Reflections on Pregnancy

Things I Love about Being Pregnant:
- Feeling little precious move inside me
- Getting a ridiculous amount of foot and back massages from the hubs (thank you love!)
- Having strangers be extra nice, or smile knowingly
- Having our little guy with me at all times, safe, secure, well-nourished and content, with no extra maintenance required (changing, feeding, sleeping, bathing, strolling)
- Having family time with Jeff talking to baby in my tummy
- The baby bump! I used to put a basketball or pillow in my shirt as a little girl when I dreamt about being pregnant and a mom someday ... now it's here for real! Every time I walk past a mirror, I have to double-check to make sure that really is MY silhouette there :)

Things I Am Looking Forward to When I Get Un-Pregnant:
- Meeting our angel baby, of course :)
- No more heartburn!
- Sleeping on my right side, or - gasp! - my back
- Easily getting in and out of chairs
- No more blood draws
- Having my body back
- Having more energy (err, maybe not for the first month or two, right?!)
- No swollen feet, ankles, legs and hands

A Great Big Bundle of Potentiality

Hey in there precious baby. Today I woke up thinking about you, like I always do. But this morning, a song popped into my head that I used to love as a child. I sang it to you for the first time today, and it surely won't be the last. Because Daddy and I always want you to remember this message ...

I am a Promise.
I am a Possibility.
I am a Promise with a capital P.
I am a great big bundle of Potentiality.

Love always,
Your Momma

35/35

Today, I am 35 weeks pregnant, and the baby is due to arrive in 35 days! Time has gone by so fast, and yet it really does feel like we have come a long way over the past 8.5 months. We have learned so much about ourselves and everything baby-related, we've experienced new and exciting things, we've moved and begun to make a house a home, and we've grown in love for each other, our baby, our family and friends. It has been a blessed adventure.

Baby Moves - Issue #2

Baby Blue, you are rockin' and rollin' in my tummy these days! You are a precious miracle, and whenever we feel and SEE you move, we are reminded of how much we already love you. On one hand, I'm sorry you don't have more room because I know you are getting really squished. But on the other hand, I think you probably really like your curled up little position in there. I made this video to capture this time in our lives. I never want to forget what it feels like to have you moving inside there! We love you baby and can't wait to meet you in a few short weeks!!!

Babymoon!

Our Babymoon to Chicago was a dream come true. Chicago is our "first city" so we really enjoyed going back and hanging out at all our favorite spots. We stayed in a historic hotel in Lincoln Park, near where we used to live. The room was overlooking the park, lake and city skyline. It rained the first day we were there, and then cleared up the rest of the weekend with crisp, sunny fall weather.
We saw David Gray in concert, and it was a great show! He played lots of our favorite songs like This Year's Love, Sail Away, Ain't No Love, Slow Motion and a new favorite World to Me.

Friday night we went to our FAVORITE Chicago restaurant, Brick's Pizza, and then we saw a show at The Second City comedy club. Classic date night in Chicago :)

We also did lots of walking around Lincoln Park, the zoo and gardens. One fun thing we did was recreate our *first photo* together. Here's the original from April, 2005 ...
And our re-creation in October, 2009 ...On Saturday night, we had a wonderful time catching up with our dear friends Sarah and Tom, Lauren and Alphonse, and Emily. We went to Trattoria Roma in honor of our study abroad semester in Rome, and then we checked out the new Trump Hotel & Tower, getting drinks and dessert at Rebar.
And a post these days wouldn't be complete without some belly shots ;)

Belly Evolution 20, 25, 30 Weeks

The Big Move

Well, we've moved into our new house! Everything went smoothly as far as moves go, and we couldn't be happier to be getting settled into our new house - and slowly but surely, making it a HOME :)

My mom came down to help us get unpacked and organized - she was such an amazing help! I don't know where we would be at this point without her help. Not sure if I would have found the pots and pans by now if it weren't for her help ...We also did some fun baby shopping while Mom was down visiting. The baby section has it's own gravitational field, and you cannot resist being pulled into it. Ha!
Here's baby blue's little collection of stuff so far :)

My Hubby the Triathlete

Today my amazing hubby completed the US Open Triathlon Sprint in Dallas. The weather was cold and rainy, and the water was in the mid-upper 60's, but Jeff did it! I am so proud of you hubs. Maybe next year, I'll be joining you?! My Mom was in town helping with the move, so she and Kodi and I got to see Jeff start and finish at each transition point for the swim, bike and run. Jeff did such a great job and finished the bike and run under his goal times!

Colin's Visit to Austin

Colin and his GF Katie came down to Austin so we could meet up there and hang out again before he heads to Afghanistan in November. We had a great visit ... hung out with Jeff's family at Chris and Shannon's, had a pool party, went to the Oasis, watched football, and saw some sights around Austin. Here are some of my favorite pix from the weekend ...

26 Weeks

Hello in there baby boy! You are 26 weeks old in my belly this week, and you are practicing your leg and arm exercises a lot :) We can even see your movements from the outside sometimes, and we made a little video to try and capture your kicks and punches. You have more predictable patterns of movement in the last few days ... you move a lot when I wake up in the morning, around 10 or 11am, again around 8 or 9pm, and your favorite time to squirm is when I lay down in bed at night. I hope that's not a sign of things to come!

You have a big milestone this week - you're opening your eyes for the first time! Way to go little guy! Even though you won't be able to see much in there, your eyes have developed enough to detect light through my stomach. You really started packing on the weight in the last couple weeks too. You're gaining about a half pound each week, so in the last 3 weeks, you have gone from about a half pound to 2 pounds! You are about 15 inches long. Mommy's tummy is really starting to grow outwards, and strangers have started to ask if you're a boy or a girl. I tell them with a huge smile that you are a sweet little boy. We are so proud of you already and what you have accomplished growing and developing over the last 6 months. Mommy and Daddy love you little bambino!




In news outside my belly, we are preparing to move out of our townhouse and into our new home next week. We had friends over for Addison's Oktoberfest and a BBQ to watch the Texas Tech vs Texas football game this past weekend. It was the perfect way to celebrate the last full weekend in this place, and totally represented the best of what this townhouse and location offers. But, we're so excited to get into the new place, introduce Kodi Bear to his new yard, and really get going on preparations for baby's arrival home. We're looking into painters, flooring, utilities, insurance, and all sorts of other things that come along with moving and settling in to a new home.

We'll have a little break from the preparations when we head down to Austin this weekend to visit Jeff's family and Colin, who will be in town on a little pre-deployment vacation. Looking forward to a relaxing weekend with family in beautiful A-town. And we're so grateful for a chance to see Colin before he leaves for Afghanistan in October!