The holidays turned out pretty much like we expected. I got to spend lots of extra time with my family since I went down a few days earlier than Jeff. That was fantastic. I also got to see some out-of-towner friends that I missed terribly (I guess I’m an out-of-towner now too). Brianne and I got to spend a whopping 30 minutes together after not physically seeing each other for almost 2 years. It doesn’t matter though because we are lifers. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were pretty exhausting since we hit all sides of the family within 24 hours. Annie was even a crab when we rolled into St Louis for the Buergler Christmas. We are so thankful for our families but something is going to have to give next year since we will have the little one in tow.
Speaking of which, all the old wives tales did not hold water for us in the gender department – the high heart rate, the Chinese birth calendar, etc… they all said we would have a girl. But as you can see for yourself, Little Man is definitely a little man. We found out on January 5th when I was almost 17 weeks. I was stunned into silence and Jeff turned into Chatty Kathy with the ultrasound tech. I simply could not believe that it was a boy! I had people ask me if I was disappointed which is quite frankly a ludicrous and tacky question. No, I’m not disappointed! I was shocked because we had moved into a new phase of the pregnancy. Instead of a shadowy blob on an ultrasound, I have a tiny little boy swimming around in there and it is simply amazing.
Now that I’m right at 21 weeks, things are moving right along. The 2nd trimester really is a honeymoon period. I have tons of energy and a HUGE appetite. I finally have a definite bump that I don’t mind showing off. He kicks me quite a bit but it’s still the fluttery, muscle-twitchy kicks, nothing with any power yet.
The last thing certainly worth mentioning is Jeff had a BIG birthday on January 23rd. He started out as a party pooper when I made any celebration suggestions. Finally, on his actual birthday, he got into the spirit of things and we ended up celebrating with good friends all weekend long. Since I’m not a terribly romantic person, I told him to pick out his own gift to which he promptly ran to Sports Authority and bought a treadmill and several other things for a home gym. He claims that he has no problem turning 30; however, I can’t help but think that that turning 30 and becoming a father in the same year didn’t have something to do with this purchase :-).
The last thing certainly worth mentioning is Jeff had a BIG birthday on January 23rd. He started out as a party pooper when I made any celebration suggestions. Finally, on his actual birthday, he got into the spirit of things and we ended up celebrating with good friends all weekend long. Since I’m not a terribly romantic person, I told him to pick out his own gift to which he promptly ran to Sports Authority and bought a treadmill and several other things for a home gym. He claims that he has no problem turning 30; however, I can’t help but think that that turning 30 and becoming a father in the same year didn’t have something to do with this purchase :-).
