Two months to go (if that)!!

Well, December has been a whirlwind--for that matter, what happened to November? Goodness. Not only is this year ending so quickly, we are officially less than 2 months from my due date!! I'm not too panicked yet. but who knows, we may get there. For now I'm looking forward to spending January doing a little more relaxing, and preparing for our lives to change completely... no big deal. ;) 

How far along? 30 weeks (actually 31 maybe, but I prefer even #'s)
Total weight gain: between 10 & 15
Maternity clothes? finally got some for Christmas! especially loving the elastic-paneled jeans, ahhhh....
Best moment lately: getting the crib set up and staring at it nightly, Scott having a break from work, house progress, and the bony elbows & knees & feet always make me smile (except when they poke my ribs)
Miss Anything? Someone mentioned ice skating today... that would be fun. but i think i'm definitely in the awkward-balance stage.
Food cravings: Orange juice still sometimes...fruit maybe
Anything making you queasy or sick:  occasionally the thought that we're really gonna have a baby in 2 months! eek! :P
Have you started to show yet: This weekend I've got more comments than ever that I'm "really popped out/getting bigger/looking pregnant all of a sudden!" Hey, I can't help that my third trimester conveniently corresponds to the biggest eating holidays! :P
Gender prediction:  It's a boy, and I'm quite happy about it. Though I'm determined there will be a McDiffett girl ONE day!! (Our sis in law is also having another boy ;) )
Belly Button in or out?  outie! In fact I think it caught a crumb (outside my shirt) the other night... is that TMI?
Wedding rings on or off? On, no trace of swelling yet.
Happy or Moody most of the time: As if a pregnant woman's (any woman's) emotions could be summarized in two words. hah. I'm happy tho.
Weekly Wisdom: We really need to take a birth class of some sort...

Weekly Confession: We really need to take a birth class of some sort...
Looking forward to: Holding him.  

McDiffett Family Christmas Letter

Hello, friends and family!
Marry Christmas! Wow, it's already our third Christmas together, after 2.5 years of marriage. Time has gone quickly! For those who don't see us as often, I thought I'd catch you up on our lives and what we've been up to since our wedding (June 4, 2011). I'll try to keep it brief!
We are so thankful to all of you who were able to share our wedding with us--although of course we wish we could have had more time with each of you, it was just so wonderful to have you present! To those we missed on the "big day," we're also so thankful for your love, generosity, and support.
We had a wonderful honeymoon cruise to Mexico, after which we returned to Jessie's hometown of Tehachapi to live (the Lord provided for us shortly before the wedding with a job that Scott loved, supervising at the local pool). Our first two months were spent house-sitting for some thoughtful family friends, before we moved into the little second-floor apartment we rented with our cat Killarney for more than two years. Our favorite things about our apartment were the view, location, price, and the loved ones that have helped fill it.
Just before thanksgiving, though, we moved into our new house! We've been renovating it with lots of help from parents and friends, and it's looking great (though the outside will need a little work maybe next summer). But we're happy to be moved in and starting to get unpacked and settled. Don't forget to save our new address! And we have a third bedroom now, so plenty of room for visitors. ;)
Just before we bought the house, one of our year's big highlights was our trip to Ireland! We visited Jessie's college friend and her family and got to see as much of the country as we could squeeze in to about a week. Our list of favorites (if we had to choose): Killarney National Park, Ring of Kerry, Cliffs of Moher, pub fish & chips, time with our friends and each other, and just the lovely towns and outrageously green countryside. Our only regret was not having several more weeks to spend there!  We also had a fun second anniversary trip to California Adventure in June.
Now that this busy year is nearly done, we look forward to plans for 2014, the biggest of which is to be the birth of our first child, a baby boy! We expect him to arrive at the end of February or beginning of March, and hopefully not during a big snowstorm (though that would be memorable!). We have a few plans to continue working on the house, Jessie hopes (though a little unlikely) to have enough time to do a little gardening this spring/summer, and we plan to make a trip to Minnesota to see family and show off the little guy.

28 Weeks (~6 months)

Can't believe I'm almost (depending) to the last 10 weeks of this pregnancy. Nuts! One fun thing lately is that, according to some "your pregnancy this week" thing, the decrease in amniotic fluid means I'm suddenly able to start feeling little baby parts more distinctly! They're right, I've really been feeling bony little feet or elbows or hands or maybe a head poking me in the ribs and sticking out funny in my belly. Strange and fun!

28 weeks, dressed for Scott's company Christmas party. (It's not a green screen--it's little boy's room!)

How far along? 28 Weeks--Third trimester already, eek!
Total weight gain/loss: About 10 pounds
Maternity clothes? Finally got some shirts! (Thanks, Mom-in-law :) ) more to come.
Stretch marks? I've decided this question is a bit awkward...Cause it's not just the belly that grows, ya know. ha

Best moment this month: Long-overdue relaxation time at the beach for Thanksgiving with family. I think the little guy really enjoyed all the tasty food, down time, and (at least I think) mom being in such a happy mood all the time.
Miss Anything? Currently living without a kitchen sink or oven, although we do have cabinets now!! yay
Food cravings: Yesterday I had like 3 cups of orange juice and 2 oranges
Anything making you queasy or sick: No, but my stomach holds slightly less than it used to...someone's starting to crowd it.
Have you started to show yet: Yep. Enough for people's comments now ;) I love it when people who haven't seen me in a while go "Oh! You've gotten...er, well, you're showing more now, huh?" :P
Belly Button in or out?  out now :)
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time:  Content.
Weekly Wisdom: (going to double up on the "confession instead") It's strange to register for things involving a person you've never really met, and a job you've never really done before! (so far we're partially registered, Babies R Us and Buy Buy Baby. May add or remove a few things once we finish at Target)

Weekly Confession: Lately I have not been as good about trying to eat mainly nutritious things and minimize the other stuff (dessert definitely more often than normal these days)... pretty much been eating whatever I feel like, although today I felt a little like a bad mom for eating a bowl of captain crunch. haha.
Looking forward to: Meeting the little guy, and in the mean time, NESTING ;)