Magic Song: I GOT A SURE THING

"I got a sure thing," ollie & the nightingales

I got a sure thing with my baby.

Luke the Chihuahua

"Is Luke shaking because he thinks we're giants?"—Noah, age 5

As much as I love the entire canine family, I kinda used to think chihuahuas were yappy, annoying, little rat-dogs. Well, after meeting Luke, my nieces and nephews' present from Santa, I have to take back all my harsh feelings about the breed. This lil' guy is doing great things for the chihuahua name. He's sweet, docile, he loves massages, and looks adorable in a sweater.

I miss my snuggle-baby.

Christmas Recap

Sometimes I'm incredibly lazy—like when I spend an awesome week in Mesa for the holidays and take zero pictures of anyone or anything. Huff... I'm legitimately disappointed in myself. At least my dad emailed me a few goofy pics that he took on his phone.

Jacob getting fancy with his lasso at the Rockin R Ranch Cowboy Dinner Theater.

Even though I did a horrible job capturing the holidays via photo this year, I'll do my best to recap some of the highlights:

+ Breaking up the drive to Mesa by stopping and spending the night in Page, AZ at the home of our good friends Alison and Weston. I love any chance I get to catch up with Alison, play with Elsie (their adorable baby), and from what I know of sleeping on couches—theirs is the comfiest. Oh yeah, and alison made me a delicious birthday breakfast. Love you guys!

+ Listening to Twilight on audiobook until we seriously could not handle it anymore. We had never read the books or seen the movies, and so we thought it would be funny... and it was... for awhile... and then it just got so bad it was depressing. We also listened to Dickens' A Christmas Carol and the original War of the Worlds radio broadcast.

+ Arriving at my parents house in the early afternoon. The cars were in the driveway, but the whole house was empty. I made my family disappear? Of course, we found them in the backyard, taking pictures of Brock and Marcos jumping the pool. And then, of course, my MOM jumps in the pool. In her clothes and everything. Ummm... it's December? My family is crazy!

+ So many bean and cheese burritos from Los Taquitos—AKA the "staff of life" for Holli. How she lives without them in Provo, no one knows.

+ My birthday fiesta with the family. And yes. We had all the goods—mini chimis (from Los), mom's burritos, conchitas, jarritos, and Jacob made his famous South African malva pudding for my birthday cake. Couldn't have asked for a better birthday feast!

About to blow out my candles. Of course, Luke is in his undies.

+ Meeting my lil' nephew, Johnny, for the first time. I want to call him Luke 2.0 because they are basically twinners. Anyway, he's as cute as a button and so so sweet.

+ Christmas eve dinner, acting out the entire "Twleve Days of Christmas" song with all the kids (Marcos made a perfect Brazilian "partridge in a pear tree"), white elephant gift exchange, Dad's christmas stories, AND a christmas miracle—Jacob finally felt Baby Robinson kick! He'd been waiting so long for that moment!

+ Christmas morning!! We got to skype with Elder Hale!!! Miss him times infiniti.

+ I loved the gift Jacob gave me, and I was really excited for my dad to open the present I got for him. He was really surprised when he found a photo album with a picture of his young, 19-year-old missionary self. I digitized all 400-and-something of his mission slides.

+ Watching Jheri's kids go crazy over their Christmas presents. THEY GOT A CHIHUAHUA!!!

+ Getting to play with their chihuahua "Luke" for the week. I seriously fell in love with that dog.

+ Noah's best line: "Is Luke shaking because he thinks we're giants?"

+ Seeing Le Mis with Jacob and Mason. I weeped through the ENTIRE movie. Pregnant, emotional ladies—don't say I didn't warn you.

+ Jacob made his South African pap and beans for the family. We tried to get my mom to eat it with her hands (as is custom), but she refused.

+ INDIA OVEN BUFFET (which obviously resulted in an indian food hangover—we pretty much passed out the for rest of the day)

+ Mesa Temple lights. It's still the best Christmas tradition.

+ Nielsen's Frozen Custard. Nom nom nom...

+ My mom gave me and Jacob an intense tennis lesson. She's basically a pro and, sheesh, she was drilling us! She had us running all over the court forehand! backhand! forehand! backhand! Me and baby were out of breath!

+ Going to the Rockin' R Ranch Cowboy Dinner Theater with the fam. The best was when they called Jacob and Marcos up to the stage (my dad had given "Big Jim," the head cowboy, their names) to twirl the lassos during one of their songs. Jacob got pretty fancy with it.

+ Marcos falling in love with Chelsea, the cowgirl. Those Brazilian boys are such hopeless romantics!

Brock and Marcos at the Rockin R Ranch

+ Marcos' (the Brazilian exchange student) last night in America. We had a big family dinner with all his favorite American foods—hamburgers, hot dogs, milkshakes, cream puffs, and Coke. We went around the table and everyone (including the nieces and nephews) took turns saying what they like about Marcos. It was heart-warming and, at times, hilarious.

+ Finding and reading the letter Marcos left in the mailbox for our family. It was probably the sweetest thing ever. He wrote something heartfelt to each person in the family (including all the nieces and nephews), and the letter ended "the best thing I learned in America is 'What is family!' and also Mormon people are cool."

+ Mexican food with Whitney, Chad, and their little baby girl, Amy Jane. Great to catch up with them again.

+ Game night at TJ's house for New Year's Eve with TJ, Tressa, Brock, and Brock's girlfriend. We killed it on "You Don't Know Jack" and suffered a heartbreaking loss on "Crainium." I sculpted the most beautiful rocking horse imaginable out of playdough, but all I could get out of Jacob was "rock horse" and "rocker horse" and every possible combination of words—except "rocking horse." To give him credit, he thought he had already said "rocking horse" and was basically losing his mind. It was tragic and hilarious. I still say we won.

+ Fireworks and Martinelli's, of course.

+ SO MUCH FOOTBALL + SO MUCH FOOTBALL FOOD = so many naps on the couch for Holli.

+ Dad's homemade salsa. The best.

+ Fresh squeezed orange juice every morning with breakfast. That's what home tastes like.

+ Mom sending us home with a GIANT bag of oranges and grapefruit from the backyard. Yesssss.

+ A smooth drive back to Provo. Listened to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Ate lots of fast food. By the time we got to Fillmore, there was frost on the inside of our car. The outside temperature read 2 degrees. Yipes!

+ Returning to a house covered in snow and 3-foot-long icicles. Still, we made our little nest warm and cozy again. As much fun as we had in Arizona, it was good to be back home.

Left to Right: Dad, Marcos, Mom, Mason, Brock, me, and Jacob. Photo taken by my nephew.

I love Christmas.

I love my family.

(if you read this entire post, you're a champ)

24 weeks

Baby Robinson has really grown these past four weeks, and I mean... wow. I don't know if it was all the holiday eatin' or if it's just that stage when the belly starts to ripen up. The internet told me that my uterus is about the size of a soccer ball at this point, so it's probably a combination of the two. Eeek! I'm getting round!

Per request, here's a few shots showing off the new mama skirt that I got for my birthday (H&M maternity, yo!)

and the big belly I got for Christmas.

Front shot—not too different, right? 

or so you think...

Side shot—WHA-BAM!!! Big-Belly Mama!

It still blows my mind to think there's a little baby girl in there—my baby girl.

Maybe it won't feel real until we are headed to the hospital for her grand arrival.

Maybe it won't feel real until I'm holding her in my arms.
Even then?

Still, she's kicking me all the time to let me know that she, in fact, IS HERE!

Sometimes I think if I listen real close I'll hear a tiny voice shouting I AM HERE! I AM HERE! I AM HERE!

(Horton Hears a Who, anyone?)

good birthday

hanging out in downtown slc + shopping at city creek + indian food + a sweet, unexpected gift + 

jacob gets an acceptance letter to grad school + leaving for AZ tomorrow

so many reasons to be thankful. 

so many reasons to celebrate.

Birthday Theme Song

Does anyone make better celebration music than Sly Stone?

25.

This feels monumental.

Quarter of a century. Mid-twenties. Perhaps the threshold of true adulthood.

I'm pretty speechless about the whole matter.

I guess all I really have to say on my 25th anniversary of life is

"Thank you falletinme be mice elf."

o christmas tree

Behold, our very first Christmas tree. It was found on KSL for a good price, and purchased from a very jolly Hispanic man whose entire house was filled with Christmas decorations. He continually explained to us how much he and his wife love Christmas, and gifted us with two of his own nutcrackers that sat on his shelf—one for me and one for "the baby." He insisted. He even gave Jacob a hug before we left. We decided that he, his name was Gabriel, truly had the spirit of Christmas. Glad we bought our first tree from someone like that.

The decorations are modest. We bought just enough ornaments to adorn one side of the tree. My project—the red pom-pom garland—remains to be finished. The tree itself is obviously a fake, though we have a very nice candle to substitute the lack of aroma. Definitely not the grandest tree you ever saw, but when we lit it up in the room—it was pretty magical.

Jacob put an old Christmas album that we found at D.I. on the record player, and for a good hour we just cuddled on the couch, admiring our tree.

"Odysseus with no Telemachus"

As I have been going through a collection of Elder Holland's talks and speeches, I came across a passage that struck me. While speaking at some odd convention in the 1980s, he quoted these words from a letter that appeared in the New Yorker:

"The spirit of emancipation has... touched deep the nerves of truth [but it also reflects]... the blind side of our age, and the cost of the blindness; [and] a perhaps fatal stupidity intertwined with our enlightenment. The idea of emancipation, after all, has to do with an escape from bonds, not a strengthening of bonds. Emancipation has to do with power, not love... I don't think it's a coincidence...that more and more people are living alone these days... [There is a] general sense of the transformation of our society from one that strengthens the bonds between people to one that is, at best, indifferent to them; a sense of an inevitable fraying of the net connections between people at many critical intersections, of which the marital knot is only one... If one examines these points of disintegration separately one finds they have a common cause—the overriding value placed on the idea of individual emancipation and fulfillment, in the light of which, more and more, the old bonds are seen not as enriching but as confining. We are coming to look upon life as a lone adventure, a great personal odyssey, and there is much in this view that is exhilarating and strengthening, but we seem to be carrying it to such an extreme that if each of us is an Odysseus, he is an Odysseus with no Telemachus to pursue him, with no Ithaca to long for, with no Penelope to return to—an Odysseus on a long journey that has been rendered pointless by becoming limitless."

That last line stings, doesn't it? But yet I wonder if it will continue to ring true as a theme for our generation in some future's hindsight. The more I observe, the more I sense this theme.

Magic Song: BLUE CHRISTMAS

 a favorite of mine...

I know he's the "King of Rock" and all, but has anyone else noticed what a beautiful voice Elvis had?

Some of those songs on his Christmas album seriously make me swoon.

Perhaps my grandma is rubbing off on me.

After taking her to the Hard Rock Cafe some years back, I realized what a huge crush she still has on him.

It was only in that scenario and in Back to the Future that I've ever heard anyone refer to a handsome man as a "dreamboat."

20 weeks

So. I guess you could say I'm halfway through this whole pregnancy thing.

Kinda crazy to think about. On one hand, I'm like Whoo-hoo! HALFWAY THERE!!! On the other hand, I'm like wait a minute. You're saying this is only, like, HALF of the WAY therrre?!? And then I remember, oh yeah. TOTALLY not ready for a baby to arrive. I don't even have BABY SUPPLIES!! And yeah... LABOR. Haven't even wrapped my head around that event. Another four or five months is a good thing. 

Thinking and re-thinking the whole time-table aspect of pregnancy can really mess you up in the head. The days seem to pass by more smoothly when I'm not obsessing over how "far along" I am. Just trying to enjoy the journey. And wow. It's been a journey.

I figure that I am now experiencing the most enjoyable part of being pregnant. I feel superb. I love watching my budding belly grow each day. Most of my clothes still fit. I can sleep through the night. Food tastes good again. And I can feel baby girl moving around all the time, which warms my heart to the max.

Oh yeah, and did I mention that Jacob treats me like a queen? Never in my life have I felt so ridiculously needy (especially during that first trimester... YIKES), and never in my life have I felt so loved and cared for. I honestly don't know how I could get through each day without him. If anything, this process has definitely proven his heart of gold.

Okay okay. Don't wanna start braggin. But really—the guy deserves some props.

The Annunciation

I remember being struck by this painting when it was first introduced to me and I got to view it myself at the Tate Britain in London—about four years ago now. Carrying my first baby this Christmas season, I guess I've found myself wondering more and more about who Mary was. This image often comes to mind. The simple beauty and emotion of it still moves me.  

Magic Song: LEONARD

pretty.

OH NO!

I'm all out of prenatal gummy vitamins.

SHOOT.

Sometimes when there's a baby inside you, you kinda turn into a BIG BABY. And yes, gummy vitamins are totally necessary. This product is seriously heaven-sent. When I couldn't keep my Costco-brand prenatals down anymore (1st trimester nausea-thon), these gummies rushed in to save the day. They freakin taste like CANDY. Ain't no way I'm going back to those giant, nasty, omega-3 fish oil (fish-aftertaste), horse pills. 

Ain't no way.

Magic Song: YOU AIN'T ALONE

 Doesn't matter if it was released in the 1950s or 2012—I'm a sucker for these kinds of songs.

blues + soul will never be uncool. 

I'm feeling a little late on this one. This is one of those bands that I kept hearing about, but never took the time to listen to—until now. And wow. Why didn't somebody tell me that I would LOVE this album? Bluesy. Soulful. Fun. Powerful female vocals. I really enjoyed every track. I stamp it again and again with my stamp of approval.*

p.s. So the big reason I finally listened to this album is because I'm trying to listen to as many albums on THIS LIST as I can before the year ends. And whaddayaknow? It was #2. What I want to know is if there are albums that need to be added to this list (mostly ones that have been released since June) or that I should skip (cuz yeah, I'm probably not gonna get through half of these). I value your suggestions... if you have them.

*I seriously wish I had a real "stamp of approval"

Bump Ahead

Behold, the progression of "the bump."

I wanted to wear that black dress to church one more time before I would have to retire it for the rest of my pregnancy. It's pretty slim-fitting, and when Jacob saw me wearing it, he immediately gushed, "HONEY! YOU LOOK PREGNANT!!!" I caught a side-glimpse of myself in the mirror and realized, "wow! I do look pregnant." It finally happened.

At first, I was little reluctant to do the side-profile "bump" pic—but after a few requests and thinking about how I might regret it one day, I decided to whip out the camera and pose. But I'm not promising to be consistent with this. If the third tri-monster pics become too demoralizing, I may gracefully abandon this practice.

p.s. I'm actually 18 weeks today. Kinda feels like a landmark. I'm loving the 2nd trimester "honeymoon phase." I feel great. Pretty normal, actually. Although after a game of tennis on Saturday, I found out that I'm not nearly as agile as I used to be. [ball flies past me] Oh no... there it goes... ummm... shoot... *huff.* And seriously, I think I pulled something when I tried to serve "the heater." Sorry Jacob. Not quite the competitive game you were hoping for.

But really, I'm loving my belly. I was so happy yesterday when a friend (who is also pregnant, but a few months ahead of me) told me my bump was finally showing. I chuckle inside every time I see someone's eyes drift down to my mid-section when we are having a conversation. Hey guys! I'm up HERE!!! I think Baby Robinson is beginning a growth spurt in there. I even think I felt her kick last night. At this point it's hard to know what's her and what's indigestion... but then I felt another one. :D!