Young House Love

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Maternity Portraits In Front Of The Christmas Tree

Before we took down the holiday decorations, we decided to snap a couple better-late-than-never seasonal pictures, since this will likely be the last time we can take a photo like this in front of the tree.

Christmas Bump

Kinda crazy to think that this was our last Christmas with just one little one (well, two including Burger – and about 30 if you count all of Sherry’s ceramic animals). What’s even crazier is that Clara stood still enough for this long of an exposure! If you want to take a photo like this, our tips are: use a tripod, lower the lights in the room so the tree glows, and use a long exposure and stand as still as possible. The results are so cool!

Christmas Belly 2

What did you guys wrap and unwrap this year? Do you do big gift exchanges with your other half, or just little fun things that you’ve been eying? Sherry and I like to keep it pretty low key, but we love hearing about giant surprises (were there any bows on any cars in any driveways?) and little thoughtful things alike.

Update: You can check out all of our favorite holiday decor finds here – many of which are under $15! 

Comments

  1. Frannie says

    Love love love the belly tree shots and the one with Clara. :) Brought tears to my eyes for some reason! Maybe since we are thinking of adding one more baby to our family as well. The sweetness!

    Reply

  2. Amber says

    a) I had the same Cinderella mice!!!!

    b) Totally jealous of the stairs pic. We were hiding out waiting on our little man and kept waiting and waiting and heard him jump out of bed and we waited and finally, I decided to go check upstairs (our first Christmas in a house with stars) to find him and when I turned the corner before going upstairs, he was already playing wtb his toys in the loving room!!!

    c) Love the last few pictures in front of the tree…

    Y’all are great!
    ~Amber

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I know, right?! I thought it was the “second pregnancy means you pop earlier” rumor, but then I looked back on Clara bump pics and I was the same way with her! I think my short torso = early poppage, but then I sort of max out and stay that way (a 6 month pic vs. a 9 month pic with Clara wasn’t very different at all, which made me laugh).

      xo
      s

  5. Ava says

    The soda looks great. I’ve tried the Dog Drool one before, and I think the company also makes a Bug Juice that is pretty good. We went small on gifts because we spend the weekend before with a quick getaway to downtown Chicago. I would much rather take the time to do something to get crazy gifts!!

    Reply

  6. Frannie says

    I think my computer ate my comment. Just stopped by to say how much I love the bump and tree shots. So beautiful and sweet! Thanks for sharing with all of us.

    Reply

  7. Rachel says

    Ahhh I have the same Cinderella mouse ornaments (Gus Gus is my fave) and still hang them on our tree every year! Love :) Looks like a pretty wonderful Christmas Petersiks :)

    Reply

  9. Brittany says

    Wow the pictures of Sherry and Sherry and Clara in front of the tree are absolutely gorgeous!! What a good idea! And as far as presents go, I got my husband tickets to the Broadway show Once. We are very excited :)

    Reply

  11. Laura @ Rather Square says

    I’m sure there will be a lot of comments on this, but I love the baby bump silhouette photos against the tree lights! Total pregnancy memory keeper.

    For our holiday, we stayed local and saw lots of family. It’s been pretty snowy here in the Middle West, so we’ve had to dig out around our house most days, but our toddler has been having fun sledding and making snow people. We didn’t do much decorating this year, just our mini DIY Christmas tree (we’re planning on designing and building a life-size wooden one for next year!). We did get out and enjoy some holiday decorations around our new neighborhood, though.
    http://www.rathersquare.com/2013/12/first-christmas-at-rather-square-house/

    Reply

  13. Heather says

    I have the same Cinderella mice :) they were my favorite ornaments as a kid, and when I got married & moved out, my mom gave them to me. They’re still some of my favorite ornaments. :)

    Reply

  14. Ann Firth says

    Happy New Year Petersiks! I hope that 2014 is a happy, healthy, and successful year for everyone. I thought it’d be difficult picking a favourite picture from this post, but the last two–Sherri, Sherri/Clara–win hands down for me. Thank you for continuing to share your lives and projects with us :)

    Reply

  15. Karen says

    Gorgeous pics! When I was 5 I totally also named my favourite, most beloved doll Melinda. She gave me so much joy, and I hope Clara gets the same from her Melinda!

    Also, I bought myself a ring with the exact same “love” script in the post-Christmas sales last week.

    Here’s to lots of love from my family to yours in 2014 xox

    Reply

  16. Jeanette says

    Even better than all the presents, was the photo of Sherry’s baby bump – you look gorgeous! Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays to all of you xo

    Reply

  18. Lisa says

    Precious precious photos! And such an awesome tradition to take a photo of the kid(s) on the stairs before diving in.

    We gave our almost one year old his own set of wheels, with a bow on the plastic hood and everything. ;) My husband gave me my new 50mm lens for my Nikon which I’m learning and loving. I bet that reflector screen will do wonders!

    Typical for myself, I took tons of photos on Christmas day (our boy’s first!) and just recently shared them… http://lisadunkin.blogspot.com/2013/12/finns-first-christmas.html

    Happy New Year Petersiks!

    Reply

  19. Cora says

    You guys have raised such a sweet and thoughtful child! I fall in love with her more and more each day.

    P.s I’m so coming over and snatching those ornaments! Gus Gus!!!!

    Reply

  20. Cathy says

    What a wonderful Christmas you Guys had! Love reading about the family’s adventures. The dog drool soda I’m familiar with, my parents live next door to the town in CT that makes it. He buys all the weird flavors for our family Christmas party. ;)

    Reply

  21. Rachel says

    Yay for Cinderella mouse ornaments! I have the same ones! Gus Gus is my fave ;) We still put ours on the tree every year. Looks like a wonderful Christmas Petersiks! Can’t wait to see the post on that cabin… Yum.

    Reply

  22. Trista says

    I absolutely love the belly pics in front of the tree!

    My husband and I had agreed to do stocking stuffers, and then he changed his mind, so I looked like a cheapskate and he surprised me by getting my master’s degree framed.

    Reply

  24. Sara says

    love the bump pic! I took the same one for our Christmas card this year. And happy to see that I’m not the only one who is 6 months pregnant and totally popped. I have a short torso too, so I’m feeling like I’m 7 months or so already! The holiday cookies may also have something to do with it too, hmmm. Gotta love being pregnant during the holidays! :)

    Reply

  25. Jess says

    I am one who is terrible with directions and pretty much eternally lost on the road. I have a TomTom that has seen better days (as in: it takes about 10 minutes to start up, and then you have to immediately restart it to get it to actually work … and the maps are all outdated!!). So I was surprised/elated to unwrap a brand new Garmin with lifetime map updates this year!! :)

    Reply

  26. Kristen says

    Wow! Wow! Wow! LOVE the belly shots… and all of them. Simply beautiful family. So very happy for you guys. Happy New Year! Hope you fare the snow, well. We got hammered here in Jersey which wouldn’t be so bad if not for the sub-zero temps. Kiddies want snowmen, but it’s WAAAYYY cold!

    Reply

  27. Pamela says

    I love the Cinderella Ornaments, my mom has the same ones hanging on her tree. Amazingly, they came out of a Happy Meal when I was little. I wish you still got amazing toys like that!!! Maybe I can convince my mom to give them to my girls next year.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Of course, Lisa! I love having these “who got who what” posts each year on the blog to look back on. I hardly remember the gifts, but seeing those expressions and the tree and the events of the day is so sweet.

      xo
      s

  29. Kelly says

    Thanks for sharing the pics. I love the one Sherry in front of the Christmas tree at night. I took a picture of my sister in front of my parents (not at night) – so she could have a picture of her bump too! She is due in a couple of weeks!

    Reply

  31. Arielle says

    What a great post, I also got tears in my eyes a few times. For Christmas my husband got me a gorgeous new wedding ring. For him I surprised him with the news of our first little nugget. I made a pack of onsies with all of his favorite band logos screen printed on them. Needless to say there was crying and embracing. Great start to the new year!

    Reply

  32. Kim says

    Curious to know where you got Clara’s deer jammies? I have a friend who has a little girl that is Clara’s age that is deer obsessed.
    Thanks!

    Reply

  33. Sara says

    Santa (aka my husband) got me the stove I wanted :-) And we installed the non-vented range hood on Christmas Day. And my mother-in-law got me a new pot (to replace the one my husband melted. Long story) and a dutch oven! woo hoo! And my parents got us Lowe’s gift cards. Paint and a programmable thermostat, here we come! It was our son’s first Christmas (he is 7 1/2 months old) so we had fun getting gifts for him (only a few) and he was very spoiled by relatives and his two sets of grandparents. Love! I can’t wait until he is older and we will have exciting Christmas mornings like you have with Clara!

    Reply

  34. Julie says

    As always, such wonderful photos! My 8 yr old daughter walked up as I was watching the video of Clara and said “Awww, she’s so cute! ” Happy New Year!

    Reply

  35. Robin @ our semi organic life says

    What a thoughtful Christmas! I got a tent and some camping gear! Can’t wait for warmer temps so we can head to the coast. I’m thinking that one small town/city you guys traveled to for that magazine looked nice. Wonder if they have camping spots.

    Reply

  37. Melissa says

    Love the bump pics (so does every one else apperently) :) such a good idea!

    Love the idea of low key gifts but I certainly wont complain about getting a caribbean cruise for christmas wahoooo!

    Reply

  38. Amanda E says

    We have been trying to decide if we want to have another baby and I have mostly been letting my logic brain let me know that right now isn’t the best time in the world, but my ovaries felt like they lit up with joy at your last two pictures. I shake my fist in a good-natured way in your direction, YHL.

    Reply

  39. Allyson says

    What a fun Christmas! I love the ceramic ornaments…I’m a sucker for any sort of ornament. Merry (very late) Christmas and Happy (less late) New Year!

    Reply

  40. ErinEvelyn says

    I got my husband a Nest thermostat (and told him all about your experience of installing one; “John Petersik thought the directions were amazingly thorough!”). He loved it. The plan was that he’d install it this weekend, but the thing might just get REALLY confused during its “learning phase” cuz the furnace is going to be working overtime no matter what, with a high of -12 on Monday. (We’re in Dusty’s neck of the woods.) BRR! Hubby prepaid a pro tooth-whitening session at our dentist (after hearing wish aloud a few months back). What a weird – and perfect – surprise, eh? I’m hoping to end up with a smile that beams like Clara’s. :) Happy 2014, Petersiks!

    Reply

  41. Lesley says

    I am super excited to see the cabin crashing post. We bought a log home in the country – spring move date – and I am excited and stumped by the prospect of decorating. Need tips!

    Reply

  42. Karen says

    1 – Can’t wait to see the cabinet reveal!
    2 – Clara is an absolute doll, seriously… her face in all these pictures is just precious!
    3 – We totally got those house ornaments for my mother in law as part of her christmas gift because she loves christmas ornaments and also to commemorate the fact that she painted all the walls and ceilings for us in our new house this fall.
    4 – I was actually really super proud of my gift to my hubby this year… he’s a Robert Frost fan, so I looked around for a nicely bound copy of some of his poems. Failing to find one, I decided it’d be more special if I made it myself anyway. So I wrote out about 135 poems, managed to illustrate a couple of them, and had my art student brother show me how to bind a book. It was great fun for me, and my hubby LOVED it :-)

    Reply

  45. Monica Abel says

    With the kids getting older I decided I wanted to get each of them a gift from me that reflected who they were or had some kind of special meaning. For my one daughter (11 yrs) who LOVES elephants I got her a necklace with an elephant pendant that I found on Scoutmob. It wasn’t babyish nor too grown up. For my other daughter (11 yrs) I got her a tshirt in her favorite color that had a quote on it from Shakespeare that basically said that even though she is “little” she is fierce. Being a sick preemie when she was born and having some health issues ever since her strength and tenacity for life made this tshirt perfect for her. For my son (9 yrs)I got him a chalkboard print that I framed that simply says Love You More. Each night when he goes to bed we say this to each other. The tears in his eyes when he opened it…it definitely was a special Christmas this year. Love all your pictures and the special gifts you all received. Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2014!

    Reply

  46. Bethany says

    Kinda surprised to see that Clara inherited the same mouse ornament my son Calvin discovered this year! He found Jaq (mouse in the orange shirt) packed in a Christmas box and it was instant love. Don’t you just love it when our kids appreciate the stuff we loved as kids?

    Reply

  47. Emily F. says

    How fun!! This was the first year that our daughter asked for something specific from Santa (she’s exactly a year younger than Clara). She has been saying that she wanted a pink bunny for the whole month, so Santa had to deliver! Unfortunately, Christmas morning present opening at our house was quick and not very festive due to being on the 4th day of no power because of an ice storm! Of course, she didn’t really notice the fact that it was 45 degrees in our house! She was just excited that Santa came!

    Last year, we put an addition on our house so we had no kitchen and no space for a tree, this year was the big power outage…here’s hoping that next year is full of warmth, twinkling lights, and waking up Christmas morning in our own home! But at least we were together :)

    Reply

  48. Whitney Dupuis says

    Man, I am so ready to have Christmas at my house with our son. We currently “have” to go to my parents’ house Christmas Eve and I am truly looking forward to the day where we can have it at our house. Now, if only I wouldn’t be chicken enough to make it happen. :-/

    Reply

  50. Leah says

    My man got me a squash racquet! I joined a ladies league this year and have been using his, this way we can finally start playing together. It is awesome!

    His big surprise gift was from his parents – a huge air compressor. He was very, very excited. Me? Not so much! But I love that he loves it so much.

    I got my inlaws a book of our wedding photos. My father in law stopped me later in the day to say ‘you done good with the book, Leah’, so I think that was their favourite gift of the year, haha.

    Reply

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