23 weeks

Sweet Tater tot: size of a grapefruit
How far along?  23 weeks 

Total weight gain: 5 pounds
Maternity clothes? some.  mostly wearing dresses and skirts
Stretch marks? not yet. but belly is definitely growing
Sleep: pulled out the preggle this week, to the point that I can't sleep without it because my hips hurt so much.  It does make a difference but lots of hip pain.
Best moment this week: prenatal visit- current heart rate 145,  Derek feeling the baby move again- baby is definitely getting stronger
Miss Anything?:  coffee, iced coffee, lattes, sweet tea, cold pizza, lunch meat, gin and tonics
Movement: definitely more but I think I'm missing some of it.  Starting to figure out his schedule.  Derek has felt him move again now 
Food cravings: macaroni and cheese.  could eat it all day every day
Anything making you queasy or sick: thankfully, no
Gender: boy oh boy!
Symptoms:  dry skin, crazy dreams, growing belly, little kicking feet, fatique, funky skin, itchy itchy eyes, hurts to sit, round ligament pain, hip pain
Belly Button in or out? in, but definitely more out than it used to be.  some say it should be popping out anytime now but I think we've got a ways to go.  We shall see.
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: emotional
Looking forward to: making things for our little boy, starting on the nursery- time to get that armoire upstairs!

Our strong, growing little boy

 (not me)

Our little bugger has definitely been growing! At the end of last week and into early this week my lower abdomen was killing me from all the stretching.  And the past few days he's been moving up a storm!  It's so wonderful!  I swear he's been getting stronger.

I've mostly just put my  hand on my stomach to feel him move on the outside too.  Well, last night I bet myself that I could see his little movements.  He's hanging out on the underside of my growing belly, so with some creative movements I could lay down and look at my belly.  Low and behold once he got going I could see my stomach move with all his little movements!!! I know, I couldn't believe it either.  I thought this wouldn't happen until maybe the last month.  I'm so thrilled!

 I was flabbergasted and speechless and it was just amazing.  There really are no words for moments like these!  Derek was out for dinner and by the time I decided that I should be videotaping it our little guy had calmed down and I only got about three kicks for Derek to see.  But see he did!  And then some more at night when we went to bed!

Today every time he moves I just have to stare at my belly and be in awe.  So many days pregnancy seems a little surreal.  Going about my day to day things it's easy to forget the breadth of beautiful that is going on in my body.  The pure miracle of our little bundle growing in there.  This new development is amazing.  I can feel him and see him.  Before I know it I'll be smelling his sweet scent and holding him.  4 months to go.  For now, I'm loving every bit of this moment.  And I wonder if he can feel me back, so I gently pet my stomach where I see him playing and say hello- just in case.

22 weeks

Sweet Tater tot: size of a spaghetti squash
How far along?  22 weeks 

Total weight gain: 5 pounds
Maternity clothes? some.  mostly wearing dresses.
Stretch marks? not yet. but belly is definitely growing
Sleep: interrupted by dreams constantly
Best moment this week: talking to our child and being able to call him by name
Miss Anything?:  coffee, iced coffee, lattes, sweet tea, cold pizza, lunch meat
Movement: a bit more than last week
Food cravings: macaroni and cheese.  could eat it all day every day
Anything making you queasy or sick: thankfully, no
Gender: boy oh boy!
Symptoms:  dry skin, crazy dreams, growing belly, little kicking feet, fatique, funky skin, itchy itchy eyes, hurts to sit, round ligament pain
Belly Button in or out? in
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: emotional
Looking forward to: making things for our little boy, starting on the nursery

How does the baby come out?

I was really looking forward to going to see my niece and nephew for several different reasons.  Aside from the obvious I was also excited to see their responses to my growing belly and to learning about pregnancy.  They are both old enough to grasp what is going on and have some fun inquisitive questions.  Like the title of this post, which I left to his mother to answer-teehee.

No one but the doctor and Derek had touched my belly yet and I was just so excited to see if the kids would.  Caitlyn was tentative at first and gave it a little touch hello.  Then when we were leaving she patted my belly and said "Bye Baby."  I almost teared up right there.  I think she is looking forward to having a little nephew, although I'm not sure much can trump the puppies.

My nephew had lots of questions about the baby and was very inquisitive.  It was fun to see him processing everything and taking it all in.  They were both super sweet and I couldn't ask for a more precious niece and nephew.

Next time I see them our little boy will be here.  Yay for cousin photos.  Think I can get them all into matching pajamas for Christmas?! hmmm......will have to work on that one.

Family Time

Derek has two sisters.  Both live out of state and we don't get to see them very often.  My sister in law Alyson lives in DC and we get to see her about twice a year.   The traffic to get there always keeps us from travelling and once we go we realize it isn't so bad.  Note to self to remember this. 

Alyson has two children and I have loved getting to know them since Derek and I have been together.  Nothing is better than being called Aunt Leslie.  This was my niece's first year dancing and her big dance recital was this past weekend.  I wasn't going to miss it for the world!!  We headed up Friday night for the weekend.  My niece loves our puppies and was more excited about them than anything else!!  So excited that at 2 am on the night we got there she snuck into our room to say hello and play with the puppies.  Adorable but we still needed some sleep.  I really wanted to be a part of helping her put on makeup and get her hair done- ballerina bun!  However, the hour play session in the middle of the night resulted in me needing some sleep so I didn't get to see her before she left.

Her company performed Thumbelina and it was perfect.  Caitlyn was about the sixth performance.  I'm glad she wasn't the first.  For the first performance all the little ballerina's came out and I lost it!!  I was blubberin' up a storm and thought I was going to have to excuse myself.  The girls were so precious and the costumes were just perfect.  Derek just shook his head and told me to pull it together!  Seriously- pregnancy hormones are insane!

                                        

Finally it was Caitlyn's turn!!  Only two people from her class opted to perform in the recital so it was super easy to find her and see all of her blossoming ballet technique.  She's such a cutie pie and you can definitely see her personality coming out on stage.  She did a good job at remembering what was coming up next and did a wonderful job!

As all the other performers did their piece Derek and I definitely noticed how much everyone's personality shone through and it was fun too see all the little ballerinas up on stage.  At the end they all came up to do a curtsy and each of them got a medal!  We didn't get those things when I was little!  Caitlyn was a cutie but seemed to get bored after awhile, started yawning!   

Finally we got to see our little ballerina after the performance and she rushed over and we gave her flowers from Uncle Derek and myself.   Love her.  

Derek and I got to chaffeure the ballerina home.  We asked her if she was going to do ballet again and she said no because it hurt to have her hair in a bun.  Poor thing.  I do hope she decides to do it again, I think she'll make a great little dancer.  But, whatever she finds her passion in I can't wait to see her grow and get better at it!   

Caitlyn was ready to get home and play with the dogs.  They keep the dogs busy the whole trip: Running in the yard, taking them on walks and giving them special bakery treats.  They also get to have the dogs sleep with them while we're there.  Thankfully Mingo and Haplo are great with the kids but they definitely get worn out.

Since it was Derek's Birthday weekend, my SIL pulled some tricks out of her hat and pr-ordered some special Georgetown Cupcakes for her brother.  We went straight to the front of a long line and picked up our goodies.  Derek and I always laugh and say Alyson would be awesome on RHofDC.  She has style for miles and knows all the ins and outs. 

Beautiful cupcakes.  This is the one Derek chose after dinner.  A chocolate peanut butter delicacy 

 Could it be more adorable?  We all sang happy birthday and his niece brought his cupcake to him to make a wish.  Seriously, this makes my heart swell with love. So happy we have family to share our lives with.

The next day we headed off to brunch with our DC friends Carrie and Kaleb that are expecting too!  I wish I would have gotten a picture of us together.  Carrie is the sweetest girl and she's known Derek for years.

Finally it was time to head home.  The puppies were exhausted.  They never sleep like this- a perk of them being worn out by their cousins.  I couldn't resist taking these precious pictures of Haplo sleeping on Mingo.

Snuggle

Happy Birthday to my sweet Husband.

 Boy loves himself some Sushi.  We tried a new restaurant this time and I think he was pleased.  I tried to shower him with lots of gifts, got him some balloons and confetti.  I think it was a good day.  I'll save the mushy stuff for between me and him. xoxo

20 Weeks- Halfway there!

loving my growing bump

Sweet Tater tot: size of a banana
How far along?  20 weeks 

Total weight gain: 3 pounds
Maternity clothes? totally. so comfortable and my belly was peaking through my normal shirts
Stretch marks? not yet. but belly is definitely growing
Sleep: interrupted by dreams constantly
Best moment this week: talking to our child and being able to call him by name
Miss Anything?:  coffee, iced coffee, lattes, sweet tea, cold pizza, lunch meat
Movement: a bit more than last week
Food cravings: definitely more hungry this week, like ravishing.. cheese.  lots of cheese, lunch meat- would love to snack on some cold honey ham slices right now mmm
Anything making you queasy or sick: thankfully, no
Gender: boy oh boy!
Symptoms:  dry skin, crazy dreams, growing belly, little kicking feet, fatique, funky skin, itchy itchy eyes, hurts to sit, round ligament pain
Belly Button in or out? in
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: errrr, emotional?  always a moment away from tears. makes for interesting conversations.
Looking forward to: making things for our little boy, starting on the nursery


I can't believe this pregnancy is halfway over.  I've dreamed of being pregnant for so long, of growing a little life and then having a precious child.  I am so  looking forward to our little boy joining us in our family and meeting him.  I will miss being pregnant though.  While it's hard and exhausting I know I will only get to experience this feeling a few times in my life if  I'm lucky and I always remind myself to cherish these moments, even if they're not so fun.  20 weeks down 20 weeks left.