23 Weeks

23 weeks! Only 17 weeks to go!

Bebs: Time to turn on the radio and sway to the music! With her sense of movement well developed by now, Bebs can apparently feel me dance. And now that she's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), we may be able to see her squirm underneath my clothes. (No luck with that yet!) Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that baby's ears are picking up on are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as Dexter barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb!

What's going on in there?

Favorite maternity outfit for the week?: Tara's maroon cowl-neck sweater with Christi's khaki pants that I wore to work on Tuesday
Stretch marks?: nope! (knock on wood!)
Sleep: Sleeping between the body pillow and my husband pillow. Somehow I've been ending up on my belly, though, which isn't good!
Best moment of the week: Spending the day with my parents and getting some amazing deals at a Mother's Market on Saturday!
Miss anything?: My girlfriends and actually seeing them. I haven't hung out with my girlfriends in what feels like forever. Ok, in reality it's been over a month. But still. I miss them, Rachael's brownies, sharing our hilarious stories, and just really "being there" for each other. I hope I can see them soon.
Movement: Hubs, Schlupp and my mom got to feel some baby kicks this past week!
Food cravings: I'm not really a huge beer drinker or anything...but for some reason I could really go for a Blue Moon with an orange slice!
Anything making you queasy or sick: The thought of eating meat off a bone. I don't think I'll be having wings any time soon.
Labor signs: Tuesday morning at about 1:30 a.m. I had the most intense pain in my belly. It felt like the baby had a knife and was slicing her way out. I actually woke up screaming "ow! ow!", scared the crap out of Jason, and thought I was going into labor. Braxton Hicks contractions, maybe?
Symptoms: Falling asleep on the couch by 9 p.m., cramping, and irritability. Fun!
Belly button in or out?: In-between! lol
Wedding rings on or off?: On
Happy or moody most of the time?: Unfortunately, moody. :( There are times when I'm happy; overjoyed actually. But mostly I am just so irritable I'm getting to the point where I am annoying myself.
Looking forward to (aside from the obvious!): Finishing up the painting project in the guest room!

My BFF Jess texted me that she missed seeing me and the bump.
So I texted her this picture so she could see us!
Her response: "Shit just got real!!!!" LOL

List of Gratitude
1. My awesome parents for giving up their Saturday morning/afternoon to take me to the Mother's Market. We got some GREAT deals that I am super excited about! A Snap N Go stroller, lots of little outfits, seat cover for under the carseat, books and a heartbeat listener were some of our finds! If only we had seen the brand new Vera Bradley diaper bag that some lucky lady got for $8, we would have been ecstatic! hehe. On the look-out for a glider at our next Mother's Market!

Baby ballerina socks!

2. A shared sense of humor with Hubs. I have a feeling that everything--relationships, marriage, pregnancy, parenting--is roughly about a million times better if you and your partner have the ability to laugh at yourselves. Our guest room painting project is taking MUCH longer than anticipated. All Jason and I can do is laugh it off...and re-paint the ceiling for a third time.

3. Fall premieres of our favorite TV shows. We were going through some major TV withdrawl, and thankfully a few of our favorites--Parks and Recreation, New Girl, The Office--are back! The TiVo will always be full of stuff to watch in the evenings and this makes me happy!

4. Indulging. Mmmm cheesecake. Thanks for telling me I didn't have to share, Hubs! :)

I'm pretty sure I could feel the fat go straight to my butt after eating this!
Totally worth it.