I've been bad...

...at updating this blog! The holiday craziness has officially set in and even though the rational part of me gets a wee bit overwhelmed, the emotional part loves this time of year and usually gets depressed when it's all over. Nonetheless, I must update and tell you what has been going on.

On the Holiday front: Christmas shopping is complete, wrapping is far from. We had a wonderful downtown shopping trip with Amma and Opa and my parents and Sister J joined us for dinner. Seeing the city fully decorated truly puts me in the holiday spirit and is a tradition I look forward to every year. Another reason I love this time is it gives us a chance to spend time with people we don't get to see too often (and some we see all the time, but still really love!). This week is busy: Monday we have dinner with our dear friends Jamie & Fred, Tuesday is a get together with my sorority friends and spouses and Wednesday is the first of many holiday parties with the family. Thursday and Friday are of course Christmas Eve and Christmas Day where The Hubs and I will do our annual "Holiday Shuffle", where we bounce from house to house, visiting with both sides of the family. This year, Sister C and Dr. R will be in town, and we are especially looking forward to catching up with them!

On the Baby front: The bell is out...bell meaning "belly" and out meaning "doesn't look pregnant, just like I've been guzzling too many MGDs". Clothes have started to get a bit uncomfortable. I can still button my jeans, but they dig into me and my shirts aren't too flattering as they hug me in all the wrong places. I called in an emergency shopping trip with my trusty have-been-there-before friends G and Ang. I bought a couple shirts with some breathing room, not maternity, just slightly bigger than normal.

I'm still feeling great, no sickness, so I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that the worst is over. I do get some killer headaches every so often and my lower back has changed from that of a 27 year old, to that of an 84 year old. The Hubs came home today with a body pillow. God Bless that man.

And finally to answer the question that we get nearly daily: No, we are not planning on finding out the sex. No, we do not think we are crazy. Yes, we will be able to plan just fine without knowing. Before I go on, I'd like to throw out a disclaimer: The reasons I list below are only our reasons. Everyone is different and should make decisions for themselves. Here are our reasons:

I've been amazed my the strong opinions this has conjured up. Most people are shocked that we don't care to know and look at me like I have three noses or something. It simply is something that isn't important to us to know before the baby is born. I have an idea for what I want the nursery to look like, regardless of what the sex is and so finding out for the sole reason of choosing what my baby will wear as a newborn seems silly. I love hearing everyone guess what they think it is. And to me, it's like having unwrapped presents under the Christmas tree. If you know what you are getting, it takes some of the suspense out of the whole experience. But the main reason we have chosen to keep it a surprise is this: we truly feel that life throws many surprises at you, but so few will be guaranteed to have an ending that is so perfect and that we will be excited for either way. The Hubs is excited to walk from the delivery room to the waiting room and be the person to tell our family, "It's a ____!" Everyone should have moments of unscripted joy and wonder in their lives and this will be ours. (wipes tear from cheek) :)

So I'll give your eyes a rest and be sure to update more frequently!