Dear Alex,

31 weeks down, 9 weeks to go til your due date! You are now about the size of a pineapple… I can tell you’re getting really long because you can now push diagonally across my whole torso, from my ribs to my hips. Admittedly it can be pretty uncomfortable,  but I am glad that you’re getting so big & strong. 🙂 This week we kicked off the holiday season with two yummy Thanksgiving feasts: one at Papa & Grandma’s and one at Nana & Grump’s. We spent the rest of the weekend just relaxing and spending time with the family. One of my favorite things during this visit was seeing how excited all your cousins are that you’ll be here soon… they all enjoyed hugging the belly and talking to you. It was so cute! We came back home late Saturday night to avoid the end-of-weekend traffic, and spent Sunday putting up our Christmas decorations. This year we have an extra stocking over our hearth: Nana made it for you! She’s made all of our stockings & always does a great job. You might have also noticed that in my belly picture for this week I am holding an ornament… Dad & I started a tradition after we got married: each holiday season we buy a new ornament to hang on the tree. The one we got this year celebrates your impending arrival: And I suppose next year the new one we buy will be your “baby’s first Christmas” ornament. 😉 How exciting! Other than that, we haven’t had much going on this week. My next bi-weekly appointment is coming up in a few days, and after all the eating I’ve been doing I’m not really looking forward to weighing in– haha. My colleagues are throwing a baby shower for us at my office in a couple days, which should be a lot of fun! I am looking forward to it.

Also on my to-do list for the upcoming week or so is to start packing a bag for the hospital. I’ve actually started making a packing list, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to get it all together.  Hard to believe we’re at that point already, and with the holidays upon us time is going to fly by even faster for the next month or so!

The holidays are a time to celebrate all the blessings in your life & reflect on all the things you have to be thankful for… so I want to take a minute to tell you, Alex, how incredibly blessed and beyond thankful Dad & I are that you are on your way to us. Even now you bring us so much joy, and we already cannot imagine life without your presence (as subtle as it is at the moment 😉 ). I will close with a quote I found when I was looking up ideas for your nursery art– it was too long to put in the picture I made, but words have never rung truer to me & Dad:      

Before you were born, I dreamed of you, I imagined you, I prayed for you.
Now that you’re [almost!] here I hope for you, I love you and I thank god for you.

Until next week, Alex– we love you so very much! Keep growing and thriving in there.

All my love,
Mom