3 Months and Counting

Merry Christmas! We had a fun holiday, spending our first Christmas alone together since we met. (Seven years ago when we started dating, we spent Christmas in Paris watching ice skaters at Hotel de Ville and eating pizza at a Parisian "New York" pizzeria. The traditional Christmas meal it wasn't, but it was romantic!) This year wasn't quite like our Christmas in Paris, but romantic in its own way. On Christmas Eve we made a fancy dinner at home, then went to church for a beautiful candlelight service. Too tired to open gifts, we went to bed. Next morning we made a fancy breakfast, then opened gifts. Drew got a remote control car which Abby did not seem to appreciate. Abby received a huge Greenie treat and a new Flying Squirrel fetch toy, so she was very happy. Cat got PJs and some nice books. Baby got a new Burt's Bees diapering and bathing kit (which is what Drew is opening in the picture) as well as a few other books and goodies.

Our little baby is now in the 27th week and 7th month, and has been moving a lot. Mostly I feel pressure when she/he twists and turns to get comfortable. Just before bed and in the early morning I get kicked a lot, especially in my right side. We love feeling this and wonder if it's a kick or a punch. My belly button hasn't become an "outie" yet, but my bump is growing for sure. I'm not uncomfortable, but tying my shoes or painting my toes has become somewhat challenging. Usually I opt for beach sandals. (We can do that in Austin - today is the day after Christmas and it's 80 degrees!) Overall I am still feeling great and energetic. We are getting very excited to have a little baby in our house, that's for sure. Happy New Year!

Christmas Photos

Texas Tornado

We have some bad news. Tonight a Texas tornado blew through our house. It happened like this. We ran a quick errand this evening and were gone for about 25 minutes. When we came home, we found that our sweet little doggie had torn through the Christmas box and devoured an entire jumbo peppermint stick. Clearly someone was not happy about being left. Drew was very good about scolding her with a straight face. Meanwhile I had to go into the other room so she wouldn't see me laughing. I guess it's a parenting preview. We hope our child is better behaved than our dog. She is so sweet though, we can't stay mad at her for longer than five minutes. Besides, you've never smelled such minty fresh breath on a dog!

What did you eat!?

As you can see, the baby is growing quickly and Catherine looks terrific. She looks just as great as she always does, except for the little kickboxing, cantaloupe in her belly. What an active little girl/boy. It is so much fun to feel her/him move around in there.

Despite the fact that we don’t know the sex of the baby, I’m feeling very confident now that we are having a boy. I would be happy either way, though based on Jeremy’s (partner at my company) stories, I should be praying for a girl. Of course, our parents are dying to know, but they’re just going to have to be patient.

We did have some bad news recently. Before the Big 12 Championship, Catherine tried to put on her Vince Young jersey and to her dismay, it just didn’t fit. We may have to buy her a longhorn half-shirt for the Rose Bowl.

We’re going to miss all of our family over the holidays. The next time that we see them, our family will be three and a half (Abby).

Have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Thanksgiving & Growing Baby

Since our last blog, we received two pieces of happy news just in time for Christmas. First, our dear friends Tricia & Mick (whom we met in Austin during school) are having a baby in June. This was especially happy news since they have long been praying for a baby. Also our old friends Sarah and Bruce of Denver are having a baby in July. New babies everywhere! It will be neat that our kids will all be around the same age.

Mom and Rob were here visiting for Thanksgiving. They drove down from Montrose. It was great to have them here, and the weather couldn’t have been better. We ate lots of holiday food, and washed it down with Texas barbecue at the Salt Lick. We also visited the little town of Gruene and hung out at home. It was relaxing and fun. Mom of course couldn’t keep her hands off my belly. She is one excited nana-to-be, let me tell you. Baby performed for her and Rob, punching and kicking enough to feel and see.

Our baby is getting stronger everyday. In fact, at our Dr. Polon appointment today I had gained 4 more pounds for a grand total of 11 pounds. I believed it because my belly is definitely feeling heavier. Since I will probably gain at least 25 pounds total, it will be interesting to see how much my belly grows in these last three months! Dr. P suggested that if I have some champagne on New Year's I should be sure to wash it down with a nice vodka, which shows you his humor. Overall he is happy with how I'm doing and said I am a textbook case for a healthy pregnancy so that made Drew and I feel good.

Drew and I are enjoying this special time. It’s Christmas all over Austin, and we have taken time for little pleasures like Christmas lights, gingerbread villages, and curried mussels on chilly nights at a favorite romantic Indian restaurant. God has blessed us in so many ways -- with each other, a baby, Abby, a loving family and caring friends. Sometimes we wonder how it happenend that we have been given so much fortune.

I am going to Denver tomorrow through the weekend. I am sad to leave Drew for that long, but I want to go to my company Christmas party. It will be good for me to see my colleagues since I won't be traveling back for a while. Also I will get to see my brother and Dad which will be a nice treat. They have not seen my belly yet so it will be fun for them to feel the baby kick.

Drew was just saying that he needs to blog a dad update, so we will post some Christmas pictures soon. And of course an updated picture of the growing belly!