Bridal Shower to Baby Shower

As the year comes to an end it is so interesting to see all the changes in our lives. The beginning of year started with an engagement...which started up the bridal shower whirlwind. Now we are finishing the year with a baby shower. Wow! All in one year...what were Ryan and I thinking?! Ha-ha!

My mom and sisters gave me my baby shower last night. It was so much fun. I got to get all giggly over the cute baby stuff (for sure a new thing for me) and also visit with lots of friends and family. My mom really out did herself with the event - it was seriously amazing. Ryan and I got lots of precious outfits for Blake (very manly little outfits, of course) and some toys and all the little bath and bed stuff. We were very grateful for everyone who participated in the shower. We really have the best friends and family.

This year has been amazing for Ryan and I. We have been here, there, and everywhere with lots of life changes (and even a few more to come). We have laughed hard and loved more. Happiness does not begin to describe the events that we have experienced together over the past year. The exciting part is that I know the good times will keep coming during 2012. Most importantly, we can't wait for Baby Blake to get here!

Just for fun....here is our high and low for the year 2011...
High - Getting married and getting pregnant. Ryan also wants to add getting promoted to the list.
Low - Living in Louisiana so far away from our families.

Bring on 2012!!!!

Smiles and Santa

We have been SO busy in North Carolina! There have been lots of things to do and lots of people to see. One of the first things that we did was our maternity photo shoot! This was a wonderful Christmas gift from my mom. We ended up spending about 3 hours taking various pictures in lots of places. The most time was spend at this old factory in Franklin County. It was such a dump, but it made the pictures look so great. Here are a few of our favorites! I am now 34 weeks pregnant...which means that we will have our little man with us in 6 weeks!!! I can't believe how quickly time is flying. I can't wait for Baby Blake to be here and to have our little family!



When we weren't smiling for the camera, we were smiling at all of our family Christmas get togethers. We have attended probably 4 or 5 and we have eaten more than we can say! Our families gave us lots of great gifts. We got a nice camera, fun games, a warm BYU blanket, and cute stuff for Blake. We also had lots of fun giving gifts too! More importantly, Ryan and I learned that the best Christmas gifts don't have a price tag on them. We learned that we are going to be an aunt and uncle too! Christmas really is a magical and wonderful time!

Christmas in NC

Over the river (the Mississippi River, that is) and through the woods to NC we go! :)

Last year we went to Utah for Christmas, so this year we are in NC. Ryan and I woke up early yesterday morning and started our drive. We have been approved for me to ride all 17 hours at 33 weeks pregnant as long as I stop every few hours and walk around.

Yesterday we drove around 10-11 hours and stopped to spend the night in Atlanta, Georgia. It was kind of fun to listen to music, talk,  and explore at random stops along the way. Great times together. The cutest moment was when Ryan was "rocking out" to Linkin Park, Blake started to dance and kick too. We laughed so hard. I have a feeling that father and son will have lots of  bonding moments like that.

This morning we woke up and drove the last 6 hours. It was smooth sailing as we got closer to North Carolina. I was SO SO SO excited! We got to see my parents and then we had dinner with my grandparents (the famous chicken and rice)! It was a great way to start our vacation.

I know Ryan will miss having Christmas in Utah, but he is so amazing and fun here with the Wiggins and Dixon side of our family. We are so happy about having this Christmas together as a couple and also sharing it with our friends and family. Christmas is such an exciting time!

Early Christmas

This is our first Christmas together as a married couple. We are going to North Carolina this year for Christmas with my family, but we also wanted to have OUR own Christmas here in OUR house. It was very important to Ryan that we still have our own little traditions separate from both of our family traditions too.

So, this year we opened our Christmas presents to each other early...in our house....in front of our Christmas tree...and on our time! Neither one of us is great with patience. Originally we had planned to open our gifts the night or two before we left for NC. However, looking at the wrapped gifts under the tree just became too tempting for us! We were SO excited about our gifts for each other that we decided to go ahead and open them. Ps- we are totally in trouble when we have kids at Christmas - we will be opening gifts every night!

Ryan got me a Toshiba Thrive Tablet. He knew that I wanted a Kindle so that I could download and read all of my books, but he went above and beyond and got me a whole little mini computer!!! This thing is so great. I can download all of these apps, including my Kindle, the Gospel Library for church stuff, Baby Center, and so much more! Plus it is only like 2 pounds and its small so that I can carry it around everywhere with ease. This will make it nice when I am carrying a baby around too! :) Ryan really does always try to spoil me with gifts...he is so thoughtful!

I got Ryan a new Ipod. He had a nice one when we moved to Louisiana, BUT someone stole it out of his truck when we were getting our oil changed this summer. Yes, that is a nice reflection of the lovely locals here! Anyway, I got him a new one so that he could re download his songs and movies onto. Then I surprised him by getting a painting he got from his deployment framed. It is a huge Deitz painting made just for The Rock guys in Italy! It is now proudly hanging in our dining room. It's really heavy so I am just hoping it doesn't take the wall down. That would be bad.

I loved our Christmas! It is especially nice when you can see how much thought and love went into each gift. I guess we were both good this year! :) Now we are finishing some last minute gifts for our friends and family. Christmas time is so much fun!

New Job

When we first moved to Louisiana, I accepted a job at a local high school. The position was perfect becauase I was teaching the grade and subject of my choice AND the job was only until December. Ryan and I figured that this would be perfect since the baby is coming in February.

I have become very attached to the school and the students that I have worked with over the past 4 months. I wont lie - I was hoping that something might change so that I could teach the rest of the year and just take maternity leave. But, nothing like that happened. My last day of teaching this school year will be next Friday.

It is a bitter sweet moment. I hate leaving my students in the middle of the year but I know I will love having the time at home with the baby and Ryan. Teaching is all I have done for the past 4 years - it's just a part of me. Now I will be learning a new job...the full time homemaker job. I am excited for the time with my family and I am so grateful for the support from Ryan. I just hope he doesn't fire me. ;)

Oh Christmas Tree

Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree!! This is officially mine and Ryan's second Christmas together, but it's our first one as a married couple and with our own house. This year we ate chili, decorated our tree, hung our stockings, and watched The Christmas Carol! It was one of the best evenings of the year!



One of my personal favorite things to do is to turn off all the lights and just gaze at the Christmas tree lights. It's so pretty! I think I am slowly getting Ryan to appreciate it too. :)

We will be taking our stockings to NC with us in a few years, but we figured that we would hang them for looks in LA too. It's hard to believe that next year we will have 3 stockings! Christmas is such a magical time! :) 

SGT Ryan Larsen

Ryan has officially been pinned as a Sergeant in the United States Army! Such a big day and a huge accomplishment for him! He traveled a long road in order to get this and it is well deserved. He had to pass the promotional board (where he got questioned by the top ranking officers) and he had to pass points (which he has accumulated over the 3 1/2 years he has been in the Army).

Today is when it all became official. He had a Promotional Ceremony in which his old rank was switched out for his stripes. Then the fun part....he got to get punched in the chest by all of his higher ranking officers. Yes, they left their mark!

Ryan is now a leader and NCO over other soldiers. I know that this is a big responsibility and he will do a great job at it! He is a wonderful example and always does the right thing. I know that his guys are lucky to have him as a leader!

This year has been such a big year for Ryan and I. We have experienced an engagement, wedding, moving, and a baby on the way. This promotion is just another addition to a great year! Proud of SGT Ryan Larsen!