25.5 Weeks

I guess it's been a few weeks since I last posted a tummy shot.  Here you go.  Sorry for the poor picture quality.  Maybe someday I'll have Aaron take a real picture of me when I'm dressed up nicely.  Until then, this will have to do!

So I believe at the end of next week, I will officially be in my third trimester (yea!)  Here's a brief update on how I'm doing:

• I already feel pretty huge, so I'm a little worried about just how big I'm going to get.
• Eating is fun and I don't feel sick most of the time.
• Sleeping is harder and I have more bad nights of sleep than I prefer.
• The girls talk to their little sister everyday and give her lots of hugs - they can't wait to see her!
• I love to feel her kick and squirm and watch my tummy move around as she does it.
• I'm starting back with walking again - feeling pretty slow, but at least I'm moving!
• Caught another kidney infection early before it got too severe - still on meds for that one.
• I started a "nesting" list of things I want to get done before the baby arrives - most of it involves getting rid of stuff we don't need/use and clearing out space as our house is maxed out already!
• I need to relearn to stand farther away from doors when I open them as I'm beginning to whack my belly now when I open up various doors.
• Aaron hates the word belly.
• My belly button is a very large outie now.  Sometimes I wear a band-aid over it when I'm in public so it's not quite as awkwardly noticable.  The girls have finally been trained to not touch it and poke it as it is quite tender upon its emergence into society.
• Caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror as I walked by yesterday and was startled to notice that my tummy preceded my entrance by quite a distance.  Yikes! What will it be like in three more months?
• I feel a little slower all around, but some of that is due to not sleeping well. Aaron and I were commenting the other day that we will be happy when the baby is born so that I will sleep better.  I get more and better sleep with a newborn than I do when pregnant.
• I'm grateful to not be teaching three kids at home this year. I'm pretty sure I would be dreading the days already if I was. It was a good decision for me and the girls are loving public school. David is more independent with his school, so I have more time to take care of things along with myself. I'm enjoying the quieter days a lot.
• I'm sad that ice cream and cookies do not make up a healthy meal. Sometimes that sounds like the perfect meal to me (until I eat it and feel yucky and sick).
• I get a little emotional everytime I walk past the baby section in a store. Can't wait to frequent that section. Even buying diapers sounds like fun!
• I get emotional over all sorts of little things at the most random times. I pretty much cried my way through the Olympics, watching each athlete do their best and try so hard to win.
• The girls like to give me tiny bits of food to feed to the baby. Ana made some tiny baby cookies awhile ago and made sure I ate them so that the baby would get them. They ask all sorts of fun questions about her.
• David doesn't show quite the outward enthusiasm as the girls, but he's still excited about it and we talk about it together sometimes about how things will be different, what it will be like, how to take care of her. I plan on having him be a very hands on big brother.  This little girl is going to adore her brother.
• Typing that last statement made me cry.

All for now. Share something you are grateful for with me. I need a little mental boost today!