Mark and I went with my family the weekend of Thanksgiving to chop down our Christmas Tree. It was bitterly cold, so this year there was no arguing over which tree was "perfect." He simply asked, "What about this one?" and my reply was, "Looks good, cut it down and let's go home!" Then, sadly, the rest of my family took 2 hours to find their trees... at least I got to sit by a campfire drinking hot chocolate and eating freshly made apple cider doughnuts. YUM! It then took us a few weeks to actually get the tree up and decorated in our living room, but it sure was pretty. I'm not even sure we took a picture this year of it - how sad! (Oh well, it's all undecorated now!)
We enjoyed a wonderful Christmas holiday with the family. I was feeling pretty good (for the most part) over the holidays, and I felt like I ate like a pig! Mark says in reality I ate so little he has no idea how I could've even possibly felt full. It was all smooth sailing until the 26th of December when my Dad's side of the family all came down with the nasty stomach flu that's been going around. I was hit, too, and I think Mark's strong immune system was even slightly impacted! Unfortunately, I had the sonogram the next morning, and I didn't get quite enough fluids to stay down to get all the pictures the ultrasound tech wanted... so I get to go back and see the baby again! :)
Speaking of the sonogram... it was the most amazing thing I've ever seen. I've been feeling the baby kick for a good solid 4 weeks now, pretty consistently. It started mostly at night time, when I was quietly laying on the couch around week 16. Over the next two weeks, it started to become more frequent and most definitely noticeable throughout the day. (While I was typing the last sentence, I was kicked twice! :-D) The coolest part was just getting to see that the baby was healthy, growing, and measuring right on course for our May 21st-22nd due date weekend. At least one of us has been able to gain some weight! (Side note: I gained 2 lbs at my last OB appt, and my uterus is measuring 19cm - a little small, but the OB was happy with it). He/she even stuck her tongue out at us when we were getting the profile images. I try to think of that image whenever I'm throwing up everything I've eaten - that's what makes it all worth it, anyway!
We also celebrated Mark's birthday - the official halfway point of pregnancy for me - on January 2nd. Happy Birthday, Mark, I got you a halfway done child! What, is that not enough? ;) My mom's birthday is the 3rd, so I celebrated with her on Monday by going over for dinner. She is the first one (other than me, of course) to feel baby kicking! It was very exciting to know that it can officially be felt on the outside. Mark hasn't been able to feel it yet, but I also think my mom knows more of what she's "feeling" for since she's been there, done that. Hopefully Baby H will let Daddy in on the excitement soon!
In the past two weeks, I've started to really pop out. My skin has begun stretching, and it hurts! Cocoa butter has been a God-send. No stretch marks, yet, although if I keep popping out suddenly like this, I can see them in my near future.
(Pictures to be posted ... when I feel like it. The camera's downstairs, and I'm too lazy to go get it!)
