19 weeks

yup.  Weighed myself yesterday, total weight gain so far is 9 pounds.  Feeling good about that, although since we had cheesecake for dessert last night after our belated christmas dinner I feel as though I gained another five last night as i slept ;)

Christmas was nice, although Matt had to go in to cook a banquet for the Boston Celtics.  Punks.  But we had a big opening stockings/presents celebration in the morning with Irish Breakfast.  Charity and jamie and Solara came for breakfast, which was really fun.  Everybody took off at 1pm, Matt to the hotel and Charity & jamie home so Charity could work on a paper for med school.  Ava and I went to the 3pm carol service at Grace Cathedral, which was AWESOME.  It was such a small service, maybe 50 or 70 people, that they had us sit up in the choir behind the high altar and led the service up there.  Ava and I sat in a little carved wooden banquette seat where one of the bishop types usually sits.  It was so cool to be up there.  And the service was lovely... it was carol hymn singing and in between the minister read poetry, both sacred and secular that worked with the message of christmas... including two by ee cummings.  We could just call out which hymn we wanted to sing.  It was great, and I am so glad we went and I didn't just stay lazy on the couch...

Then we had a christmas dinner party last night, since Matt was off.  Charity and Jamie came.  We had shrimp and white bean bruschetta for an appetizer, salad of bitter greens with pommello and avocado in a meyer lemon vinagrette.  Entree was red snapper, cauliflower puree, and blood orange/fennel salad.  Dessert was cheesecake from Miette because I was not feeling up to baking, but I did make a meyer lemon and raspberry sauce for it.  I had big plans to make gingerbread and serve it with whipped cream and blood orange sorbet, but then I remembered the fancy cake store and pregnancy laziness took over.

I think that it's actually nice to split it up, and not have christmas dinner on christmas day.  A big, celebratory breakfast is grand fun, and comfy.  Everyone in their jammies or comfy clothes, with mugs of coffee.  Then just a long mellow day and a light early supper and maybe a movie.  Then a fancy dinner another night... we've decided that we'll do it this way from now on we liked it so well.

Matt's sister Ellen is coming out on new years day.  They decided not to mail any of their presents so christmas was actually surprisingly low key... with just presents from my family and from Sean who mailed his.  But I am sure we can expect an onslaught when Ellen arrives bearing all of their gifts...

woohoo!