ay jay kay squared. where *stuff* happens.

Wow! where did the year go?! And where did all the updates go?

Apparently we didn't have much to say during November. Except CHOMP!
I still laugh at that one. I love it.

Well, I am officially done all my exams/evaluations for this term, which is very pleasing. I'm looking forward to getting my marks eventually. I have no idea when I should be expecting them to arrive. With my luck, and with the university not operating out of what I would term 'normal' university operations, I probably have to go in and request my marks, or something odd like that. However, as of right now, all that's left for me to do is to file away stuff from this term, and then it'll be out of sight as well!

So today I made cookies. Of the shortbread type. Yum. Well, one was an experimental shortbread type, and I'm not sure what to make of it (with jam on top...waiting on Andy's evaluation of it...). I have a cookie exchange at work on Friday, and I need seven dozen to exchange. Ouch! I'm thinking macaroons...

What else...well, I'm nearly in my third trimester (this Thursday!). I've been starting to see the midwife every second week instead of every month, and the baby is growing. My uterus is measuring 29.5 cm, which is a little big, but they tell me that my body will grow what is normal for me. And I say that's fine, as long as I don't have a 10lb baby. At this last meeting, the midwife checked out the boy and noted that he is head downwards, with his little feet tickling my right rib cage. She said it's likely that he'll stay in that position (head down) until the birth; babies can settle at this point in preparation for the birth. Gah! I think this boy's thinking a little too far ahead for me. There's still 3 months left! What happened to that procrastination gene?

I'll be going for my next ultrasound in early January (note to self- make appointment soon), and I think this is primarily to see where my placenta has decided to land itself. When I had my last ultrasound, the placenta was covering part of my cervix, which, if it stays like that, means that I would have to have a C-Section for birth. The midwife asked if I had been bleeding at all, as bleeding usually means that the placenta is still covering the cervix. Thankfully I have not, which she is taking as a good sign that the placenta has probably moved its way off of my cervix.

Other than that, this little boy has been kicking and punching and twisting regularly. Always letting me know that he's still active. It's startling sometimes when he gets a good kick in - I still have a hard time believing he's big and/or strong enough to kick so forcefully. And sometimes he propels the rest of his body the other way when he kicks (as I feel a bump going the other way than the kick), which I just find funny. Things seem to be going well. There are definitely days when it just feels like he's going through a growth spurt - it seems no matter how much I eat or how often, I am still severely hungry. It's a little frustrating not being able to satisfy the hunger when it hits.

Other than that, Andy and I had a trip to Toronto at the beginning of December. We went for two reasons - to have a last trip away before the baby's born, and to go see the Dead Sea Scrolls at the Royal Ontario Museum. We had a good time, even if it did feel very busy. We enjoyed the museum; we weren't allowed to take pictures inside the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit, but we did take one picture of an Ancient Civilization exhibit they have that amused us, and one of me in front of a huge vase. See below for pictures :).

We are here in Ottawa for Christmas, as many of you probably know. We are very much looking forward to relaxing and not doing much of anything. We will be heading to the Iverson's for Christmas Eve dinner with Cathy's family, which we're looking forward to. Christmas Day is going to be full of a tasty breakfast, a stocking and a present, mass, and then a lot of absolutely nothing for the rest of the day. And we might have a turkey. Soooo looking forward to a nice relaxing day!

Am I missing anything from my update? Let me know. Hope everyone's doing well, and let us know if you have any interesting plans for Christmas!!!

Us outside of the Eaton's Square

The only picture from the ROM we took...

Well, this is the second picture from ROM. But that was it.

In front of the tree in the Eaton's Centre

The tree in it's splendour

After our wonderful meal at the Baton Rouge

The CN tower in the background - our parting picture