Looking Forward

The turn of the calendar means a new set of things to look forward to! I'm sure you can guess what I am MOST looking forward to in 2018, though!  ;)

This weekend I'm looking forward to my baby shower! My mom, sisters, and sisters-in-law are hosting it. I'm only having one baby shower as I decided to invite both friends and family to one shower instead of having them separate like I did when we got married. I don't have much local family and do not expect people to travel for a baby shower so I figured it was best to combine them. I feel like we don't have much baby stuff so I will feel much more prepared for the baby's arrival after this shower! I'm also looking forward to the long weekend as we get Monday off since it's MLK Day.

This month I'm looking forward to a spa afternoon with my college girlfriends. We all have winter birthdays so last year I suggested that we get together for some spa treatments instead of buying gifts for each other. There is a spa close to where I live that has a really wonderful deal. You get a 55 minute massage or facial, a manicure, a blow out, and a set of travel products for  $132. I think that's a steal! We'll have brunch or dinner before or after. I think this is the best way to celebrate our birthdays as we all want and deserve some pampering!

In February I'm looking forward to my birthday. Since I'll be very pregnant (35 weeks) I've decided that I am going to have a very low key celebration - I'm inviting some girlfriends over for a drop-in puzzle party the weekend before my birthday. I bought a 1,000 piece puzzle that I'll be working on through the day on the Saturday of my birthday weekend (and probably for the whole weekend unless I get a lot of help!). My hope is that people will stop by, have some snacks, and help with the puzzle. It's the weekend of the Superbowl, though, which is in Minneapolis. So who knows how many will be available as there is a lot going on that weekend. But even if only a few people stop by it will still be a fun day. We'll either go out to eat or order in on my actual birthday depending on how I feel. But I will be honest and say I'm not all that excited about my birthday dinner this year since the gestational diabetes diet is so restrictive. There will be no birthday dessert for me, but I'll make up for that after the baby is born in March.  I've already told Phil that I want him to bring me some treats in the hospital from a GF bakery that recently opened! :)

In March I'm looking forward to the birth of our baby! This is of course the thing we are most anticipating and excited about. I can't wait to find out what the gender is and see what he or she looks like! For most of the pregnancy I was so sure the baby was a boy but I don't have a strong sense anymore as I feel like I'm carrying differently than other friends who have had boys - not that there is any scientific evidence that the gender impacts how you carry! I'm also curious to see how my labor will unfold as every birth story is so different!

This spring I'm looking forward to settling into life with a newborn. I know our world will be turned upside down but I can't wait for all the baby cuddles and to fawn over this new life that we created. I'm also looking forward to working out again. Because of my RA, my 'workouts' have been limited to walking. I can't wait to get back to some sweat-inducing workouts, and to running eventually.

This summer I'm looking forward to *hopefully* buying a house. We started to look this fall but knew we had missed the prime buying season. I'm really hoping that we can find a house and move before the end of my maternity leave at the end of July. Fingers crossed we find the right house. We are being very, very picky, though, because our current house has plenty of room for us for now. I know that holding out for the right house will be worth the wait, though, as we plan to be in our next home for a very long time!

What are you looking forward to these days?