Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from sunny Florida! This year was pretty special for the Bergers because everyone, including all of the original Bergers, their spouses, and their children were together for the first time in 4 years. I know what this is like coming from a big family (who haven't all been together for a long, long time, though we have gotten close), so it was good to be around for the festivities.

The day after Christmas we made plans to document the wonderous event and got everyone to cooperate for a whirlwind photo session. Alex was even on his best behavior to get a few good shots. Here is one of the entire group:



This is one of all the grandkids, including soon-to-be #15.



Finally, here is a picture of Alex with his niece, Hazel, who is very precious. I show you this to give you a preview of what most pictures of Alex and our child will be like.

Celebrating my girth!

On November 14, my wonderful in-laws and friends threw me my first baby shower. Alex will tell you that I was excited about the shower because I love being the center of attention, and I love getting gifts. While there is some truth to his beliefs, I was really more excited about (a) my mom and sister coming to town (b) having them come to town for a girls weekend after a rough few months and (c) getting to actually enjoy the baby stuff and oohing and ahhing over the cuteness of it all with other people who agree. Alex has been totally unimpressed with most things baby-related, which I find entirely baffling. I mean, I came home from Japan with the cutest little Japanese pajamas for the baby, and he barely looked at them! I think he's just jealous that the baby already has more clothes than he does. Anyway, back to the point of this post.

We had the shower at my mother-in-law's house the weekend after we moved into our new house in the Tampa area and after my first week at my new job. I definitely needed to have a weekend to destress after the last couple of months and all of the changes that had occurred within a two-weeks span.

Here is me with my mom and sister.

Here I am with, from left, my good friend, Stephanie, who grew up with Alex (sorry, Stephanie, that you are sort of cut out...my sister was still learning to use my camera...I know one of you got a better one of this shot), niece Lexi, my mother-in-law, Kathy, niece Andrea, sister-in-law, Valerie, and good friend and Stephanie's sister, Heather. My sister-in-law, Rebekah, who did not pose for this picture, made the cute sign behind us and organized the shower.

Here I am in all my girth and glory. Of course we played the game where everyone had to guess how big my belly was, and its huge! But we got some really sweet gifts for the baby, and I was super excited to spend the time with family and friends.