I hope everyone has been enjoying the holidays! Can’t believe it’s almost 2014. What a year this has been. Such a transformational 365 days for me filled with personal growth and healing. I’ve been so very blessed this year with so many things–most importantly, an incredibly supportive and loving husband who has proved time and time again that marrying him was the smartest thing I’ve ever done.

We were fortunate to spend Christmas with family in Chicago, and had such a great time with Jamie’s sister and husband and our niece and nephew. It’s always fun spending time with them. They love to laugh and are such a tight-knit family. They’ll be such wonderful aunts, uncles and cousins for Charlie. He or she is going to be a lucky kid with all of these loving, and fun-loving, relatives ready to welcome him home.

We’re also pretty excited because we’ve started accumulating stuff for Charlie. One set of parents got us a carseat and the other set got us a bassinet (thank you all!). Two major things we need to have on hand, because we could be getting “the call” any day. We also got a surprise gift in the mail from my cousin Jennie–the cutest little kimono-style outfit for Charlie.

Jamie and I have started picking up random things for the baby and the nursery, too. Like an adorable stuffed turtle that absolutely kills me it’s so cute. I can totally picture Charlie carrying it around, long green neck stuffed under his chubby little arm.

Charlie is really top of mind these days and seems to enter most of our conversations. Even though we don’t know where he or she is or when she will be due, she is definitely with us in spirit. I’m not pregnant with him/her but I imagine this is how pregnant women begin to think about their babies. Everything we do now–already–is for Charlie.

We moved Jamie out of his “man room” so we could start putting together the nursery but he barely complained because I’m pretty sure he’s every bit as excited as I am. I surprised him with a ukelele for Christmas, and he’s been practicing ‘twinkle, twinkle’ and other nursery rhymes. He wants to add to our instrument collection so Charlie can play with all of them and decide which one(s) he likes best. We’ve got conga drums, guitars, a ukelele, and a cello so far…  a keyboard or piano is next on the list (and lessons for me). Hopefully Charlie likes music!

It’s New Year’s Eve and this will be, if everything goes accordingly, our last New Year’s Eve as an unfettered couple able to go out and do whatever we want without needing a babysitter. We should probably take advantage of it and stay out all night at some wild party… but I have a feeling we’ll just go to dinner and toast the growth and tremendous love we experienced this year and all of the excitement in store for next. Probably fall asleep before midnight. Because we’re old now. And about to be parents.

Here’s to a happy, healthy, and diaper-filled 2014!