Katie - Week 22 (Happy 2009!)

Katie and Scott/Santa

Katie and Julie

Week 22 was an interesting week. My family was still in town and we were having lots of fun! each year Scott and I have a Holiday Sweater Party in which we invite friends and family over to celebrate the Holiday Season wearing the ugliest sweater they can find. The pictures above are me on Santa's (Scott's) lap and my sister and I ... don't we look fashionable!? We were in mid-Holiday hype when disaster struck and left most of us with a miserable stomach virus. It was particularly rough for me being pregnant. Mr. Beckton hung in there through the whole thing but he took all nutrients from me ... leaving me dehydrated and miserable! I didn't really care about myself as much, just that he was OK. Luckily we both survived.

Having just gotten back to normal we rang in the new year with friends and family. Red Lobster dinner with the Kenney's, family time at my Mom's house and then appetizers and drinks with our friends at the Brown's. I barely made it to midnight - looking very festive in a robe and sweatpants.

Regardless, Scott and I are now officially having a baby this year! How exciting is that!!

Katie at 21 weeks! (Merry Christmas!)

Here I am on Christmas Day. I look exhausted because I really am! This picture was taken at home around 11:45PM after a super long day. Christmas consisted of the following ... Scott and I woke up early at 8:30 (early for me) to do Christmas with Scott's family. It was crazy fun as usual - tons of presents while helping to cook breakfast for the entire family. It's so nice that the entire family can be together on Christmas day! After the Kenney Christmas it was off to my Mom's. We had a much quieter morning opening stockings, just a few gifts, and discussing the evening dinner menu. After that Scott and I headed home to cook, clean and get ready for my parents and my sister's family to arrive. This year - I opted to have dinner at my house which meant I had to cook most of the dinner (including 2 turkeys) by myself. It was crazy. I have so much respect for any woman that has ever cooked a feast on Christmas Day. It was one of the most challenging things I've ever done! Not the actual cooking part, that was easy ... more so the timing. I don't know how these women get it down to an exact science! Scott and I spent most of Christmas day cleaning and in between cleaning I would cook dinner. Seeing me at the kitchen sink, pregnant and holding a raw turkey was a sight. If only we had taken a picture. Luckily, I got lots of help from my Mom, my parents and Scott's mom and dinner was great! I was so happy that I could actually have dinner for 12 in my home! Then, we opened tons of presents and visited with the entire family! It was the first time in years that the Shaffer's, Kenney's and McNulty's were all together at Christmastime and it was so nice. Chaotic - but nice.

Christmas was so great for me this year ... I shopped, dined with friends, watched movies, played with my nieces and nephews, relaxed, wrapped presents, cleaned, cooked, visited with the family and I did it all carrying my little guy. Luckily I've been feeling a little better (morning sickness is finally starting to go away) and I'm able to enjoy the thought of being a new Mom!!

Beckton moves around like crazy now and I love it! Scott can feel him moving all the time and it makes things seem so much more real! We got some great gifts for the nursery and Baby B got some adorable new clothes! It was so fun to receive gifts for him this year.