Pregnancy Update

I think that it is safe to say that I am over the nausea and morning sickness that go along with pregnancy officially (and have been for several weeks). I have been feeling normal, even great (other than my cold) for the past few weeks. I have even reached a point where my stomach is no longer very picky and I do not have to worry about eating at the first hint of hunger in order to avoid feeling nauseated. All things considered, I am pleased with the state of my body at the current time (I am in the nineteenth week of my pregnancy, we'll see how much longer I feel this way for).

In other news, next week is my ultrasound. Drinking and then retaining that much liquid for a couple of hours seems a semi-daunting task, but I am sure that I can handle it, every other pregnant woman seems able to do so. My larger fear is that the ultrasound technician will tell us the gender of the baby accidentally (I have heard of it happening). At any rate, I am sure that it will prove to be an interesting experience, and though I have a couple of concerns, I am not really worried about it.

A (somewhat) disappointing first St. Valentine's Day

Yesterday was J.R.'s and my first Valentine's Day as husband and wife. With our congested, aching bodies and overall lack of energy due to the colds that we have been battling, it is safe to say that our first Valentine's Day did not turn out anywhere near as enjoyable or romantic as we would have imagined it to be. J.R. and I went grocery shopping on Monday out of necessity and J.R. had me pick out my own flowers as a valentine gift. I, the practical horticulturalist that I am, chose a bouquet of carnations (which J.R. selected), not because I like them better than roses, but for the several advantages that they have over roses: they tend to look better and hold up longer than roses, and they are a more economical buy since one can get twenty to thirty carnations for about the same cost of two or three roses. I am not saying that the carnation/rose substitution should be applied to every woman on Valentine's Day (as I pointed out to one of my brothers), but it works for me since I enjoy flowers in general and do not worry about what species of flower I receive (every flower is beautiful in its own way and it is the thought that really counts). Not to let tradition fall away, however, J.R. surprised me with a single red rose first thing yesterday morning, in honor of our first Valentine's Day as a married couple.

All in all, I would say that the only reason why I can say that our first Valentine's Day was 'disappointing' is because J.R. and I were not feeling well, which put a damper on us really enjoying spending time together. The important thing is that we were together and showed our love for one another in simple ways yesterday. I see St. Valentine's Day as being about reminding all those whom you care about that you care about them, and not so much about lavishing gifts upon a significant other or making extravagant plans with them; however enjoyable the latter may be.

Winter Break, 2007

J.R. and I returned from our over a week-long trip to Florida last
Wednesday. This post has been delayed because I have been either
working or feeling under the weather, due to a terrible cold, since our
return. We had a lovely vacation. Apparently the timing of our vacation
could not have been better for getting out of Michigan's single-digit
days that we 'missed out' on. The weather in Florida treated us fairly
well, we spent the majority of our vacation enjoying 70+ degree
weather, though there were some days when it rained a bit and only
reached the mid-60s and we were spared by the now-famous tornadoes that
ran through Florida during our visit there. While J.R. has been to
Florida more times than he can recall accurately, this was my first
visit there as well as my first glimpse of an ocean. We spent several
days at Disney, visitedSanibel Island, and pattered around other
popular tourist attractions (my two favorite of which were A World of
Orchids, and the Medieval Times dinner theater); my only regret is that
our vacation could not have been longer so that we could have done
several other highly desirable activities while we were in Florida.

An update on my pregnancy: I am now in the second trimester (hurray!) The
nausea and morning sickness have been steadily decreasing and are
absent often; hopefully they will disappear completely soon. J.R. and I
bought the first gift for our baby on our vacation as well: a very
soft, Winnie the Pooh stuffed bear. Time will prove how practical of a
gift Pooh will be, but I played with and kept near to me (and still
have to this day) the teddy bear that my own mother bought for me
before I was born. Since most children keep a special stuffed animal
near to them when they are young, I expect that my own will be no
different most likely.

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.

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.

It begins...

I have wanted to start my own blog for some time, but never found the time amongst college, marriage preparation, and all of the busy activities in my life. Now, however, I have more free time and plan to become a blogger.

For all those who would like a little background information on me: I am twenty-three years old and married to my wonderful husband of six months, J.R. I am the oldest of my parents' six children, the youngest of whom is only four months old. I am a practicing Catholic who loves her faith very much. I have a degree in theology, as well as another degree that I earned in horticulture before I switched majors (and colleges). I work for the U.S. government currently, but I do not plan on making a career of my job. Finally, I have two horses and a dog that require a fair amount of my time, in addition to my other interests which will become known as I continue to blog.