Also for the “You Capture” Challenge at I Should Be Folding Laundry.

This weekend was my parents’ annual Christmas visit and our annual holiday party.  As always, it was lovely.  On Friday afternoon, we took a drive up to Ventura County and went to a Christmas tree farm to cut down our tree.  My folks had never done that before, so it was a lot of fun.  I LOVE the tree we got, I think it’s the most beautiful one we’ve ever had.  It is so green and smells amazing.

Last evening we had our party, and mom and I (mostly mom) spent yesterday morning preparing two bries en croute – one with carmelized onions and one with raspberry preserves baked in.  YUM.  They were both a big hit.  The party was great, just about everyone we invited was able to stop by.  It made for a busy, full house, but it was very lively and everyone seemed to have a good time.  Plus, we ran out of booze at the end, so I think that signals a successful shindig.

I realized this weekend that Hawk and I had managed up until this point in my pregnancy to not have any pictures taken of the two of us, so last night my friend Christine was kind enough to take this shot.  I love it:

The general consensus among partygoers last night was that I have reached “giving birth to a basketball” status.  I am pretty big.  I’m outgrowing most of my maternity clothes and have worn nothing but Uggs for the last week because my ankles and feet are so swollen.  This week is t-minus about four weeks left of my pregnancy and I can’t believe it’s almost over, that Áine is almost here!  She really could come any time now.

The approaching end of my pregnancy is so bittersweet.  On one hand, the bigger I get, the more uncomfortable I get, so I want her out out out.  Plus, I can’t wait to meet her, look into her little face for the first time, hold her little hands and feet, play with her teeny fingers and toes.  There’s also a part of me, given my history of pregnancy loss, that won’t believe this is all real until I’m holding her in my arms and the doctor tells me she’s healthy.  On the other hand, I know that this is the only time in her life that she will truly be all mine, where’s she’s safe inside my belly and only I get to really feel her moving – the little lazy nudges, the little “tics” when she has the hiccups, the gigantic rolls and thumps when she really gets going.

It’s a very exciting time, and very surreal.  I can’t believe that within about a month or so, I will be a mom and Hawk will be a dad.  Life will never be the same.  Am I ready?  I think so.  I certainly hope so!

This pram has been in my husband’s family since he was born.  His parents used it not only for him, but his two brothers as well.  Also, his aunt used it with her three kids.

It is so unbelieveably gorgeous, I can’t believe the thing is over three decades old.  I actually asked Hawk if his parents had had it recovered, because the canvas covering is flawless.  He said nope, they just took really good care of it (also evidenced by how it was wrapped when we got it – you have never seen so much bubble wrap in all your life).  I love the idea of pushing Áine around the neighborhood in the same pram her daddy and her uncles rode in when they were tiny.

In other news, I am now thirty two weeks pregnant – a whole eight months.  And boy do I feel it.  My belly is reaching biblical proportions and I have nearly perfected the pregnant waddle.  My friend Maija bought me a support belt to help hold the belly up and it helps the muscle strain, but not the awkwardness.  I can’t believe I still have about eight weeks to go; I can’t imagine how big I’m going to be by the time she’s ready to be born.  I’m also getting really impatient to meet my daughter!  I can’t wait to hold her and look at her little face for the first time.

I also have a touch of mild bronchitis (not fun – if you can avoid getting a chest cold while pregnant, I would suggest you do so) and I think I pulled a muscle in my lower belly from coughing so much.  Ow.

The lovely Stacy was also in attendance, and she gave me a beautiful handmade necklace with my daughter’s birthstone (if she is born on time!), and her name – Áine.  It’s pronounced Awn-ya, and we chose the Irish Gaelic spelling, mainly because we liked it, but I also have quite a bit of the Irish in me from my Dad’s side.  It means brilliance or radiance, and in Irish lore, Áine is the goddess of love, growth and cattle.  Can’t forget the cattle!

It was so overwhelming, to see so much love for me, my husband and my daughter in one room.  Both my mom and Hawk’s mom traveled to town in order to be there, and that was the best.  Friends from work, friends from school, friends from the internet, friends I’ve met through other friends, all together in celebration of new life.  So many people love Áine already.  She is one lucky little girl, and I am one very blessed mommy, for many, many different reasons.