My Little Man...

It's pretty amazing to think that in a few short months we've gone from this:

6 weeks

To this:

8 weeks

To this:

19 weeks

And it's even more incredible to me that the next picture we post of him (yes, in case you haven't heard, he's a "him"!!!) will be taken when he's outside my body!  Wow.  

We're keeping the name under wraps for now, but don't be surprised if I spill the beans soon... me and secrets?  We don't exactly mix.  

New belly pics!

Okay... I've been chastised by several people for not properly documenting my pregnancy, and I have to agree.  Considering how many pictures we take of other people, and how few pictures we take of ourselves, I'm going to make a better effort to hand off the photography responsibilities to Pern and step in front of the camera for the next 21 weeks.  Yes, 21 weeks to go.  Next Friday will mark the half-way point.  Holy crap.  

So here they are thus far...

14 weeks 2 days - you saw this one already

18 weeks 2 days (Last Sunday)

And 19 weeks (This evening.  Technically, 18w6d, but what's a 

few hours in the grand scheme of things?)

Our "big" ultrasound is on Monday (EEK!) and if the baby cooperates we'll find out if I'm being kicked around by a boy or a girl.  Shouldn't really call it kicking just yet, though... thumping, bumping, and tapping are better adjectives.  Can't wait for Pern to feel, too.  It's just so unpredictable and too soft.  Soon, though... soon!

Baby update!

We had our 16 week appointment at the birthing center this afternoon.  Had  a nice chat with Alice, one of the founding midwives, and got to hear the heartbeat again.  It was pretty incredible how immediately the doppler picked up the heartbeat.  Four weeks ago the midwife, Katie, had to try a couple of different spots before picking it up.  It was quiet, as well.  Not today.  She just laid the wand (doppler microphone??) on my tummy and BOOM!  There it was, beating away.  The baby even moved away at one point (weird to know that he/she moved when I can't feel anything yet) and she had to reposition the wand.  She let us listen for a couple of minutes.  Very cool.  I'm pretty sure we both grinned through the entire thing!  :D

We have a referral to get our 20 week ultrasound done, so I'll call soon to book that.  Should be somewhere in the week of June 8, possibly earlier.  We are so excited to see the baby again (who will look like a real baby and not a gummy bear!) and find out if we're going to need to register for pink or blue!  

The first (sort of) belly shot...

So this isn't exactly an accurate belly shot for several reasons:

1)  I'm not really "showing" yet... just a little puffier than normal with no space in  my abdominal cavity in which to suck my puffiness.  Of course, by the end of most days, and following a decent meal (which is when we took this picture), I have a good sized "food baby" to be proud of, but it's gone by the morning.

2)  I'm wearing a maternity shirt, which make a girl look, well, pregnant.

3)  I'm at a funny angle and the shirt is billowy and pouffy, so the silhouette is not accurate.

But we took it for one good reason...

14 weeks

We were at a wedding and I was wearing one of the two shirts that I hope will see me through a summer of weddings with an expanding belly.  Our last wedding before the baby arrives (hopefully before - no early babies, please) is three weeks before my due date.  I want to wear the same outfit to that wedding and take the same picture.  I think it will be funny to see a side by side comparison a few months from now.

Well... I think it's funny now.  Let's see how I feel come October.  

This weekend, we're doing our first maternity photo shoot for my former co-worker who is due in June.  Now, she'll have a real belly to show off!

My garden has ballz!

When I woke up this morning, the deck looked like this:

And my garden (I'm ashamed to admit), looked like this:

See these pretty flowers?  WEEDS!  Gasp!  Turns out you can't just ignore an open patch of soil for several months and expect it to be ready for spring without a little work.  Who knew?

Sigh.  My pretty birdhouse did not fair so well exposed to the elements (as one would think a birdhouse would do - what with birds living outside and all!):

Even the "under the deck" area was a mess:

But after a couple of hours of weeding, digging, moving, dragging, and rearranging...

The deck looks like this:  (hmmm.. some flowers might look nice)

And my garden looks like this:

My plan is to plant cucumbers, lettuce, green beans, potatoes, and tomatoes this year.  Last year's broccoli was a huge disappointment and the carrots were frustratingly slow growers.  See that little patch over on the left?  That used to have some containers in it, but the master plan worked!  Beneath the mulch and layer of weed-blocker fabric, I was waiting for the grass to die!  It's dead and so now I can plant something in it!  Good thing my garden has ballz!

 
Wild Flower Seed Ballz, that is!!  Ha ha!

Lay them on the ground, water 'em, and watch 'em grow!  Let's see what develops, shall we?

Oh!  And I also cleaned out the "under the deck" area.  

Now if I could just get Pern to help me move some rather heavy containers and a large bag of potting soil up onto the deck, that'd be great!  Then I'll buy some purdy flowers and make the deck look extra special.  

If I can talk him into mowing the grass, that'd be even better!  ;-)

Our little gummi bear!!

We're having a baby!  I officially "came out" today at school so I feel comfortable announcing to the world at large that there's a bun in my oven.  Pern and I are thrilled and can't wait to meet our little boy or girl.  We'll have to wait, however, as my official due date isn't until October 30.

This picture was taken at 8 weeks, and I am 12.5 weeks today.  Isn't he or she the cutest little thing?? :D  Of course, by now it looks like a real baby, just teeny tiny (about 2.5 to 3 inches long) and not a gummi bear, but it's hard to picture a miniature human living inside of me.  For some reason, a gummi bear is easier.  So that's our news.  Whew!  Now I can blog again.  I've felt weird not having anything to say, but when all I think about these days is baby stuff it's been hard to keep my mouth shut.  

Snow Day!!!

Today is a snow day!!  I love snow days!!!  Snow, snow, snow!