22 Weeks and our 5th Annual Christmas PJ Party and Beer Exchange

First, I get to brag about myself a little bit :)

My first semester back in school went REALLY well!  I ended with a 4.0 and have submitted my application to the Honors Program.  I couldn't be more proud of myself!  I worked extremely hard this fall, and the payoff has been sweet.

Okay, on to the weekend.  We host a yearly Christmas party, and instead of having everyone wear ugly Christmas sweaters, we decided to be different and go with a pajama party theme.  It's great to see every one's style and how they interpret it.  We had Batman make an appearance, and a sock monkey footed pajama as well.

In addition to the pajama party theme, we also do a beer exchange.  This is kind of like a white elephant exchange, but every guest has to bring one bottle of wrapped beer.  Total Wine has a great selection of craft beer, and during the holiday season there are some great new beers that come out such as Bad Santa, Lump of Coal, and this year Rogue's Voodoo Doughnut beer was a BIG hit!

 I've also included some pictures of our decorations around the house, our beautiful tree we chopped down from up North all decorated, and our amazing friends.  It was a great turnout this year with many new faces making an appearance.  We love this tradition and hope to continue it for many years to come.

Our signature cocktail is a home made spiked apple cider.  We used all natural apple juice and put that in the crock pot with some cinnamon sticks, a sachet of cloves, and sliced oranges.  To add a kick, we stir in Captain Morgan Spiced Rum.

We added a few new ornaments this year including some ASU themed and a boomerang from our honeymoon to Australia.  Here's a closeup:

 Last but not least, here we are at week 22.  As you can see baby is weighing in at one pound.  This little baby is growing! 

Pregnancy dreams are in coming in full force.  The latest this week was a dream I had about Jeremy and I going camping.  I wasn't pregnant and it was during the early summer months.  We were up north in the desert/forest trying to find our campsite.  But we got lost along the way.  Suddenly we came upon a group, it was a J Crew photo shoot for their upcoming summer catalog.  I got out to ask for directions and they couldn't be happier to see me!  They said they were down a model and needed me to fill in, threw me a bikini and told me to try it on.  Of course it fit, and the director proceeded to "teach" me how to model for this shoot.

I mean WOW, right?!

Other then the dreams, no other symptoms or cravings to report.  My low back has been a little sore, but I think it's more from prepping for the party then the pregnancy.  Baby is continuing to move and kick a lot.  I absolutely love feeling this little one inside me.  I've found that if I drink and ice cold glass of water and lay flat on my back I can usually coax the baby into some kicks.

My goal for the week is to get moving more!  Jeremy and I went on a walk last night to look at all of the Christmas lights around our neighborhood.  It was so nice to be outside and spend some time with just the hubby and I.  We made lots of plans along the way of things to add to our home next year.

I guess that about sums up the week.  Only 9 days until Christmas!  Boy did that sneak up on me.  We have about half of our shopping done, and fingers crossed I can get the rest knocked out this week with everything wrapped.  

See you all next week!