Merry Christmas from the three of us!!

Lots of love, Alison, Brandyn and Baby C!!

Definiately growing an athlete (like any of you are surprised)!

Basketball center, soccer goalie, volleyball spiker... I'm not sure who he'll turn out to be... but he sure seems to be practicing his moves in my belly!

This morning I told Brandyn... "Put your hand here... he's going crazy!" And Brandyn responded "Woah... that is crazy! And wow... what was that... that wasn't a kick... I felt him move across my hand!"

Yeah, I know... cool huh. This little guy is keepin' me entertained all day long! And making his Daddy proud already with his obvious natural talent of athletic skills!!

The Phaaaaantom of the Opera is there... inside my mind!!!

Last Sunday Brandyn and I went with 5 other couples to see "Phantom of the Opera" at the Orpheum Theater in San Francisco. While I've been lucky enough to see The Phantom about 4 or 5 times (thanks Mom and Dad and Aunt Ellen too!)... the was Brandyn's first time! We both enjoyed the show very much!!

Smiles from strangers...

Smiles from strangers... is something you're VERY used to is you grew up in a community of 1,500 people. When you walk through town and come across another person... even someone you don't know... they smile at you when you walk by... and you smile back. Its part of the small town charm.

In San Francisco and the Bay Area... its not quiet the same. The people here tend to be a little bit more reserved with giving out smiles to strangers. It was something that took me a long time to get used to when I first moved here. I even made a few mistakes of smiling nicely at homeless people... who immediately interpreted that as a sign that I wanted to give them money. (Ah, now I see why SFers don't just pass out smiles at random!).

So imagine my surprise when late last week... I found myself the receipt of several random stranger smiles. It was so nice, warm and pleasant... I admit, I was a little taken a back. After the third person smiled at me (on the same day, mind you)... it occurred to me that maybe they were smiling at the sight of my baby belly! A sight/topic that tends to make people happy... be reminded of miracles and innocence.

Maybe I give the belly too much credit... maybe I just had toilet paper stuck to my shoe!!

Well... whatever the reason was... its was a pleasant experience and surprise! Sometimes its the little things.

Thoughts on being a parent (from other parents)...

Everyone says that you'll get TONS (too much) advice on parenting and being a parent when you're pregnant... but for me... that hasn't really happened yet. But last night... at a cocktail holiday party (boy, those just aren't as fun when you're not drinking)... I got two good ones.

A friend/work-related colleague told me this...

"Its like you've been watching life through a 17 inch black and white TV... and then you upgrade to a 50 inch high definition color TV... its like seeing the world like you've never seen before."

And for her second piece... she said... "People always tell me I look at parenting likes its all rainbows and puppy dogs... so I'll balance it with this... if at some point your are struggling with your child's stage of life (like the sleepless new born nights... to the crazy toddler days)... just remember... it comes and goes so quickly. A new stage will be there so soon."

Thanks Jillion... those were two of the sweetest words of parenting wisdom I've heard yet!