And here's another old instrument. It's called a "kanun" and they've been around (though not this particular one) since the 13th century. 

This isn't the greatest picture, but I thought it was the wackiest looking old instrument we saw. I don't know what it is - sorry. 

I thought it was time for another set of pregnant belly pictures. I've grown a bit since the last batch... :) If I look a bit tired in these photos, it's because I am. For one thing, it was morning and I hadn't showered yet. Plus, I've been excessively tired the past several days.

I found out this week that Lila opens and closes her eyes in there now. That's kind of crazy to think about. There is a theory that babies can actually see at this point too. They don't know how much they can really make out though (and what's to see inside the womb, anyway). As I mentioned, I'm feeling extra tired lately, which is normal. The books say I should be feeling extra clumsy at this point too. What they don't know is that I was quite clumsy before I got pregnant!

Angela at 30 weeks - The Belly. Notice the black blob behind my butt that is Cordelia trying to get in on the picture action. 

Angela at 30 weeks, side view. Charlie is tickling my knee with his wet little nose during this shot. 

Angela at 30 weeks. Front view. 

I can't believe it's already Friday! I'm not complaining, it just came so quickly... Doug would disagree. When I said last night that today was already Friday, he said that's alright because the week had been long enough. He's stayed quite busy cathing up at work after our vacation. He's also had to take care of stuff like renewing his driver's license (which expired before our vacation!) and getting his vision checked.

I had another doctor's appointment yesterday - my first two week check! (it's been every four weeks up until now) I only gained 1.5 lbs this time! Even with all the pizza I ate - yipee! I can't believe how soon we are going to have a child. It's just weird. Ironically, one of the things I'm most nervous about is how difficult breast feeding will be for the first couple of weeks. Oh well, I'm determined!

And still more wacky old instruments. The thing with the tassles is a panpipe from Korea. 

Another wacky old instrument. Don't know exactly what it is or where it's from, but it's sticking its tongue out at you! 

This is a wacky old instrument. It's some kind of harp from Burma. 

This is the Arms and Armory section of the Met, taken from the floor above. Even if we hadn't spent so much time with the musical instruments, it might have taken us an hour just to find our way down to that section! 

This photo was taken inside John's Pizzeria. I said this before, but we think it used to be a theater and it is huge for a New York restaurant! 

Another shot of Times Square at night. This was taken pretty late at night, so there aren't as many people there as earlier in the day. 

This is Times Square at night. Well, part of it anyway. 

The bass player was not the person who normally performs with this group, but he was quite good. Here he is singing and playing (solo) a funny song he made up about trying to travel by airplane with a bass. :) 

These are two of the guys who were playing along with him. There was a guy on piano too, but we didn't get even one good shot of him. 

This is the legendary Les Paul, playing at the Iridium jazz club. The photo is a bit dark, but it's one of the better ones. 

Okay, I posted a few photos from the trip below. I'll post some of the better ones every day for a while. It will not go on forever like the photos of the Europe trip did though! Even I got sick of looking at them! :)

I'm extremely tired right now and would like to take a nap. However, that would result in wrinkled clothes and flat hair and since I actually put a little effort into my appearance today and just got a haircut... I do care. There's also the fact that I have a few phone calls to return and an insatiable urge to organize things.

I want to go through the house and get rid of everything that is not extremely attractive, valuable, of sentimental value, or vital to our daily life. Do we need a candle in the shape of a large man in a lawnchair? I don't think so! So much *stuff*!

Here is one of the singing waitstaff at Ellen's Stardust Cafe. Thankfully, the one time that our waiter came by to stick the microphone in my face I was chewing - whew! :) 

This is me surrounded by bins of Legos - how fun! This was in the Toys R Us at Times Square that we only wandered into to find a restroom. 

Here are Lila and I at FAO Schwarz. They had a bunch of these big wild animal "toys" for thousands of dollars each! 

Here are Doug and that stupid dog at FAO Schwarz. Note the gigantic teddy bear on the floor next to him. 

This is a photo of me eating my first slice of New York pizza and it was so good! I have no explanation for the strange look on my face - maybe I was chewing... 

Well, we're home! Obviously, I did not have an opportunity to do any posting while we were gone. Here is a briefish rundown of things (i'll give more info here and there as we get the photos onto the computer and i post some of them):

May 20th - Had a doctor's appointment this morning and everything is still looking fine. I had another growth spurt (7.5 pounds in 3.5 weeks!), but the doctor says not to start worrying yet!

Around lunchtime, we went and saw Star Wars, Episode III. This one was much better than the previous two, though much of the dialogue was still gag-worthy.

After the movie, we left town and drove to my mom's in Seven Points (nearish to dallas). We hung out and did dinner there and then drove on to my dad's in Mesquite where we crashed!

May 21st - Our first baby shower was this morning and it was, of course, fun. I didn't get to see as many old friends as I'd hoped, but we did get to catch up with family and a couple of friends and play games and open presents and eat until we were nearly comatose!

This was also Doug's birthday, so we went out in the evening for Tex-Mex with Daddy and Susan. Doug had already gotten his presents from Lila and I on Thursday because I figured he wouldn't want to open any more presents after the shower!

May 22nd - This morning we flew to New York and it was really a very quick and easy flight. I fell asleep in my seat which meant that I didn't get up and walk around as much as I was supposed to so I didn't have any ankles by the time we got there, but a little foot elevating in the hotel room helped that considerably.

After getting checked in and settled at the hotel (upper west side) we wandered out to find our first slice of New York pizza. We found a little place very close to the hotel that was quite yummy (new york pizza, part one).

We also discovered that it was cold and raining and we hadn't brought an umbrella, so we stopped and bought one at a drug store. It actually stayed cold and wet almost the entire time we were in the city and I didn't take any long sleeved shirts because the forecast before we left Austin said it would be 70 degrees every day and might rain only once!

In the evening, we met up with a couple of friends (doug knows the wife from study group days in college) who live in the city and went out to eat. We had some yummy Italian food in the Upper West Side.

After that we went to a cool, four-level movie theater and saw The Hitchhiker's Guide.... We had scoffed at the idea of seeing a movie while in New York because there's so much else to do, but as it was cold and raining and we didn't have tickets to any shows yet... it turned out to be a good option!

May 23rd - Today we got up and found a yummy little deli on the corner by our hotel that had yummy breakfast sandwiches. This is where I had breakfast every morning for the time we were there, but Doug alternated between that and the bagel place next door.

After breakfast we got acquainted with the subway and found our way over to FAO Schwarz. It was, of course, very fun to explore and we got a very cute teddy bear for Lila.

From there we went to Times Square, which is really a lot like being in Disneyland. It was lound and crowded and there were huge signs everywhere and gigantic stores and it was fun to look at for a while, but there was not a ton to do.

When I thought my legs were going to absolutely fall off my body, we finally found a place to have lunch. Doug had a panini sandwich thing and I had a yummy wrap - nothing spectacular, but it was tasty.

After a rest at the hotel, we went back out and had dinner at Ellen's Stardust Cafe. This is a place where all the wait staff are dressed up and they take turns singing and periodically harassing the customers.

From there, we went next door to the Iridium jazz club where we saw Les Paul. For those who don't know, Les Paul is not a guitar, but he is the man who invented the electric guitar and he was quite good and quite old and quite entertaining!

May 24th - Today we wandered across Central Park to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (we were very close to the park on the west side and the museum is right next to the park on the east side). I was convinced that we were going to be lost in Central Park forever, but thankfully for me my husband has a sense of direction.

We were only at the Met for about an hour, which is hardly enough time to find the restroom, but we did get to see the Chanel exhibit and we wandered through some modern art and found some other really cool things as we were trying to navigate the maze to get back out. I experienced the museum in a wheelchair because there was no way I was going to be able to walk around and stand for that long without crying and/or hurting someone.

The reason we only stayed a short time is because we had to eat lunch and hustle back over to Times Square to the 1/2 price tickets line. We went with a recommendation and had lunch at John's pizzaria in Times Square (new york pizza, part two) which was delicious and in a neat and shockingly large building (we think it was an old theater).

The half-price tickets line was not nearly as bad as I had anticipated - we were only standing in line for about half an hour. It took us most of the way through the line to make up our minds, but we finally got tickets to see Beauty and the Beast (disney version - has been playing on broadway for 10 years now).

After that we went back across town and squeezed in one more hour at the Met before it closed. We saw the ancient musical instruments and we wanted to see the Arms and Armory section (which we spotted from the floor above), but we ran out of time.

After a quick costume change at the hotel, we hurried over to the theater for B & the B. We didn't have time for a proper dinner, so we just grabbed a couple of dogs from a stand along the way and they were the most satisfying hot dogs I've ever eaten!

The show was, of course, amazing. The sets and costumes and special effects (only a few) were spectacular and the whole thing was quite entertaining.

When we left the show it was COLD and WET and we found the closest place that was still serving food. We squeaked into a pub just before they closed the kitchen and shared a salad and appetizer and rounded it out with some hot coffee to get us back to the hotel without freezing.

May 25th - Today was another cold and wet day, not at all suitable for the things we still wanted to do while in the city. So, we set aside our desire to see the Empire State Building and to take a boat tour around the island and settled for the American Museum of Natural History instead (which was half a block from our hotel).

The museum was neat and we stuck around for a few hours. Of course, we didn't get to see everything because it was so huge and we ended up getting worn out, but we enjoyed what we saw and I enjoyed wheeling around again and not having to walk.

After a rest at the hotel, we made our way down to Greenwich Village and had dinner at the Jekyl & Hyde Club. This turned out to be rather a disappointment because we were there on a quiet night and not much was happening, but we could see how it would have been cool if there had been more people there and more of a show going on.

We found a Starbucks nearby for fuel to keep me warm (and where someone had apparently locked themselves in the ladies' room and decided never to come out) and then wandered around the Village a bit. We passed some rather questionable establishments and some interesting characters, but ended up being way too cold so we headed back to the hotel.

May 26th - This morning we got up and got ourselves together and hit the road. We took the subway to Penn Station and after much confusion figured out how to take the train to Morristown, New Jersey.

We were picked up at the station by Doug's uncle, Bill, and he drove us to Mendham, NJ (nearby town where they actually live). The first thing we did was pick up a pizza (ny/nj pizza, take three) and take it back to the house for lunch.

After that we went for a short walk around the immediate neighborhood. The town is beautiful and full of big tall trees.

We got a tour of the house and then I broke in the room where we were staying by taking a nice, long nap. I woke up to find Doug and Bill sifting through albums (the music kind) and making a mess.

Doug's aunt, Mary, came home and we had a dinner of steaks cooked on the grill. After a lot of food and coffee and chatting and a birthday cake for Doug, we called it a night and went to sleep in our very cold room!

May 27th - Today we drove to Liberty Park in New Jersey and took the ferry to Ellis Island and Liberty Island. As soon as we left the city, the rain cleared up and the termperature came up a bit so we had wonderful weather for this adventure.

Ellis Island was a neat place to visit and I bought a book while I was there that is full of immigrant interviews. I was tired and reaching a point of no return at this point in the trip, so I spent most of my time sitting on benches and listening to the audio guide, but I still really enjoyed it.

Liberty Island and the Statue of Liberty were also very neat to see. We couldn't go into the statue at all (they only sell a limited number of those passes and we were too late), but the island itself is very pretty and the weather was still beautiful.

We took the last ferry back to shore, during which trip my bladder nearly exploded! They had the restrooms on the ferry closed off and I hadn't had time to go before we left the island - ack!

Anyway, we went back to Mendham and met up with Mary and went out to dinner at a litte Italian place nearby. Afterward we wound down with some more coffee and sweet stuff and a couple of games of Scrabble (i suffered two terrible defeats).

May 28th - In an effort to head off a pregnancy-related meltdown due to overstimulation, I did absolutely nothing for the first half of this day. Doug and Bill went for a little hike and Mary did some gardening and I hung around in my pajamas and read and enjoyed the inactivity.

In the early afternoon, we packed up and headed an hour and a half north to visit some distant family members who were having a barbecue. Doug and I really knew no one there, but we got to see some beautiful scenery along the way and the people were nice and the food was plentiful and tastey and we all had a good time.

After that we drove an hour and a half back to Mendham and crashed hard! Doesn't the drive home always seem longer? (especially when you're tired)

May 29th - Today we got up and lounged around, reading and enjoying the beautiful weather outside. Doug was borderline sick when we went to bed (hot to the touch, but with aches and chills), but thankfully was feeling much better by this afternoon.

We had lunch at another pizza joint nearby (ny/nj pizza, part four) and then packed up our stuff and got ready to go. Bill drove us to the airport in Newark and we left for Dallas.

This leg of the flight was longer and not as enjoyable, but at least my ankles and feet didn't swell up like sausages. We arrived safely in Dallas where Daddy and Susan picked us up from the the airport and drove us back to Mesquite.

Dinner was a quick stop by Subway on the way home and then yummy brownies. Doug and I held our eyelids open with toothpicks until 10 p.m. and then crashed again.

May 30th - Sadly, I woke up this morning not feeling well. I don't know if it's just something I picked up somewhere in all those masses of humanity or if it's just allergies, but my throat hurts and my head is full of stuff and I have no energy.

We stuck around my dad's until about 11 a.m., then loaded up ourselves and all our luggage and all the loot from the baby shower and headed back to Austin. After a rainy, pit-stop filled trip during which Doug did most of the driving because I felt rotten, we were finally home!

The kitties were very happy to see us and did lots of talking and following us around. Charlie has been attached to me like a wart ever since then and it's quite cute and pitiful.

We just unloaded the car and checked our zillions of messages and then relaxed and had dinner and watched a movie until bedtime. I'm still feeling rotten, but am so happy to be rotten in my own home!

May 31st - And now we're back to the current time. The kitties are still being very cute and Charlie is still not letting me get more than three feet away from him. This morning he kept licking me, which he usually only does when he's getting really good scratches. While I was still trying to sleep he actually kissed me on the lips, which was unexpected and rather disturbing! Cordelia has spent most of her waking hours (well, minutes really) sneezing. Poor baby has allergies! She got up between our pillows on the bed this morning and had a sneezing fit during which she managed to snot all over both of us! Yes, it's gross, but I figure it's good training for all the bodily fluids that our darling daughter will soon be blessing us with.

And speaking of Lila, she seems to be doing quite well in there. She should now weigh about 2.5 pounds and be 15 inches long from head to heel. Her muscles and lungs are continuing to mature and her head is growing bigger to accommodate her brain. Said brain is busy developing billions of neurons. Go brain, go! Since she's growing so rapidly, Baby's nutritional needs reach their peak during this trimester. I wonder how much protein, vitamin C, folic acid, iron, and calcium are found in pizza... :) Don't worry - I'm still eating my veggies! It's actually really important to get enough calcium because your body will take it from your bones and give it to your baby which could cause problems for mom later in life! Lila's movements are strong and frequent now and I'm quite enjoying them!

Whew! (more than) Enough for one day! I have to go unpack our bags now and maybe even buy some food so we can eat dinner...

We're leaving for our vacation tomorrow and the morning is going to be busy, so I don't think I'll have time to post then. I figured I'd get one more in before we go. :) We have another doctor's appointment in the morning (our ultrasound on tuesday was at another office - we didn't see our doctor). This is the week when I have to drink the nasty glucose beverage and have my blood drawn to test for gestational diabetes. I'm more disturbed by the Glucola than the blood drawing!

It turns out that we're also going to watch Star Wars, Episode III before we leave town. Doug was able to get a free ticket from work and we just got one for the same time for me. Let's hope this one is better than the previous two! I don't see how the dialogue could get any worse! Anyway, after that we leave for Dallas, then New York...

For those who haven't heard yet, we had our latest ultrasound yesterday. Looks like we're having a girl! She still didn't want to cooperate and kept her legs together the whole time, but the sono tech and the doctor both said they thought it was a girl. That's also what the sono tech and doctor (different ones) said last time. I guess we can trust the opinions of four professionals... :o)~

I think I'm going to go out and buy some oil for my belly today. It's starting to get itchy, what with the skin getting all stretched out. I don't have any stretch marks yet, but I figure it's only a matter of time. From what I've read, oils and lotions do nothing to prevent stretch marks - it's genetically determined. They do help with itchiness though!

The baby was mean to me this morning! He/she woke up at 3:30 a.m. and started violently attacking the inside of my body! Feeling the baby move is my favorite part of being pregnant, but this was disturbing!

Anyway, I'm at 27 weeks now and the baby is growing steadily. At least, it would appear that way from out here! Word is that Baby should weigh almost 2 pounds and be about 14.4 inches from head to foot. I'm starting to think and read more about the actual labor and delivery aspect of all this and I gotta say I'm not real excited about it. It's not even so much the pain itself that I fear, but the overwhelming physical trauma and exhuastion!

Apparently the baby is acting more and more like a newborn in there. Opening and closing its eyes. Sleeping and waking at regular intervals. Maybe even sucking its fingers. And it's definitely got the hiccuping thing down. That's only happened a couple of times so far, but it feels so odd!

There is a person living inside my body! How bizarre...

Cordelia just did the cutest thing she has ever done in her life. It would take too long to explain, but trust me. It was so sweet that I almost started crying! Of course, that's not saying a lot, coming from a pregnant woman...

We tried again last night to catch Cow Kitty so that we could take him to have him fixed. It didn't work. We did, however, successfully catch a possum. Those things are so gross, but I actually felt sorry for it when I saw it all huddled up and scared in the trap. We just let it go and I guess we'll try to catch CK again on Sunday evening. I have a sneaking feeling that wherever he "lives", they keep him inside at night. I realized that I don't think I've ever seen him after dark. Or much after dinner time, for that matter.

I've been sitting here for five minutes trying to think of something to talk about other than being pregnant. I'm not having much success. I thought of a couple of funny kitty stories, but they do involve the baby/pregnancy in one way or another. That's not a bad thing, I'm just trying to convince myself that my entire life is not revolving around this. Apparently it is, so never mind.

I've been having all kinds of muscle pains lately. I've woken up during the night or in the morning a few times with muscle cramps in my legs. My back always hurts by morning. And I have this one muscle in my upper right back that is out of control, it hurts so bad! In the interest of trying to keep my muscles loose, I've printed out some stretches to do on the days when I don't go to the gym. I hope they work!

26 weeks now. This is starting to go by awfully quickly! :oI~ They say that now the baby might be able to (will be soon if not yet) hear people other than me talking. How fun that it will get to hear it's Daddy's voice before it's even born! Unfortunately, either my back or my tailbone or both hurt much of the time now. Standing seems to activate the back pain and sitting on anything other than a couch activates the booty pain.

We start our childbirth classes the firt week of June - right after we get back from New York. We're working on getting things ready to paint the baby's room, which will hopefully happen in early June as well. I'm still trying to eat a healthy diet and get as much rest as I can. I haven't been getting quite as tired in the afternoons lately, which is nice.

3 Rules for Dealing with Pregnant Women
(It's a short list, but it will take you far in life.)

1. Never use the word "fat" when describing a pregnant woman. We are not fat. I was even okay with the words "plump and ripe", but do not use the word fat. Your best bet is to say things like, "You look great!" or "Look at your cute belly!" We won't believe you, but it's a much safer option. **Note to husbands: When you are at the doctor's office and your wife gets weighed, never say anything that could be construed as less than supportive. It doesn't matter how much weight she's gained. And especially don't start bringing up her bad eating habits!

2. Never argue with a pregnant woman. It's really in your best interest. Pregnant women are mentally unstable and can become annoyed over virtually anything. If a pregnant woman tells you she's feeling a certain way, just go with it. Never try to talk her out of it. **Note to husbands: If you call home to tell your wife that you are running late and just leaving the office and she tells you that dinner is "taken care of", don't start asking questions. Just come home.

3. Never antagonize a pregnant woman. This may seem a lot like number two, but there is a difference. Some people enjoy harassing people just to get a rise out of them, but this is not a safe activity with a pregnant woman. Remember, we are mentally unstable and can quickly become violent. **Note to husbands: If your wife tells you that she's feeling really grumpy and easily provoked, do not reach over and poke her just to see what will happen!

Boy has it been a busy week so far! Thanks to extra "stuff" in my schedule and having to go grocery shopping because I didn't get to on Friday, I've gotten very little done around the house so far! Oh well...

I had nightmares all night last night! Thankfully I don't remember the details of most of them, but they were disturbing and I kept waking up all freaked out. People kept trying to kill us!

So, Doug and I are planning a trip to New York for the end of this month. It's a final vacation before we have the baby. It's supposed to be totally safe to fly at this point in pregnancy, but it makes me kind of nervous. Of course, flying in general makes me nervous, so that's not a big surprise. Anyway, I'm not having any complications nor am I high risk, so fly I shall! Woohoo.

I'm now 25 weeks pregnant, which feels a lot like 24 wks pregnant did. The baby is growing though. It weighs about a pound and a half now!* And he/she is now 13.5 inches long. Apparently the baby now has more hair on it's head. Enough to identify the color and texture if you could see it. How fun - I can't wait to see it! They say that pregnant women's hair gets fuller too, but I haven't noticed a difference.

The things that are on my mind these days are totally making their way into my dreams. I had so many dreams about babys this weekend! I had one where I was going into preterm labor. I had a couple where I found a baby abandoned in the woods and I got to keep it. Last night I had one where I had our baby and I was stressed out by all the people hanging around. Of course, my normal bizarre ones are still mixed in.

* All these things about baby's size, etc. are based on averages and norms, by the way. I don't know EXACTLY what's going on in my uterus. :)

Yesterday's surprise was a half-day of treatment at a day spa! It was wonderful. I started with a massage, which was so nice. I've had massages before, but this was my first pregnancy massage. Then they fed me a "lunch" of very tasty chicken caesar salad (with italian instead of caesar dressing). That was followed by a facial. After my facial I got a manicure and then a pedicure. It was so much fun! Go Doug! :)

Doug and I are going to Houston this weekend to visit family. I think I'll bring along the baby care book we bought (what to expect the first year) and try to get a little reading done in our down time. When I'm home I can always think of something more exciting or pressing to do than "study". I would like to be as prepared as I can though. Of course recognizing that you can never be *really* prepared for a baby!

Yesterday was my birthday - woohoo! It started with breakfast in bed (pancakes) and an early phone call from my mom. I also had an impromptu surprise birthday party from my stay-at-home-mom friends and coffee with another friend and a few more phone calls throughout the day. One gift appeared on our back porch and freaked me out, but it was a fun surprise! In the evening, Doug took me out to dinner at P.F. Chang's and that was followed by a couple more phone calls. Busy day! :)

Some mysterious thing is happening this afternoon, which is my main gift from Doug. I have my suspicions about it, but I'll be keeping those to myself in case I'm wrong. It should be a fun afternoon though! The cats did nothing for me for my birthday. The baby treated me by having hiccups for the first time this morning!

We're at 24 weeks now. That's about six months - wacky! The baby should weigh just over a pound and is almost a foot long. That's long and skinny! The brain is growing rapidly. Naturally, because the baby is going to be brilliant. Space in my uterus is starting to fill up! And this is disturbing - my uterus has now grown to the size of a soccer ball!

I've been reading about exciting things like being at risk for high blood pressure. I have never had that problem prior to pregnancy and my BP has been nice and low at every prenatal visit, so I'm really not worried about it though. Apparently the worrisome things to look out for are (excessive) swelling in your face and hands because that is a sign of pre-eclampsia (which is not a good thing).

Doug surprised me this morning with breakfast in bed! Last night I was drooling over an ad for McGriddles on the back of a magazine he was reading. I was joking that he needed to get up and go make me one (at 11 p.m.). This morning he did it! Well, it was an egg sandwich on an English muffin, but close enough! I'm always teasing him about fixing me breakfast in bed and this time he did it when I wasn't expecting it!

After we ate, the cats were all weirded out because that was not part of the normal routine. They got into a big wrestling match in the floor and I was laying in bed watching them. Charlie finally got sick of it and jumped up onto the bed. Then he walked straight over to my foot and started biting it! He's never done that before. "You think our battles are funny, do you? I'll show you funny! Grrr!" :o)~

Okay, I have to admit that I'm pretty bored with being pregnant. Some days (like yesterday) it's more like I'm *sick* of it! I know that is normal, but I thought I'd make it a little further before I started feeling this way. Like, I thought I'd at least make it to the third trimester (though that's only two or three weeks away). Things only stay exciting for so long before they start to become tedious.

I do want to clarify - I'm not bored with THE BABY, so don't start with the pep talks on how it's a miracle and all that because I know - I'm tired of getting bigger and not being able to pick things up off the floor or bend my body very far. I'm also tired of pregnancy being the only thing that's going on in my life. I want my body and my identity back! But enough ranting for one day... :)

Well, I couldn't post at the end of last week because there was some problem with the website when I tried. I am always too busy on the weekends to think about it. Yesterday I was recovering from being sick. But *today* I am back! :)

I am now 23 weeks pregnant (for those who don't know or forgot - my due date is Aug. 13th). I'm feeling pretty good these days. I'm trying to enjoy my freedom of movement before I get too big and uncomfortable. Apparently the baby has developed sense of movement and could feel it if I were inclined to dance around. I think I might fall over though - the sense of balance is a bit off these days thanks to the torpedo developing on the front of my body.

Baby moves a lot now. I swear sometimes it feels like he/she is doing flips! :)

I went to Borders yesterday to look at their infant care books. I want something that covers all the basic things you will face in the baby's first year. I know of a few titles that are fairly popular and I figured there would be a few others that I'd never heard of. Turns out there are a *lot* of books about the baby's first year. I spent roughly two hours studying them to figure out which was the best.

By the time I left I had totally fried my brain and hadn't even made it through all of them. I ended up getting two of the better ones (the big name ones that i was interested in to begin with). I figure we can look them over and I'll just return the one that we like less. There are just too many choices when it comes to baby stuff!

Did I already mention that it took Doug and I 30-45 minutes to make a decision about which diaper bag(s) to register for?!?

I'm now at 22 weeks in the pregnancy and I can't decide whether it's flying by or creeping along at a snail's pace. Apparently the baby is looking more like a newborn in there now, complete with lips, eyelids, and eyebrows. He/she is also developing little teeth buds below its gumline. Just keep baking, baby!

Thankfully, no one has touched my stomach without permission yet. At least, not anyone that I don't know well. I have had random people begin to talk to me about being pregnant though and people that I know do seem drawn to touching the belly. So, when someone I don't know asks to touch it (or someone i do know and i'm just not in the mood), how do I say No without being rude...?

At least people have stopped telling me that I don't look pregnant now! :)

I had another one of my bizarre dreams last night. In this one I actually had the baby (it was a boy in the dream). There many strange and amusing things that happened, but my favorite is that at one point the baby turned into a big kitten! :)

I made the mistake of buying a maternity shirt that is dry clean only. I never intentionally buy dry clean only items because I never take things to the cleaners, but sometimes I just don't notice. Naturally, the very first time I wore the shirt, I got a little spot on it. I think my belly brushed against the car or something (imagine that). I took it to the cleaner this morning because I'm afraid that it will be ruined if I try to just wash it (sometimes i take the wash it anyway approach) and they will have to send it to a "specialist" to be cleaned. Nice.

I have all the windows open this afternoon and am shivering in the breeze. 72 degrees sounds a lot warmer than it feels! Well, soon enough it will be so warm outside that I wouldn't even think of opening the windows, so I'll just enjoy it! :)

We tried to trap Cow Kitty last night so that we could have him fixed today, but without success. We didn't even catch a possum! Just before bedtime we had a big storm come out of nowhere, so we had to put the cage up on the porch where a trapped kitty would not get soaked. I don't know if it was the location or if CK was just chilling in a dry place, but no luck. Oh well, we can try again another night.

Baby and I are doing pretty well. It's odd getting used to the way your body changes when you're pregnant. Nothing works quite the same way it used to...

I'm 21 weeks pregnant now. My information says the baby weighs about 12 oz. Isn't that crazy? I'm more than halfway through and the baby doesn't even weigh one pound yet? The baby moves a lot now. Sometimes it's still little fluttering movements, but more often it's full-fledged kicks and nudges. It feels like gymnastics to me! He/she moves a bit throughout the day (like right now), but most of the action is in the evenings and it really gets going right after we go to bed.

It's kind of cool really. Since I'm trying to go to sleep, I'm just laying there still and quiet so I can really enjoy feeling the movement. I know that I might not enjoy it as much once it gets stronger and starts keeping me awake! :) I like trying to imagine what the baby is doing (punching, kicking, flipping, spinning)...

Here are the pictures from our latest ultrasound. I know they are small, but if you click on the image, it should give it to you a bit bigger. The top picture shows a little hand. The middle shows a little foot - so cute! And the bottom is a profile shot. :) 

Okay, I finally posted the ultrasound pictures. I know they aren't very clear, but that's just the way it is with these images. Seeing them in person is clearer and the video is too cool. Hopefully you'll get to see one of the two eventually. :)

We'll be scheduling our follow-up ultrasound for the week of May 16-20 (hopefully). That is the week before our first baby shower and our trip to New York. I hope the baby cooperates this time! This would probably be our last chance before birth to find out. But as long as the scan shows that Baby P is developing normally, we'll be quite happy!

I had to go out and buy some new gym clothes yesterday because I'm rapidly outgrowing my old ones. Apparently the thing for this season is capri workout pants.

Well, we had our ultrasound yesterday which was a very neat - but tiring - experience. We still don't know the gender because the baby decided to keep its legs clamped together the whole time we were looking. Alas. We do know that it looks good and healthy. Right now he/she is measuring normally, but on the small side of normal. So, just to make sure he/she continues to grow normally, we'll be having another ultrasound in 8 weeks. That means another crack and determining the sex. We have a very fun video of the ultrasound and some still shots which I'll scan and post soon.

I am doing very well too. My blood pressure is still great and I've only gained 6 pounds so far. I was having severe round ligament pain this morning, but apparently that's normal.

Just for the record, I don't like that straight-on photo of me. I think it makes my butt look wide. I choose to blame that on the still-slightly-baggy maternity pants.

As for baby and me - we're halfway there now! Apparently the baby is about the size of a large sweet potato, if that means anything to you. It's also developed some kind of greasy coating which is supposed to protect its skin, but sounds gross to me. And the baby is starting to swallow more.

I seriously think I'm starting to get bigger by the day. This is the part of the pregnancy that I was excited about, but it's kind of disturbing now that it's actually happening. It just makes it feel like things are starting to happen much faster! Anyway, our ultrasound is tomorrow, which is very exciting!

This one was just too silly not to include. 

Check out my groovy maternity pants... (sorry for the glare) 

There's the belly. 

Angela at 20 weeks! 

Okay, for the bazillions of you who have been asking to see a picture of me pregnant, you only have to wait a *few more days*! The problem up to now has been that I have no photos of my pregnant self. Yes, we own a digital camera, but it's difficult to take pictures of yourself (not counting close-ups of the face) and we never think of it when Doug is home. However, I have put a reminder - in very large letters - on my calendar for Saturday to "TAKE BELLY PHOTOS". So, just be patient!

I undeniably felt the baby moving last night. It felt rather like it was doing the chicken dance in there. It was very strange, but kind of cool. I think Doug is anxious for the movement to be felt from the outside so that he can be part of it. Oh, I've started reading The Chronicles of Narnia out loud to the baby... :)

Well, I'm definitely visibly pregnant now and I've decided to stop squeezing myself into my old clothes. I know that I have a long way to go, but at least you can *tell* that I'm pregnant now! I can feel the extra weight too, especially when I'm working out. And, of course, there's a lot going on inside - Baby's going through important sensory development. Develop away, little brain! :)

Another thing I didn't necessarily know before getting into this was that your body really doesn't appreciate being all stretched out of shape and it rather hurts. By the end of the day yesterday, my lower back was aching and I was having round ligament pain (lower abdomen and sides). It wasn't unbearably painful, but it wasn't exciting. Charlie gave me some snuggle therapy in bed though and that helped!

I had some wacked out dreams last night. They were more like nightmares really. Oddly, the first two had to do with myself, my mom, and my grandfather (and my cats). One had something to do with me seeing a face at the dining room window and freaking out and throwing things at it. I woke up from that one spooked and had to scoot closer to Doug. :)

The second dream took place on a boat and there was water coming in all the windows and I was trying to get all my kitties safe with little help from anyone else. There was a third dream too (which also had my cats in it), but I can't remember much about it. There was a "bad man" and possibly some death. I think maybe it's good that I don't remember the details. Whew, what a night...

Not much going on today. It's another beautiful day in the neighborhood. I only wish you could get Spring in a pollen-free version. Doug and I are both dealing with heads full of... well, snot. But, it's nice to look out the window and see little green buds popping out everywhere and people outside, enjoying the weather. :)

I am now 18 weeks pregnant, for those who have lost count. I don't feel this way every day, but there are many days when I stay hungry a *lot*. In fact, as I say that I realize that I'm hungry again. My big struggle is making myself eat healthy things instead of junk food. I could happily live on Chik-fil-a and Pizza Hut, but that would not be good for my health - or my width. I think I MIGHT be feeling the baby move now. I'm just not sure, but it feels like something is moving in there!

Well, I'm pleased to report that I'm almost back to normal (finally)! I still have a lingering cough that doesn't *sound* good, but I feel MUCH better. I even plan to shower and put on something besides pajamas and actually leave the house today! I'm glad I'm feeling well enough to go grocery shopping because I've developed a serious case of "we don't have any good food in the house" over the past couple of days!

Oh, this is funny - I had a dream last night that I was on America's Next Top Model. I was as pregnant as I am in real life and I was concerned that I was going to get kicked off the show because of it. Tyra Banks was telling me that the judges had wanted to kick me off because they thought I was just "fat", but she told them I was really pregnant. It was a very amusing dream and clearly I think about this show too much.

My apologies to those of you who got all excited when I actually posted a few days in a row last week. This bit of silence is quite forgiveable though - I have been sick for nearly a week! It started with a bit of a cough on Thursday evening and just continued to get worse and worse. I called my OB's office on Monday and they called in some antibiotics for me.

Since I was still getting worse as of this morning, I went to see my GP. Naturally, I started improving a bit almost as soon as the appointment was made - that's just the way it works. And, as expected, he told me that I do have a bit of a contagious infection, but it's largely just my allergies. I didn't really expect anything else, but I was starting to be paranoid that I had pneumonia or something! Oh, and Doug is a very good nurse! :)

Woah! What's this - three days in a row, I'm posting! No way! Well, my life is finally back to normal. 'Normal' being the state it was in before I got pregnant. I'm not sick all the time, I'm not out of town, no one else is in town. No funny business. The house has actually been clean for several days in a row too! :)

I did not participate in Cow Kitty torture after all. -- Oh, a quick aside for those who have no idea who Cow Kitty is. He is a stray who showed up around our house looking hungry last summer and we now feed him daily and he spends 60% of his time sleeping on our back porch. He's quite cute, but not the touchy-feely type. -- I was not comfortable with keeping him in that little trap for over 12 hours, plus our neighbors called and asked for the trap back, so that got me off the hook.

Okay, today I will not let my post be lost...

I'm supposed to take Cow Kitty to have him fixed and vaccinated tomorrow. I'm having it done through Shadow Cats - a feral cat rescue/shelter/spay&neuter group. They will fix him, vaccinate him, and ear notch him (i could live without that, but it's part of the deal) for only $20. The sad part is that I have to trap him overnight and then let him just sit in that little cage until tomorrow morning. Like this whole thing isn't going to be traumatic enough, I have to torture him for several hours first. This makes me so sad that I almost want to back out! :(

Another sad thing - I broke off one of my fingernails and now it's trying to get ingrown. It's quite painful. Naughty fingernail!

[sigh] I just created a post and then tried to publish it only to discover that i had lost the internet connection for some reason. so, everything that i typed disappeared.

here's the short version - doug's home. i'm happy. he's tired, but happy. the baby and i are fine. next doctor's appointment is on friday.

I'll write more tomorrow and hopefully the computer won't eat it then.

Well, I spent most of last week sad and anxious because of Doug's impending business trip. Now he's gone to Taiwan (left on saturday will be back this coming saturday) and I'm doing alright. I'm sad at the moment, but overall I'm doing much better than I did when he left last year. Thankfully, he's only gone one week this time and he'll be in one place the whole time he's gone. :)

As for Baby P, all's well. There's really not much going on right now. Well, actually there's a whole lot going on inside, but nothing I can see or feel. This is crazy though - did you know that at this point (15 weeks), if I shine a flashlight at my abdomen the baby will move away from the light. What I want to know is who the heck goes around shining a flashlight at their pregnant belly?

I forgot to tell you - Doug's laptop showed up later that morning. Apparently someone else did grab it, thinking it was their own. Whew!

Well, this time it's been a while since I posted because I just flat out forgot about my blog for a while. Since I've been feeling better, I've also been doing more. Being more busy means that I tend to forget about other things. Only so much room in my brain, apparently. Especially since I have a baby stealing my brain cells!

Anyway, I'm officially in my second trimester now and continuing to feel better and better. I have have recently developed a little tiny tummy pop. I think I'm the only person who can tell though. Other than that, there's not much to report.

Happy Valentine's Day to all who are reading this on Monday! Doug is planning some sort of romantic evening at home tonight. All I really know is that he's cooking and I have presents. I'll keep you updated (if appropriate)... :)

Doug's laptop just got stolen at work! He went to the restroom, set it down, went into a stall and did his business, and when he came back out it was gone! Crazy! There is really very little he can do without a computer. Hopefully it was just someone who picked his up thinking it was theirs or some kind of innocent mistake like that and it will be cleared up soon. He needs his computer to work!

When I talked to him a little while ago, he was planning to go ahead and go work out and see if it turns up during that hour. If he comes back and still no computer... I don't know what he'll do. Maybe he'll have to come home. That would break *my* heart! If he still feels like he needs to work, he could do laundry with me. :o)~

Ooh, I just offended Cordelia by not letting her jump up into my lap. Alas.

Nothing terribly exciting to report today. Things are still getting better. I did have a really bad day on Friday, but that could have been a bug of some kind. Things are great today. Our baby is now the size of a jumbo shrimp. (where do they come up with these things??) I find that comparison a little disturbing because I find shrimp disturbing. But if it helps you, then go with it. :) In case you were wondering, it is safe for a pregnant woman to eat two servings of shrimp per week. That's assuming that you are not allergic to shrimp. This matters very little to me as I wouldn't eat shrimp even if I weren't allergic to them!

Doug and I began the process of registering for baby stuff this weekend. We are taking this in veeery small steps so that we don't lose our minds like we did registering for our wedding!

Well, I had my second appointment with the doctor yesterday. Everything seems to be fine. She was properly disturbed by my bloody eye and advised that I not throw up anymore. I told her I'd work on that.

We got to hear the heartbeat, which was very cool. Of course. I got spoiled with getting to actually see the baby with my first visit and the follow-up ultrasound. I won't get to see it again though for a couple of months.

I also discovered that I've actually lost 4 pounds in the past five weeks. I'm not sure how since I've been eating every two hours and only working out about once a week! Plus, the only changes I've seen in my body are enlargements and thickening. Oh well, I'll be gaining plenty of weight soon enough!