Baby Shower "NYC Style"

I have been so lucky because it seems like no matter what city I live in, I am always surrounded by the coolest people! I was nervous moving out to NY because you hear stories about how everyone is so rude and mean (Hello! Ranked #1 on rudest cities in the U.S. for the last 3 years!) And while I have had numerous experiences where I wanted to punch someone for saying something stupid to me or completely ignoring me while I'm waiting for service, I have also met some wonderful people. One quick example: A few months ago I was coming home late at night and just walked out of the subway station when a scary looking man dressed in rags with crazy, dreadlocked hair grabbed my arm. It totally freaked me out and I was automatically ready to react by throwing a punch or kick. He had a thick accent (Haitian sounding) and he mumbled something under his breath to me. I thought he wanted money, but couldn't understand him, so I said "Excuse me?" (while I pulled my arm away) and he looked me straight in the eye and said "You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen." ...in his crazy accent... awe, my heart melted. He was so sincere and I felt bad because in this situation I was the rude one. Now there are definitely girls more beautiful than me in New York so I didn't take the compliment to heart, but it was so sweet. Anyway, just one of the instances where I have realized that there are some very kind people in this world...even in crazy NYC. I have made some FABULOUS friends in the last 6 months. Between girls in my ward and girls all over the city that I have been babysitting for, I have been blessed and have learned so much from each of them. Right when I got home from Christmas, my friend, Breanne, called me and said "We are throwing you a shower! When can we do it?" She is such a sweetheart. So in two weeks she made all the plans and set a date. On Saturday they set up a "Baby Shower Brunch" with a yummy waffle bar! It was amazing and so much fun! Here are these girls who loaded up suitcases and duffle bags to haul all the decor and food down to the building across from me. It is so much harder to throw parties and stuff here in the city because you can't just load up your car with everything you need, you are stuck with whatever you can carry and walk or subway. I really appreciated all the work they put into it and it was so fun to sit around the table and hear everyone's mommy advice for me. Don't tell my mom, but I am starting to really like living here in New York :) We'll see if I still love it when I'm hauling a baby around everywhere.

Here are the gorgeous gals who made it happen!

Waffle Bar was so delish!

If you would have asked me 6 months ago if I would have 20 very dear friends already in the city I would have probably said no way... these are some of the neatest girls I've ever met and I am for sure a better person for knowing them.

AND they gave me cute baby stuff! (which is not cheap here in the city)

I love Tiff's face in this pic...was this before or after Breanne's "I fell in trash" story? Haha

3 weeks and counting till my due date. Still need to pack my bag, get stuff ready, and read up on the delivery process since I opted out of taking a birthing class...but we are so excited! Here is a cheesy pic after church that I made the husband pose for. Love him so much! We have had the best 6 years together and while I am so so so happy to be a mom, I will miss this "just the two of us" stage we have been in for so long. We have had the best time together and still can't get enough of each other!

Baltimore

A few weeks ago we drove over to Baltimore to catch the Raven's playoff game against the Texans. We had a blast with Dennis and Taya Pitta and they were so nice to let us stay at their house and get us tickets to the game! Saturday morning, before we headed to Baltimore, we drove straight to D.C. to get a quick temple session in. The temple is so beautiful! Unfortunately, we pulled up and there was a big sign on the door that read "Closed for Maintenance." We were so bummed and kicking ourselves for not checking to make sure it was open. Oh well. We headed to Baltimore and met up with Dennis and Taya, Joe and Dana Flacco for dinner. The football game the next day was a blast, even though it was so freezing. We were good luck and cheered them on to victory! One highlight of the trip: A big thanks to Joe for letting me sit in his nice comfy massage chair in his basement for like an hour. It was much needed and I'm thinking I could use another one because my back is killing me!

Merry Little Christmas

Although we were really enjoying all the amazing holiday decor and cheer in NY, we were so excited to head to Arizona to spend Christmas with our families! Not to mention, it was a great feeling to leave behind our coats, scarves, beanies, and boots to enjoy the great weather in AZ. We had a wonderful time and loved catching up with our family and close friends. Bryan spent the 2 weeks working and on the golf course (I think more of his time was spent on the golf course than at work, if I remember correctly), and I enjoyed being lazy. 3 cheers for home cooked meals that I didn't have to prepare, running errands with my girls, Costa Vida (one of my biggest cravings), getting my first prenatal massage (heaven!), loading up on cute baby stuff from my shower, and just staying up late chatting with people I love. I wasn't a great photographer, but here a few pics I took.

The Perk girls out at Tempe Marketplace.

The whole Hall clan!

ASU pj's for the whole family!

Our Christmas musical performed at the White Family party.

Sweet little Hayden giving Uncle Bryan some Christmas loves.

Is this really MY baby shower???

I can't tell you how many baby showers I've been to the last 3 years where I sat and WISHED so hard that I would be next. As many of you know, getting this little guy in my belly was not an easy task for us and we've been waiting for our turn for a long time! I'll spare you all the crazy details, and those of you who care already know what a journey it has been for us. Of course I was always so excited for everyone who was having babies, I just wondered if I would ever be joining them. Well, alas it is our turn, and the timing is perfect for us (just shows you that someone else knows better than I do)! I fought back tears all night as I watched so many dear family members and close friends throw gifts my way and hug me and tell me how excited they were for me. My family and friends have been huge life savers and I am extremely grateful for all the love they show me.

My sister, Alysha, is the absolute bomb. Such a darling girl with a fun personality. Now, living across the country from her, I miss her terribly. My other wonderful sister, Sarah wasn't able to be at my shower and we missed her! I put Alysha on camera duty for the night and came away with tons of cute pics, only making my job more difficult when deciding which ones go on the blog... love you sis.

All the lovely ladies who helped throw me a shower came up with a "camping" theme...they know me too well. It was so rad.

Love my Gma White.

Mom made a very cute diaper cake for me.

Hall girls (minus Sarah) with Gma White.

Beautiful quilt from Gma Blackhurst! Love love love!

Stocking up on the Jordan sweat suits! My little guy got so spoiled and he is going to be one stylin' dude!

I still love how baby's nickname, Pete, has stuck for so long. Poor kid will probably be called Pete for the rest of his life.

My Perkinson girlies rock! Love my lady in-laws! Thank you for being so sweet.

My sweet sis-in-law, Kinzi, gave me my fabulous diaper bag. Love it!

My best friend has been the BEST! I am so very lucky to have her!

Thank you all for making me feel special and for preparing me for this exciting time! Now every square inch of our little apartment in New York is filled with darling baby stuff and we couldn't feel more blessed.

Thanksgiving and Fun Visitors!

Family, Food, Football, Fun! We hit on all the important "F" words for Thanksgiving! Bryan's sister, Mary, and her husband, Gavin, came and spent the week with us and we had a blast! The first day we drove up to Sleepy Hollow and visited the creepy cemetery and explored the little town, just to check a new place off our list :)

This is Thanksgiving morning at the Macy's Parade. We had fun wandering through Central Park, catching glimpses of all the cool floats and performers.

I felt bad the boys didn't get to play football Thanksgiving morning because we went to the parade instead (personally, I think I was more upset about this than the boys were...it's tradition people!). All our friends here were starting their football games at like 10am and it just wasn't going to work...oh well, instead we just tossed the football around while we watched the parade.

The trees are still barely holding on to their colors. Soon they will be bare and I will be sad because that means it is going to get really cold!

The weather was so nice, we could have spent all day walking through the park!

The finished product! Pies were made the night before, ham in the oven, turkey in the crockpot (which turned out AMAZINGLY), and all the yummy sides to go with it! Thanks Mary for the help in the kitchen! Our little feast for the four of us turned out fantastic and I was very relieved...spent the rest of the day watching football.

The day after Thanksgiving, Christmas started going up throughout the whole city (some places even started prior to T-day)! It's so fun how NYC goes all out with decorations! Every store, every street has Christmas cheer! This is in the Trump Tower.

The shops on 5th Ave. were so much fun, except I've never seen so many people in my life!

Thanks for spending this holiday week with us!

My Beautiful Visitors!!

Two weeks ago my mom and Gretchen (my sister, Alysha) came across the country to visit me!! I was so HAPPY to see them and spend time showing them my new home :) We had so many things to do and see in only a few days and we wasted no time! Here are only a fraction of the pics we took.

Times Square on a Saturday night is a must if you wanna see all the crazy people dressed up.

I let Lysh take a pic of my belly to take home as a souvenir. It's growing!!

Got some Bubba Gump's shrimp on Times Square with the best frozen lemonade.

Lysh with Miss Liberty. We also took a ferry out on the water to get a closer look.

"Top of the Rock" at the Rockefeller Center where Bryan works.

Shops on 5th Ave. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Sorry, I cut mom out.

And the famous... too bad it was a 2 hour wait to get in. Maybe another time.

We hit up The Addams Family musical. It's not as good as some of the other shows we've seen, but it was still really fun!

Checked out the protesters on Wall Street...

Brooklyn Bridge!

Shopping in SoHo and HAD to stop at the famous Lombardi's Pizza for lunch. Sooo yummy!

And being goofy in the park.

Thank you for coming to see me! Come back sooooon!!

Washington DC and Baltimore

Since we've lived in NY, we have been lucky enough to travel along the East Coast a little bit and have seen some really cool things! It is kinda a pain to leave the city because we either have to figure out the train thing or rent a car (which is sooo pricey on the weekends!). But, this past weekend we got a car and drove to DC. We drove through DC when we moved across the country, but didn't get to spend much time in the city, so we wanted to go back. We jumped on one of the bus tours and went all over the city, getting off at different stops to run into museums or take pics. I couldn't get over all the amazing buildings! I am a huge fan of the style of architecture in DC and it was fun to see everything in person.

The Lincoln Memorial was probably my favorite thing we saw!

Mr. Lincoln himself.

We were lucky enough to stay with Bryan's cousin, Juliette, in DC, then got up early the next day and drove to Baltimore to meet up with our friends, Dennis and Taya Pitta, and catch Dennis' football game! Such a blast! It was a great excuse for me to bust out the purple skinnies to wear to the game.

Yay #88! Luckily, the Ravens pulled out a "W" and we had an enjoyable night at dinner after the game. We really loved the Baltimore stadium, but the city was more ghetto than I thought it would be.

Did I mention the weather was PERFECT?? It was. 65 degrees and only sprinkled for a few minutes. Didn't even have to wear a coat and I was loving it! Kinda mad I didn't get a pic with everyone in it. Oh well. Thanks Pittas!