Wow…..halfway there! I will defnitely be posting some pictures sometime today. yay!

So….Chris and I had a great Thanksgiving day! We met some friends at a casino and ate there. No cooking involved…and that was nice because its kinda silly to cook a huge feast just for two people! I am also happy that we don’t have any leftovers hanging out here….because although I love turkey, dressing, gravy and pies, I don’t want to over-indulge. I want Little Tiny to get lots of nutritious veggies and protein and healthy carbs…..So I indulged myself for just one meal and now its over with.

So, I am sitting here drinking an “Aurelia morning” smoothie. haha, thats what I call it, but I love my sis for telling me about how she makes sure she gets all of her fruits and veggie servings in for the day! This is great to have while pregnant, because although I get hungrier more often, I get fuller faster.

So….first thing you need is fruit. (and a blender, or course) Any fruit or fruits that you want. Today I used a banana, peaches, and grapes. I was gonna throw in an apple but I didn’t feel like cutting and peeling it.
Secondly, all you need is some ice. And then, you just take some spinach leaves and throw as much as you want in there! I usually do about 2 handfuls…but however much you want to use is cool, because guess what? You can’t even taste the spinach! Also, you can probably do it in whatever order you want; I am sure that part doesn’t matter. Oh!! And usually, I try and throw in some yogurt or milk in, and sometimes some calcium fortified orange juice gets in there. That way I can make sure Little Tiny and I are getting lots and lots of calcium.

So, I like to have the smoothies in the morning, and then it feels great knowing that I got all of my fruit servings in and most of my veggie servings in for the day. Thanks Aurelia!

Ok…well this week wasn’t so easy. I am still waking up pretty early, but mostly because its starting to get a little uncomfortable at night to sleep. Last week, my feet started hurting a lot and swelling….this week my ankles decided to get in on the action as well! I have noticed that its definitely due to work, most likely because I am walking at work for all day. As soon as I get home, I make sure that I rest and elevate my feet. On the weekends, there is only a little swelling…I hope that after I quit working ( 19 dec!! yay!) that the swelling and pain goes away a little.

The only other thing that happened was on Wednesday. I started feeling Braxton Hicks contractions for the first time. I read that Braxton Hicks start from the very first trimester, but that most women don’t feel them until their last month of pregnancy. My midwife said that a lot of women do start to feel them earlier, and not to worry, but to definitely monitor them.
It did feel weird to be walking around at work, feeling my belly kinda cramp and become super tight on and off….just a weird feeling….not any pain at all.

Soooo, other than that we are all doing great! My belly is definitely growing and its rock hard…haha. It’s getting uncomfortable to sleep, harder to stretch, bend down, and put my shoes on! (: I will get Chris to take some pics of my growing belly today and let you guys judge for yourself about how huge my belly is. Chris and I agree that this week is probably the first week that anyone can tell that I am pregnant. (: Its exciting!!!

Yes! Its the weekend! And next week is Thanksgiving, which brings us closer to Christmas!!!

Yay!

Well…I am 18 weeks pregnant as of yesterday! 2 more weeks and we are halfway there!! I almost can’t believe it!

Sooooo…..if anyone wants to, please pray that I can get some rest. I started having trouble sleeping this week. I have been waking up earlier and earlier this week…..Wednesday waking up at 0430 and this morning I woke up at 0130. And, then its really hard to get back to sleep. It wouldn’t be so bad, but I do work and lack of sleep is hard on a working mama who is on her feet all day!

I keep waking up coughing….or to blow my nose…..or to pee…..or because I am so uncomfortable with this baby belly and extra weight putting pressure on my hips when I sleep. I am seriously contemplating buying one of those pregnancy pillows!

These next 2 weeks will be similiary hard, because this week and then, I will be on my feet all day at work. This week, my feet suffered very badly! They started to swell and throb, and just plain hurt! I even bought one of the those foot spa things to try and help the discomfort. That helped a little, but the foot rubs from Chris have helped so much more!!! I am so thankful for my wonderful husband! I am just not looking foward for the next 2 weeks, and I need lots of prayers to help me get though them.

Other than that….I really can’t complain. I still feel tiny move every now and then, but its not on a consistent basis yet. I have read that may be around 26 weeks or so…..but I can’t wait for that!

Chris and I are gonna try to get all the furniture in its place this weekend, and finish our Target registry. I start winter semester on Monday, so I really want as much in its place as possible because working full time and school full time is no joke!!

Thats all I got for now…Peace!

I’m gonna be short about this…but I just wanted to write something small about something that has made me very sad in the past few weeks…

Prop 8.

yep.

The “yes” vote made me so sad….that I think about it at least once a day. …. I’m not going to get deep into this…..I’m not going to try and explain why I feel the way I do…and I don’t feel like it’s necessary for anyone to try and make me feel guilty or question my faith. All I will say is that God knows my heart and he holds me accountable.

So, this is really personal to me on a lot of levels. I know that what I will say is something that some people in my extended family may hold against me, but I don’t really care.

All I can think about are all the people who finally got to be married….and now their marriage is considered “void.” Am I right about that???? I’m not sure…but I felt heartbroken in so many ways thinking about this.

Look…I’ve taken government classes…I’m not entirely ignorant. And now I am glad Texas required all those gov classes, because I have pretty good understanding of what is constitutional and what is unconstitutional. Denying marriage to gay and lesbian couples? Definitely unconstitutional.

I really do believe in separation of church and state…its definitely a reason why our country is so great! I realize that religion played the factor in the “yes” vote, of course, but I guess what I don’t understand is all the hatred I have felt coming from these Christians! All the judgmental comments….the boycotting….

that’s not something I want to teach my son…that we should love everyone, unless their gay or lesbian and in that case we should cast them aside and treat them less than human! Didn’t God call on us to show HIS love to everyone??

In my last bible study, we talked about how God wants us to live peacefully with our neighbors, and to love them…not to pretend to love them, but really love them. Thats my goal…thats my plan in life…the only thing in my life that is concrete!

Ok…I promise to not wait so long before any updates anymore!

Well…today I am 17 weeks and 4 days preggers! Going into my 16th week, I felt my energy come back full force! I found my body falling back into my pre-pregnancy sleep routine, which was waking up around 0500 and going to sleep between 2030-2200 (8:30-1000 p.m.) Its been great! I love waking up early to just have some quiet time, play on the internet, read and talk with my creator!

There are only a few changes….and of course no. 1 is my growing body!!! I hit a growth spurt for sure! I only gained about 3 lbs in the first trimester, and I think that was mostly bloating. At my last appt I gained 8 lbs!!! Though I did weigh without taking off my boots…I was shocked! I didn’t really feel like I gained any weight…and then I remembered that I am pregnant and the weight gain was was all tummy (and some boob growth!). Anyhow, I am right on track with the weight gain, and my midwife is happy….. Its just weird to gain weight so fast and so see my body change so fast.

So, yes…I feel like my tummy is finally looking preggers! And unfortunately, so are my boobs! I have, so far, resisted the urge to weigh them….and since my old bras were finally becoming uncomfortable, I bought a nursing bra at Target last night! SOOOO comfy!!! Yes, I know I am not nursing, but those types of bras are supposed to have alot more support…and they do! Its great…I am gonna be washing that bra every day, because I am sure my boobs will continue to grow.

Lets see….I decorated the fireplace with Christmas decorations! Yeah!

I love the holiday season!!!

Chris and I also have gotten alot accomplished lately. We decided how we were going to rearrange the house….we rearranged some furniture, Chris put a new ceiling fan and light fixture in Little Tiny’s room, we cleaned lots, and by the end of this week, we should have all the furniture moved to it’s new location!

The only thing we haven’t really done is talk about names! There are some floating around, and we will let it loose as soon as we agree on something.

So, I have saved the best for last! Going into my 16 week I knew I had felt the baby move! I felt him move (the medical community calls these first movements “the quickening”) when in the beginning of Nov and 2 other times after that. Well, on Sunday, Little Tiny was going crazy moving around!! Sunday night, we were relaxing after a long day of cleaning, and all of a sudden my tummy started going crazy! He moved around some, then he stopped, then he moved again, and kept going in this pattern for about 10 minutes! It was so weird and wonderful and crazy at the same time! Since then, I have been feeling more and more movement….it seems to be more at night after I eat. Yesterday morning I felt it at work which was great, and last night I jumped when it first started because it felt like he did a little roundhouse kick first!

So, that has been the most exciting part! Another thing that is exciting is that between now and week 20 , Little Tiny will be able to fully hear!!! So, Chris and I have been talking to him…I, of course, have been singing all sorts of songs to him, and Buster has been acting a little over protective of me lately, so I think he knows something’s going on!

So..thats it! We are excited and growing more and more in love with Little Tiny and each other every day! NOW…go on to the baby belly page, because I have some new pics up…FINALLY!

Love ya’ll!

wanna know? wanna congratulate us? Then read Chris’s Blog!!!!
(The link is on the right hand side of the page)