November-January : The Holidays, et al.

I guess since it is January, I should probably just get my holiday post over with.  The pictures have just been sitting patiently, waiting.  A lot happened in the past three months I'd like to archive!

November

I got to have lunch with a fellow preggers, Danny!  Our husbands were best friends in childhood and it's really cool to be going through the experience with her.  We both super crave Mexican, so we went to On the Border and unashamedly ate our weight in Tex Mex.  Mmm.

Smizzle got engaged this year!  I got to see her briefly for dinner...and got asked to be a bridesmaid - holla!

For our last childless Thanksgiving, we went on vacation with Drew's family to the Poconos.  It was wonderfully relaxing!  We stayed in a gorgeous cabin on a lake, read to our hearts' content, visited Scranton and had a great time.

December

The Christmas season was a little overwhelming for me this year.  I entered my third trimester...and became somewhat annoyed. :)  Amidst hustle and bustle, we really tried to soak up Christmas this year.  And we even let ourselves dream a little of next year when there's a little one to wake up on Christmas morning! 

Renata's dad, Charlie, came to start work on Jolie's room!  The boys have worked tirelessly over several weekends and it's almost done.

This was scary:

I got to go to my first Sara Groves concert this year!  We drove all the way to Hershey, PA on a weeknight, arrived a little late, and drove home in blinding snow (and at an average of 25 MPH) all the way home.  This picture is blurry, but it was a great concert and worth noting.

Last year, Drew and I did not exchange Christmas gifts.  I think we went on a trip and called it our mutually beneficial Christmas exchange.  This year, we purposefully decided to get gifts.  Drew pimped it out.  

A few weeks before Christmas, he told me that my Christmas present needed to be given over a certain weekend in December.  And even though we ended up ruining the surprise (THAT'S a funny story that includes pregnancy hormones), it was fantastic.  He planned a weekend trip to New York City, including site seeing, the Brooklyn Tabernacle and a visit to the Rockettes!

I also got to see my childhood best friend, Elizabeth, who happened to be in NYC the same weekend!  We had lunch in Union Station.

Funny enough, we actually escaped a good deal of snow by traveling north.  At home, they received about 2 feet of snow.  We got a dusting in New York...just enough to feel like Christmas. :)

I had a fantastic time in New York and loved being surprised.  I did get Drew a gift (that didn't even hold a candle to his) that he opened first thing Christmas morning: several books he wanted, new slippers, new pajama pants and a picture frame for Jolie to sit on his desk.  He liked them.  Then, he gave me ANOTHER gift - a maternity massage.  Let's just take a moment to reflect on Drew's awesomeness.  :)

We spent Christmas traveling between both of our families, which was kind of crazy, but good.  My sister, Rachel and her husband Harry were town from Texas and it was SO SO GOOD to see them.  My parents randomly decided to purchase a Wii and we spent the day eating and laughing.  Instead of exchanging presents this year, my mom just decided to pimp out the food, which did include cookies that her and I made a few weeks prior with my new Williams Sonoma cookie cutters!

January

For New Year's, the AckerJanes decided to party it up at our place!  We invited over our LifeGroup and friends.  As is becoming tradition, hats were made and the photobooth took place.  Drew and I kicked butt in the Wii tennis tournament!  It was wonderful bringing in the New Year with those people. :)

Overall, I enjoyed the holidays, but was glad when they were over.  I couldn't believe that there were no more significant holidays before the baby comes.  And I still can't.  But, bring on baby. :)

The Thank You post

It's been 13 hours, 50+ Facebook comments, 3 text messages, and many phone calls since our news went public.  And we want to say THANK YOU for the kind words and support!  Being privately pregnant is a much different beast than being publicly pregnant and we are so grateful for our friends and family. :)

I'd love to chat with everyone who asked us questions, but since that's not possible, I figured I'd post an all-clarifying list of facts:

1. Yes, it's true.  I am pregnant.

2. I am due smack in the middle of March.  We found out at the end of June and I'll be 12 weeks along on Tuesday.

3. The past 2 months were challenging for me, with a lot of nausea and tiredness (especially not being able to tell anyone!), but the past two weeks have been looking up and I'm feeling better all the time!

4. I'm not showing at all really, so don't think I'm lying if you see me in person.

5. No, Baby Ack's name will not begin with the letter "A" or be another kind of derivation from "Andrew", like "Andre".

6. I think we're ALL hoping it looks more like me than Drew.  Just kidding. :)

It's been fun telling and getting reactions like these:

• Let's hope he/she looks more like you, Drea.  Thanks, Bob! :)
• To Drew: So, you figured it out, huh?  Uncle Alex in CO
• I can't wait until little Jessica Sheena Ackermann is born...Maybe Sheena Jessica Ackermann is more appropriate...Maybe Booze Sheena Jessica Ackermann would be best.  Jessica, Sheena, Jenn via email

Seriously though, thank you for the messages of support!  Please feel free to call us, take us out to dinner, join me in peer pressuring Drew to sleep on the couch so I can have the whole bed once in a while, suggest great baby music, and get excited :)

A new leaf

So, we've decided to start a family.  Or at least give it a try, for that matter. :)  

I've been thinking about having babies on and off for a year or so, trying hard to wait for right time and really letting Drew make his decision without manipulation.  Once 2009 hit, I was ready.  Sure, I'm young.  Sure, we're not rich.  But there will always be a reason to wait.  And we both want to be young and full of energy...and on a personal note, I want my body to be in the best shape to bounce back!  

Drew wasn't quite there yet, and I really wanted to give him his space and not pressure him for a decision.  In April, after some thinking and reading (thanks, Brian McLaren!), Drew made up his mind and decided we should go for it.

So, we decided to stop using the pill and just kind of see what happens.  I'm not calculating my ovulation or body temperature or anything.  I'm trying hard not to think about it all the time!

In our first month, I've already taken 3 pregnancy tests...with negative results.  And that's okay.  I'm trusting that when it happens is the right time; God knows the date already and that's best.