We have crazy mornings...

Today, like most days, Karl got woken up an hour early by work calls.  He eventually went out to the other room because he had to solve a bunch of communication problems, and I just lay there in bed, grumpy over the loss of sleep.  I was laying on my side so my arm was kind of draped over my belly... and that's when Evie decided she wanted to be awake too!  She was kicking me so hard my arm was moving!  I almost called Karl back to come feel her moving around, but I didn't want to interrupt him while he was being business-y.  Eventually Evie calmed down and Karl came back to bed.  I was a little disappointed because that's what always happens!  She loves to stop moving as soon as daddy's around and wants to feel her.  Anyway, he got back into bed and we cuddled up together to try to get a few more minutes of sleep before we had to head to school... but Evie had different ideas.  I felt her kick really hard and it made me giggle a little, but then I realized that Karl made a noise when she kicked too!  Evie was kicking him in the back and he was feeling it!  Suddenly she was going crazy again and keeping us both awake.  I thought it was funny :)

As grumpy as I was about not getting that hour of sleep (it's been a REALLY bad sleep week for us!), I'm really glad we got to have a bonding moment with our baby cakes!

Jiffy Pop!

Wow... Ok, I'm just lying here in bed, trying to relax, and honestly, I feel like I've swallowed a bag of JiffyPop!!  Goodness!!  Baby is getting so big and strong and ACTIVE!  I can't believe she was ever the size of a grape, and I can barely remember a time when I couldn't feel her going crazy in there.  It took so long before I could even feel her move, and now I feel like she's training to be a ninja or something.  I really love feeling her move... most of the time!  The bladder kicks and simultaneous headbutts to the ribs I could do without, lol!  At least it let's me know she's still doing ok in there, definitely puts my mind at ease to know she's still cooking! :)

Thinking About Baby

(I know everyone's seen this pic, but I don't have many of her at this point and I love it, lol)

Karl and I got to see baby moving my tummy for the very first time the other night.  It was an amazing thing to experience!  Karl's been able to feel her kick only couple of times and I'm just so happy that we're finally getting to the point where he can be more involved with baby. I think it makes it that much more real for him :)

Anyway, that just got me thinking...

I think I’m going to really miss being pregnant with this little girl.  Sure, pregnancy has its aches, pains, gross things, and discomforts (and I’m sure in a couple months I’m just going to want her out!), but I really love it.  I AM anxious to see her face and to hold her, to get to know her personality, and to love her on the “outside”, but there is still just something about this connection and relationship I have with her now.  If you think about it, it’s basically physically impossible for the two of us to get much closer!  There is just something so incredibly unique about being pregnant and basically giving up your body for your child.  I love feeling her move and watching her bumping around in my belly!  Perhaps it’s just for this one moment, but for now, nine months seems like such a short amount of time!  I love her so much already and I can’t even fathom what the future has in store for us.  I like thinking about it-I can’t wait to see what she looks like, whose eyes she’s going to have, if she’s going to be a baldy or have lots of hair, if she’s going to be superly energetic or calm and contemplative-but for right now I’m just so content to hold her as closely as I’m ever going to be able to.

On a semi related note…

Karl laughs at me when I say this, but when I think about time in terms of baby (3 and a half months ‘til she’s here :D !!!!) time seems to being flying by!  Then again when I think about time in terms of school (three and a half months ‘til it’s over D: ????) that same amount of time seems like an eternity!!  I’m very interested in how the time will pass this semester because of my unique situation.  I’m dreading the end of this semester just a little bit (labor/delivery, newborn, AND finals—what an awesome combo!), so maybe it will fly by quickly?  Or is it going to drag on and on because of pregnancy discomforts and stressful classes?

I guess I’ll just have to wait and see—wish me luck!!!

Old Wives Tales

Disclaimer: I'm a pretty scientifically minded person, and I KNOW old wives tales are mostly ridiculous and have absolutely no meaning what so ever, so this is just for fun :)

Now that we have that out of the way... During that 20 week wait to find out baby's gender (drove me crazy, no idea how some people wait 40!!) people had a lot to say about what THEY thought the baby was.  So, now that we know our little jelly bean is a girl, I thought I would see how this pregnancy measures up to all the gender old wives tales that are floating around out there!

 

• Heart Rate: The very first prediction I got was just after my first doctor's appointment.  Baby's heart rate was 160 bpm (and has been pretty much since then!) and apparently a high heart rate (over 140) means it's a girl :)

•  Nausea: This Old Wives Tale says that if you're really sick first trimester (and/or beyond), then you can expect a girl!  I would say I was pretty DARN sick at the beginning of this pregnancy so I guess that's another point for the old wives!

• Sweet Cravings:  Ok, seriously, ALL I want to eat with this little girl is SUGAR (can you say, Gestational Diabetes?)!! I constantly crave candy, pop, fruit, juice, cake, cookies, chocolate... basically, anything sweet!  We've decided that baby knows what she likes and has a fit if I don't give it to her (One day I got up and just ate some fresh cucumbers and tomatoes... and they promptly came back up again). The old wives say that sweet cravings mean a girl vs. salty and sour cravings that mean a boy :)  

• Citrus Cravings: A random one that I actually had never heard before is that craving citrus means a girl, which is really interesting because about the only thing I wanted to eat for the first few months was oranges!

• Carrying Baby: I'm pretty sure this is one of the best known gender myths: carrying low, round and in front (basketball) means a boy, carrying wide, and high (football) means a girl.  I don't totally get this one, but I would say I'm carrying pretty high, although I think that's because my torso is so short that baby has no where else to be but high!  Also, I guess she's kind of widening my middle a bit, but once again, I think that has way more to do with my body shape than anything! 

• Weight Gain: Another one I believe I've heard is that girls make you gain weight in your hips, thighs, and butt, and I will sadly admit that is the case (no stretch marks on my belly yet, but my dang hips aren't faring so well!).

• Mood: Girls are supposed to make you more moody and emotional than boys.  I know it sounds crazy, but I actually feel like I've been way more emotionally stable since I've been pregnant!  Sorry, old wives...

• Graceful or Clumsy: If you feel more graceful, that means you'll have a baby girl, feeling clumsy means a boy.  Maybe it's just that I'm ALWAYS clumsy, but I feel like I've done nothing but trip over things, run into things, and drop things lately :/

• Zits!: This one says that girlies "steal your beauty" and therefore if you're having a girl you'll have a bad complexion while you're pregnant.  The state of my face hasn't really changed since I've been pregnant, so I'm really hoping that doesn't mean I'm going to have an ugly girl, haha!

So, it looks like the old wives were eerily right on some things, lol!  What are the chances?

Year Number Three

I really can't believe that I've been married to my best friend for three whole years!  I really feel like it was just yesterday that I was impatiently awaiting our wedding day, and here we are!  It doesn't feel like that much has changed over the last five-ish years of our relationship, but when I think about it, a lot HAS changed.  I was actually thinking about this a couple of weeks ago...  

My dear friend looked at Karl's phone and noticed that he has me listed as "wife" on his phone, she said she hated that because she loves the butterflies she gets when the name of the guy-in-her-life pops up on her phone.  

Well, you know what?  I don't get butterflies when I see Karl calling me or texting me anymore. 

In fact, the tingles and butterflies are actually getting kind of few and far between.  I felt a little bit bad about this, but now that I've had sometime to think about it, I realize that it's not such a bad thing!  I do sometimes miss that ever present excitement that made our dating years so fun, but I've got something I think may be even better!  As dumb as it sounds, I feel like our love has "matured" a lot in the last five years.  Even as much as I thought I loved him the day we got married, it was nothing compared to how much I love him now.  Sure the tingles are fun, and they are great for getting people to get married in the first place, but it's the "deeper" love (the part hiding under the tingles) that gets you through all the tough times.

Karl and I have been through a lot since we first met--some awesome things and some really UN-awesome things--and we've come out of it on this end closer and more in love than ever.  I do still look at him and just marvel at how much I love him and how much he loves me.  I also still look at him and think to myself how attractive I find him, and wonder how I got him to marry me in the first place!

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that the butterflies aren't going to last forever, at least, they're not always going to be the same way they were in the beginning, but it's ok!  Things change as time goes on, but change can be good!

And now, since I'm on the topic of changes that have happened during our marriage, and juuuust for fun...

 

Me--August 4th, 2008

Me--August 3rd, 2011

All right, can't deny the photographic evidence... I'll admit I've changed a tiny bit since my wedding day!