And just like that...

...it's over!

Christmas was wonderful. Over the weekend we traveled, saw family, exchanged gifts (I got everything I wanted and a bunch of stuff I wanted, but didn't remember that I wanted...I love my wife!). The actual day of Christmas was exactly as we want it to be - calm, peaceful and fun. Yesterday (the 26th), we took down the tree and put Christmas away.

I must say, no matter how much I LOVE this holiday (and by now, I'm sure you have no doubt how much), I truly love putting it away when it's over. My house feels clean and simple again. The drama of the holiday is over and we are back to normal.

Now it's time to focus on the baby's nursery. With some of our Christmas money, we went out and purchased the border for the nursery. Next weekend, we'll spend a significant amount of time in Lowe's - selecting our chairboard, our paint colors and purchasing all the little "home improvement" things that we'll need to turn the baby's room into a bright, colorful wonderland of sleep and fun! We are considering the possibility of the floor - do we replace the carpet or just have it professionally steam cleaned? We can't decided. Price will be the biggest factor.

It's gonna be a big job, but we want to get started on it so that it's finished before I am too big to really enjoy working in there.

Our Little Honey spent a good part of the weekend making him/herself known to me. I was kicked a good many times, and woken up Christmas morning by some powerful kicks right to my full bladder. As miserable as it is sometimes, I absolutely LOVE being able to feel the baby move. I just can't wait for Kelly to feel him or her as well.

The general thought from family/friends/coworkers is that I'm having a boy. We didn't find out, so we don't know. Both Kelly and I have wavered from our original stance that we thought I was carrying a boy (we've both had dreams recently about a girl baby being born). Only one friend of ours has said that she thinks we are having a girl. LOL - the baby's Nana (Kelly's mom) is so convinced that it's a boy that she addresses my belly as "Connor", our chosen name if a boy is born.

It's fun to listen as people use their old wives tales and previous pregnancy knowledge to predict gender. I find it interesting and sweet. I have very little preference. The next child, I will want to find out, because I'm set on having a girl child at some point. But for this one (because we know another is in the future), it doesn't matter. Kelly honestly doesn't have a preference. I've never known someone who really doesn't care - but she really doesn't. Amazing...

So...we are 16 weeks away from being considered full term (at 38 weeks). I am SOOO excited about how much closer we feel. We have another ultrasound on the 9th of January. I can't wait to see our baby again...