On January 8 at 9:15 a.m., we’ll have an ultrasound to find out if this baby is a boy or a girl. Place your bets now!

Patrick and I spent our Saturday in Carytown, doing our Christmas shopping. We picked up a little something for Dixon at World of Mirth — that is such a fun store to look around in! We also made a stop at For the Love of Chocolate, which is jam-packed with every kind of chocolate you can imagine. A pregnant woman’s dream!

I’m proud to say that after a couple more visits from the UPS man, we will officially be done with our Christmas shopping.

Yesterday we went on the Petersburg home tour, where we got to see how some of the oldest houses in the city have been restored to their former glory. One really cool one was the Folly Castle Inn, built in 1763 by Peter Jones (the grandson of the “Peter” in Petersburg).

One of the best parts of the tour was the High Street Lofts, a new development rising from the ashes of the Seward Trunk Company. It was established in 1878, and was once the nation’s largest manufacturer of steamer trunks.

Here’s what the old, unfinished part of the factory looks like:

And here’s the part they’re re-doing into swanky apartments:

There’s so much history in that city! Petersburg is probably most famous for its Civil War history, which is unfortunate — there’s so much more that went on there. Although it has been through some tough years in the past several decades, it certainly seems to be on its way back.