brother and friends, and I'm happy he can stay in touch with them. Sometimes I join him when I'm feeling brave, he's really great about boosting a newbie's confidence.

Ahhh, I seriously love this team.

 I, Natalie, have just turned 25 years old.  My city rec indoor volleyball team took second in the league and tournament (we have two plaques now!)  I am so proud, this season was a blast.  I've become a part-time babysitter for a family with two teens and a 9-year-old, and I'm relearning much about adolescent behavior. It makes me grateful that I just have to deal with toddler tantrums at my house for now.
I'm really enjoying cooking, not anything particularly extravagant, but I've been trying a lot of new dishes to set before the dinner table. My latest firsts were shrimp spring rolls, orange chicken stir fry, and Grilled Chicken Picatta. I look forward to cooking as a creative outlet, and a chance to let Brian and Scarlett bond while giving me my kid break.

The fixins' and peanut Thai sauce for the spring rolls

Crappier phone pic of them all yummy and wrapped in rice paper, ready to be dunked.

Also, we're expecting a baby in May! Pretty big news I'd say. We will be moving into a three bedroom home shortly after my due date, which will feel wonderfully big and more like our own place than our cinder block apartments.

Now, onto the cuter things:

Scarlett LOVES books.
Scarlett loves Elmo, she will scream his name when she wakes up in the morning, and try to copy the way he laughs.

She loves balls. She loves throwing, chasing, catching, bouncing, and hoarding them.

Much younger Scar from the summer. She's so tute.

She's an expert climber. At the gym we go to she always scares the new employees in the Kids' Club with her fearlessness with heights, but she doesn't fall often. She knows her boundaries, unless I am close enough to catch her and then she gets incredibly reckless (she loves to dive in or out of my arms).
Still obsessed with Frozen (Woshzen) but we just discovered Tangled, and she likes to call Rapunzel "Anna".

Watching Ana and Selsa.

She loves to count, in her own way. One, doo, dee! Or dee, dee, dee, dee, GO! She has been especially trying hard to put two fingers up for "Doo", but usually all four come up at once.
She loves fruit and cooked veggies that she can chew. She chokes on the leafy green ones, but she really likes cooked cabbage.
Not a big fan or bread, cake, cookies, dessert, or meat.
Big fan of pickles, olives, rice, noodles, salsa, beans, crackers and most things salty.
Loves cheese. Sometimes I shred up a carrot and put it on her plate and she gets excited for the shredded "cheese".

She knows her binky is only for nigh-night. She gets a really guilty look when she finds one and uses it when it's not time to be sleeping.

Obsessed with electronics which is super annoying! She gets frustrated with them and screams and I don't know what she wants. We try to avoid them until we need her to be seriously distracted.

Loves to sing primary songs with actions, especially head, shoulders, knees and toes (she skips the shoulders and knees).
When she's tired she gets so hyper and silly. She likes to sing and dance and be tickled.
She loves "All About that Bass" and likes to shake her finger and say, "No,(treble)!"
Loves VERY specific YouTube videos. There's about four of them she will allow and beg for.

Oh and we're happy if we get her in bed before 9:00 PM these days. She wants to stay up and play, but I can't complain about her usual 8:00 to 8:30 wake-up time. It totally rocks.