26wks, 4days

It's finally December! I'm glad for so many reasons. First and foremost, because my parents are coming home in just a few days. It has not been easy being so pregnant and being away from my mommy, and I'm really looking forward to being able to spend the weekend at my parents apartment in my old bedroom, to escape from being a grown, responsible adult with a mortgage and two kids on the way and spend a Shabbat being a kid myself, being taken care of by my parents.

I'm also happy because December means Chanukka, which means my first break from work since Succot. It's a long stretch of non-stop, full-time work and while thank God I'm able to keep up, each week it gets harder to muster up the energy so I am very grateful I am nearing a bit of a break (I work reduced hours during the holiday and take a day or two off entirely).

December also means my birthday, whcih is fun, though turning 29 feels a bit scary. It's my last birthday in my twenties...I am starting my thirtieth year of life. Wow.

But most importantly, it means the end of 2008, an amazing year in which I got pregnant, bought my first home, my sister got married...and the end of 2008 means the begining of 2009, the year my children will be born. The year I become a mommy myself. The year I make four amazing parents grandparents, and five siblings become aunts and uncles, four of them for the first time ever.

One of the greatest rewards of being pregnant is being able to share the joy, being able to reward our family and loved ones with new titles and new teeny tiny relatives to love and adore (and to shower with money and gifts *hint* *hint*).