Home Sweet Home!

We are home after our long Christmas vacation and it feels good.  We spent the second half of our Christmas break with the Gutshall side in Chicago.  It was a good time!  We ate a lot, toured the city, and visited the Shedd Aquarium.  I must say that I was a little disappointed because I was looking forward to the snowy New Years in Chicago.  However, the temps reached 50 darn degrees while we were there!  When we first arrived, there were feet of snow piled on the sides of the streets, making for a very quaint looking city with the Christmas lights and wreaths.  Yet, within our first 24 hours of us being there, the snow disappeared-- disappeared I tell you!  It was kind of nice since you do a bit of walking in the city, not having to cover every square inch of our bodies with warming gear as I was expecting.  And it was a great time with my in-laws and a blessing to be with them to bring in the New Year.

Now, last time I went to the doc I had gained 16 pounds so far, which is about average for this point in the pregnancy.  But that was before Christmas.  So, at my parent’s house I told you about all the sweets within my grasp.  And I have to be honest; I did not really attempt to practice self-restraint.  “It’s for the baby,” I told everyone.  Then we proceeded on to the Gutshall family side.  Normally they are very healthy eaters.  Yet, since we were traveling, we ate out a lot.  Fast food on the drive, Chicago-style pizza, Italian restaurants, and Potbelly’s.  Emerson was eatin’ good.  I didn’t care really though, because when I’m pregnant, I do get hungry faster.  So, when I had a doc appointment the day after we returned, I prepared myself for the worst.  I stepped on the scale and what to my wondering eyes did appear, but only a 3 pound gain!  I was pretty shocked about this.  But I’ll accept it.  So, I have gained 19 pounds so far and the website said 17-24 pounds is normal at this point.  I was pretty pleased with this since my honey gained more than I did.  But don’t tell him that I told.  Emerson’s heart rate was 150 and I measured at 29 cm, and I start the 29^th week tomorrow.  Can you believe I’m in the 3^rd trimester already?!  This pregnancy is going by so fast!  Emerson is almost 17 inches long and weighs 3 pounds.  His kicks have been getting stronger and often startle me.  He is getting more active it seems.

I feel like I have so much to look forward to right now!  This coming Saturday I am getting a 4D ultrasound and hopefully there will be pics to come!  I’m excited to see my little boy, to learn how big he is and to see if he is head down.  Then, also on Saturday, I get my first baby shower!  I will get to see my besties, even Sarah who is coming from way far away.  The next week, Caleb and I are giving ourselves a little get-away!  We are staying in a bed and breakfast (we love those!) in Eureka Springs.  It will be our last little hoorah (bow-chica-wow-wow) before we enter parenthood.  Then we have a couple more showers.  Then we get to start looking for a new home to live in with our little family.  Then we get to move.  Then we get to meet Emerson!!!  Clearly we have a lot coming our way and I am just the type of person that loves having things to look forward to.  When I have nothing to look forward to then life seems a little boring.  So, I will certainly be doing a lot of posting.  Sorry this post is so long, but I had so much to catch you up on!  Check back soon for my revealing of what we did for our families for Christmas!