Update on the Prego

Well here are a few pictures from 23 (almost 24) weeks for those of you who having been asking (Mom!). They hardly do the growing belly justice, but that's okay.

Basically, I'm feeling pretty good overall! If you by chance want more info about how I'm liking pregnancy, you can read my little "best and worst list" below (subject to modification, of course, during the next 16 weeks).

Best things about being pregnant:

1. Feeling the little guy move. How could this not be someone's favorite thing about pregnancy?? I first felt him at a little less than 17 weeks (although it was really soft and would only happen right before bed). Of course his movements have become much more obvious since then and a few weeks ago his kicks were already so strong I started to worry about pushing out a too-big baby. Now, when he has mellow days where I don't feel much I worry like crazy that something is wrong. (See "worrying" under the 'worst' list.) Joe has been able to feel him multiple times, starting at 22 weeks, and we love feeling his body parts pressing up against my skin (although we can't really figure out what they are yet). Basically, I am never going to complain about too much kicking; I love every single reminder that he is in there and doing well.

2. Fast Sundays. Need I say more?

3. Joining "the club." While I was in law school, it was more challening to find things I had in common with other people (making friendships and conversations a little bit harder). Now I am part of the club and can talk forever about pregnancy & babies, which any mom or mom-to-be is eager to do. Finally!

4. How much I love my baby. I was have trouble thinking of anything else postive to say, but then I realized that this is one - seeing all the ways am I already changing my daily way of life, just because I am constantly thinking about my baby. For instance, I am listening to a lot less of my normal music (although not bad, it is usually fast-paced and annoying, I'll admit) and more classical music. I have started reading baby books aloud. I am constantly trying to make sure I am eating the right amount of the right thing (although this is a tough one and I am definitely not perfect at it ... should probably go on the 'worst' list, actually). Also, I feel horrible if I yell or say a bad word because my baby can hear me! Although most of the time I just go on with my daily life and don't really comprehend what is happening to me, there are times when it sinks in just how much I love this little guy and how excited I am to hold him once he gets here.

Now on to .... My least favorite things about being pregnant:

1. Worrying. Like I said, this happens a lot. Joe, being the rationally-minded guy he is, doesn't get it. My mom says the worrying won't be this bad once we get him here. I have my doubts about that, but I hope she is right!

2. Sleeping. I have had trouble with this one for as long as I can remember, and unfortunately being limited to side sleeping and having to get up for several bathroom trips a night isn't helping much! Man I can't wait to sleep on my stomach again (I know, it's a little early to be getting too excited about this).

3. Exercising. I had to learn early on (when I was bleeding) to alter my routine (basically, stop running) but I have been trying to keep doing as many other things as possible without over-doing it. However, I can already feel my body slowly wanting to do less and less. It just takes some getting used to ... and it someday it will be nice to exercise as hard as I want to without having to worry about anyone but myself. :)

4. Unmentionables. There are a few other small complaints I have that aren't exactly blog-appropriate (as well as a couple things on the plus side). Overall, though, I know I am pretty lucky to have had an "easy" pregnancy. Regardless, I am amazed at all the junk we women have to go through to birth our children. Fortunately we are all obsessed with the little person we are doing it for and that makes it all much, much rosier!

And now, three more pieces of news:

1. Stretchy pants. I finally found some maternity jeans and have started wearing them! (Boy was that a challenge.) Joe calls them my 'stretchy pants.' About a month ago when I was wanting to start looking for some, Joe absolutely did NOT believe that pregnant girls actually wore pants with stretchy-fabric waists. He thought the idea was totally laughable and insisted that I should just get a "bigger size" of my normal jeans and all would be well. I had to have several of my close friends assure Joe that yes, normal people wear such articles of clothing, and would be up a creek if they didn't. Boy was that funny!

2. People are noticing. I have had two strangers comment on my pregnant belly so far. First, a lady at the AT&T store who had just had a baby 3 months ago, and second, a Food Lion cashier. It is fun to finally be looking pregnant instead of fat!!

3. I have to go to work on Monday. I've had a couple months off since the bar exam, and now things are finally worked out so that next week I'll be starting to work full time. I'm pretty sure this will help solve my exercise complaint (no more time or energy) and will make the food thing a bit more tricky (Joe you better be ready to help cook because I am not going back to cold cereal!) I'll post more on this later .....

Oh, Baltimore .....

The few of you who used to ride the 'A train of the metro' (sadly the 'A train' driver retired several years ago) will recall the little farewell spiel he used to give at the most popular stops. It was pretty lengthy but part of it went something like this - telling you not to forget your "cellphone, keys, umbrella, chicken bones, chicken boxes, the husband, the wife, and the kids..." (Imagine it with a nice, thick southern accent. He went on and on and was actually pretty entertaining.)

Anyway, the whole chicken bones and chicken boxes part might not make a lot of sense unless you've ever stepped foot into the "World Famous Lexington Market," which is this huge food market next to the metro stop we got off at to go to school (and now, to work). Sounds exciting, right? Wrong! I think we both tried it a couple of times when we were fresh and naive. But after walking right by that place and breathing in the smell of rancid oil, secondhand smoke, and other foul odors for 3 years (over 4 now for Joe) Lexington Market is an establishment we avoid at all costs. (Probably a good thing since it is also the place to get handguns at a potato chip stand, 'loose ones' (single cigarettes), as well as perhaps some percoset or other goodies and services ACORN would call the "performing arts.")

The other day I went downtown for a meeting and saw a guy drop this fresh chicken bone right in front of me. We always joke about how you can't walk more than a few steps through the Lexington Market parking lot without coming across a discarded chicken bone (gross, I know) and so I was inspired to whip out my camara and go detective. The evidence is as follows:

You can understand, right, why although KFC may have been an acceptable tailgating snack every once in a while before we moved to Baltimore, we now won't touch the stuff. Somehow, it just represents the epitome of B-more ghetto-ness. I mean every place sells the stuff, even Wendy's!! Plus the smell - it's everywhere! You see people eating it on street corners, then throwing their bones into the gutter. Even one of Joe's patients asked immediately after receiving his denture: "Can I eat fried chicken with it??"

To sum it up: the day we start to crave fried chicken is the day it is time for our Baltimore chapter to come to a close.

(P.S. Don't be too scared of Baltimore. Some parts are really nice!!!!)

Our favorite little peanut butter cup

Exactly one week ago we had some major excitement around here! Little Reese Miller came into the world and Nate & Lori became parents! She was about 2 weeks early, so it was a bit unexpected and very exciting. Here's a very brief look at how it went down, from the Aunt & Uncle point of view. ;)

Thursday was Lori's birthday. I had made an oreo cheesecake for the occasion and after a busy day downtown, Joe and I were awaiting the call to come on up for cake & presents. When it came, Nate mentioned that Lori had been having contractions all day, but wasn't ready for the hospital yet - so we hurried up to get the party started.

When we got there everyone was helping Lori time her contractions and wondering what the heck 8 minutes apart could mean!! We enjoyed the cake and then I went with Nate & Lori on a walk around the neighborhood to see if she could get things moving. By then it was pretty obvious that Lori & her baby wouldn't be sharing a birthday (thank goodness) but why not have her come on out the next day?? The walk seemed to work. When we got back I went through the book on labor and delivery and reminded Lori of everything that was and would be happening to her, while she laid on the couch in pain. After we left, things really got going so to our surprise we soon had a text message letting us know they were on their way to the hospital!! I couldn't believe that I was just going to go to bed like normal while Lori was going to go have her baby. So crazy!!
Little Reese was born at 6:15 the next morning and things went perfectly (minus all the stuff that pretty much every woman has to go through, like it or not). We couldn't have been happier! That night Joe & I went to the hospital to meet our new niece. She was just as precious as can be! Joe LOVES holding her and of course so do I.

And just for fun, we brought along her first gift of Reeses Pieces and Reeses Peanut Butter Cups (well, they were mostly for the parents, maybe Reese can get a little taste through the milk). I'm sure there will be many, many more of those over the years - so good thing they're delicious!!

And she even kept her eyes open for this last picture - impressive! Way to go Lori and Reese (& Nate). We are so thrilled for you!! Your little cousin will be here in just about 4 months and you can show him the ropes!

My Belly

It's official: at over halfway there, I am now starting to look (& feel) big and preggo. I guess that's what I get for complaining that no one can tell I'm pregnant (that doesn't already know).

So here's me at 20 weeks: I actually wasn't feeling so huge yet. But something happened at 21 weeks (although it might not be that obvious from the pictures). Joe and I looked at my bare belly one night in shock and were like "How the heck did that get there??" He even told me that I looked like a certain very small person we know when they were about to deliver. Nice! I am not offended though - I was thinking the same thing.

I am kind of excited to start hearing all the crazy comments that strangers and others make to pregnant women, even though I'm sure it will get annoying pretty fast. Who knows, maybe I can milk this for some kind of special treatment, somewhere? So far the only advantage has been an extra sample of shrimp at Sam's Club when Joe pointed out, "What about one for the baby?" The lady was pretty excited and probably would have given me as many shrimp as I wanted.

So - what "stranger" will be bold enough to comment first?? Cuz that is not a beer belly, people!!

Family Togetherness

It feels weird to call getting together with my family a "family reunion," but that's what it was! The day after I finished taking the bar, Joe and I flew to Utah to enjoy 3 1/2 days of being with my parents and all the siblings, in-laws, and nieces at my parents' cabin - for the first time in over a year and a half. It took a lot of planning to get us all together and although it went by way too fast, it was definitely wonderful. We packed a lot of fun into just a few days, and here are a few of the highlights:

Deer Creek Reservoir: my family never owned a boat until just a couple of months ago, and we took advantage of it with a full day at the lake - wakeboarding and tubing. It was beautiful and the water was surprisingly very pleasant. Joe spent a lot of time driving the boat for the wakeboarders and I spent a lot of time in the front of the boat watching everyone. At 16 weeks pregnant and without that much wakeboarding experience I decided not to get too crazy.

And things DID get crazy, especially on the tube. Joe and my Dad both gave the tubers quite the ride - one I don't think I would have been up for even if I weren't pregnant. (Also: please note Joe's "lake shirt" which he was so proud and excited to pull out again. Apparently he has had it for 10 years and doesn't go to the lake without it. Believe me, it's even better in person.)

Joe hanging on for dear life. He even managed to keep hanging on while the tube did a full 360.

I did get on the tube for a bit, but only on the condition that it be a somewhat gentle ride. After so many weeks of worrying about the baby I guess it is better to be safe than sorry.

4-wheeling: The next morning we got up early for a 4-wheeler ride through the mountains to Daniel's Summit for brunch. I've done this beautiful ride many times but it had been quite a while. After being away from the mountains for so long I just loved it! Plus getting to take turns riding with the nieces was quite a treat.

Me & my sis.

We stopped on the way back to get a family picture - dog and all.

Relaxing: although we did lots of activities we also had some time to sit around after a good meal and just chill. It was hard to believe it had only been a couple days since I was stuffing my brain with crazy amounts of material for the bar exam. My how fast it emptied itself out...

We also did some family "service" by tying blankets for my sister to bring on her Operation Smile mission in Kenya to give out to children getting surgery. It was definitely a team effort and by the end I was ready not to tie any more knots for a while and to get back to relaxing - which included ping pong, air hockey, shooting hoops, putting on the little putting green, playing on the playset, and using the zipline. Actually, I needed to relax after doing all of that ... (I'm pregnant, remember?)

Campfire: One night we had some extended family (grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins) come up and share in the family time and as it got dark we made a fire and roasted marshmallows for s'mores. So fun!!

Nieces: of course one of the highlights was getting reacquainted with my favorite little girls. This is sweet Bella - such a curious little explorer.

Me & Bella - we're dancing. :)

And Kai (Kai-ster to me). What a hilarious little thing! Oh boy is she fun.

And my oldest niece Tyler - isn't she beautiful?

Tyler and I enjoying some serious coloring.

My sister-in-law Liz & I making cinnamon rolls. I pulled out this recipe the last time the family was all together and knocked everyone's socks off, and by popular request we brought it back. Sooo delicious!!

Grandpa gave the girls tractor rides!! They loved it. I bet our little guy will love it, too.

Kai on the zipline.

The whole fam.

Sadly, on Monday we had to split up in order for some people (like Joe) to get back to their normal lives. I was able to stay an extra week and spend more time with the family just hanging out down in the valley. By the end, I still wasn't ready to say goodbye, but I was definitely ready to get back to Joe! The good news is ... we are going back for Thanksgiving and we are SO EXCITED!!

A shower for Lori :)

I always knew this day would come ... but somehow I can't believe it really did!! Yesterday I threw a baby shower for my wonderful sister-in-law Lori. When she moved out to Maryland 2 years ago we imagined (on occasion ... although it certainly wasn't a big focus at the time) someday having babies together and even throwing showers for each other. But now that we are both pregnant and Lori is about to have her baby, it just doesn't even seem real. However, I and many others are so excited for baby "Chile" to arrive, so we teamed up to put together a delightful shower and make sure the little girl won't go naked, bow-less, flower-less, or bracelet-less, EVER. I have seen the little one's closet and I am not at all worried!!

This was the invitation ...

And here's a shot of the mostly-eaten spread. I was too distracted to take pictures of most of the decorations and such, but that's okay. I have never thrown a baby shower before and I was just happy that with some great help everything came together. :)

Of course, the gift table ...

A cute little clothes line decoration I put together :)

My biggest relief was that the group somehow fit in my front room without too much trouble. Of course there are more of us behind the photographer on stools and the stair landing.

Here is the little coat I got Chile for this winter. I just can't wait to have her all bundled up when we go cut down a Christmas tree for Lori & Nate (we are doing that again, right??)

And finally, here is a shot of the pregos. A bunch of girls recently had babies, but I think after Lori I'm up next! Sooo crazy.

This picture is a little more awkward but it shows my bump a little better. I guess I need to wear a tighter shirt to show of the huge-ness, but it's there. My pants are getting tight and I'm starting to feel him more and more. :)
So ... in just about 3 weeks or so I'll have a new, sweet little niece! Good luck, Lori. I'll be here whenever you need me, but you're going to have to be the pioneer out of the two of us. Here's to Lori, Nate, & Baby "Chile"!! We love you. :)

Introducing our darling little . . .

BOY!!!

That's right, we are having a boy!! And we couldn't be more excited. Of course we would have been equally happy either way, but since we've been thinking about the little guy as a guy it is nice not to have to get "reacquainted." It's just perfect!

So we had our ultrasound early Friday morning and I made sure to eat a little something and drink some juice beforehand so baby would be awake. I don't know if it was the juice, but the entire time he was moving around like crazy!! The lady doing the ultrasound kept commenting on how "busy" he was and wasn't at all surprised that I've already been feeling him a little bit. She had quite a difficult time getting a decent profile shot but luckily we ended up with some cute ones!! Actually, what can you really see from an ultrasound picture at not quite 18 weeks?? If you're me, not a ton, really. But we definitely saw the little boy parts that we came to see! Joe thought he saw the evidence about 3 different times before she told us. When she froze the picture and announced "you're having a boy!" he already knew exactly what he was looking at but I was like, "WHERE?!?" Then she showed us several clear pictures that had me convinced. The little dude wasn't being shy at all (just like we had instructed). Looks like we will have an obedient little boy! Thus we had to respect his request not to display the evidence on the blog. :)
It was so much fun just watching him squirm around in there, stretch out his legs, and raise his arms above his head. Apparently everything looks good and he is developing as he should, and I am definitely growing as I should! We are so grateful and happy and excited. Now the shopping can begin!!

The Cake Has Spoken?!?

So! I survived the bar (barely!) and the very next day flew to Utah to party with my family for a week and a half (Joe was there for the first few days but had to get back to work). More on that later. As for the highlight of today?? Cutting the cake!! Our friends James & Amy have a fun tradition of making a cake for expecting couples, half pink and half blue (and frosted so you can't tell which is which), and then performing a little ceremony to determine the baby's gender. The guy spins the cake, and the girl makes the cut. Very rarely has the cake been wrong, so we approached the night with close to the same anticipation as we'll be approaching our ultrasound on Friday (yes, less than 2 days from now)!! Joe and I have been thinking boy all along. I'm not sure if it's intuition or just wishful thinking. When I made the cut, things looked good from this side of the cake ...

But it turns out we cut a piece that was half pink and half blue! However - the initial cut was in the pink half, so that is what we are going with.

Right now I'm just not sure what to think! We are so excited for Friday when we'll get to say hi to our little one. I'm only about 17 1/2 weeks along, but apparently my doctor does the main ultrasound at 18 weeks instead of the typical 20. Nice!

But first, we want to hear what you guys think!! Boy or girl?? Does the cake know what it's talking about? Do Joe and I have a clue? Ahhhh!!! :)