Saturday, January 13, 2007

Our Announcement

The time has come that J.R. and I make our official announcement: I am expecting. Our baby is due near the end of July (due date: July 23, 2007). This makes me in the twelfth week of my pregnancy.

Although the morning sickness has been bad enough as far as I am concerned (I have caught myself more than once thinking about how I wish my stomach would be better behaved and not get hungry so often), I feel blessed to have had it as good as I have. I have kept working my part-time schedule and haven't had to deviate from my normal routine too much. This is in sharp contrast to my mother's last three pregnancies, in which she spent the first two trimesters essentially bedridden and unable to eat much.

J.R. and I do not plan on learning the gender of our baby, we would like to leave it a surprise. I have been told that J.R.'s mother has never been wrong when it comes to guessing the gender of a baby though.

This is the end of my brief announcement concerning our 'big news.' I am sure that there is much more to come concerning the developments that will take place in my pregnancy between now and when our baby arrives.


Saturday, January 6, 2007

Our First Christmas and New Year

J.R.'s and my first Christmas as husband and wife was wonderful. We spent Christmas Eve together and alone for the most part, and began the celebration of the Feast of the Nativity of Christ by attending midnight mass together. After we arrived home, we placed the infant Jesus into the manger of our nativity set. We opened our gifts to one another before we turned in for the night as well (J.R. is not very good at waiting for surprises, both ones that he has planned and are planned for him). On Christmas morning we went to my parents' home to visit for the day, it was one of the most enjoyable Christmases in recent memory. We did not do anything particularly extraordinary, but spending quality time with family is special always.



Our Christmas tree


We spent New Year's Eve with J.R.'s family. It was enjoyable to visit with his parents, brother, niece, and nephew; particularly since their Florida vacation had prevented us from seeing them for over two weeks before Christmas until a couple days after Christmas. At any rate, we rung in the New Year by watching the ball drop, toasting with sparkling grape juice, and setting off poppers; which all added up to a wonderful night. J.R. and I spent most of New Year's day at home together, which we found very relaxing since we had spent the previous (almost) three weeks caring for all of the animals at his parents' house.

Tomorrow will bring the end of the Christmas season with Epiphany and a belated Christmas party with J.R.'s family. All in all, I have had an enjoyable holiday season in which great memories have been made. Still, I look forward to the more normal routine that returns with the end of the holiday celebrations.