28 weeks

what's cooking? [new baby things]: babe's eyes can open and close now, she can blink and maybe wink!  her eyes also have color now but that color can still change for the next year or so. she is about 15 inches long, about the length of a churro, and weighs 2 to 3 pounds.

gender: teeny tiny little girl!  little princess as she's also known.

movement: seriously.  this babe moves all. the. time.  she is so active.  i'm kind of concerned that i'm going to have to chase her all over town immediately after she arrives because it seems like she really loves to be on the go.

momma developments: it happened.  i had cankles.  now i thought i knew what 'cankles' looked like and i was even kind of prepared for these mythical swollen ankles.  no.  this was so much worse.  i had no ankle bones.  even with very determined prodding i couldn't find them.  just a giant swollen mess of a never ending calf.  i propped my feet up and it did look better when i woke up in the morning but i'm still not 'normal'.  my new strappy sandals [buckling around the ankle] are going to have a short life this season i'm sad to say.  i got one wear out of them [with ben buckling me in because i can't bend over - could this get worse?] - and now i think they may be hung up until august or so.  in other news my linea negra is getting a little darker.  i've had more and more leg cramps buuut some good news that they are lasting for a shorter amount of time now. also, i've been better about drinking more water.  i'm patting myself on the back as i type.

total weight gain: i forgot to check on sunday but from my doctor's appointment i'd say i'm somewhere between 23-25 pounds so far...and feeling it.

maternity clothes: bottoms 100% of the time.  tops most of the time and my dresses about 20% are maternity.  you can just get away with more in a dress.  i have some super generous friends who let me borrow their prego clothes recently as well as my momma showering me with some maternity deals so i'm feeling pretty well stocked.  i love that i have a few more choices now and that they make me feel put together when i don't feel much like my normal self!

cravings: nothing new - jimmy johns & dr. pepper.  all things evil.

anything hard?
i still haven't picked out fabric for the nursery and no name for little one. these two decisions are looming over me like the eyeore cloud.  i mean i am completely psyched about both things, it's just the actual decision making process that is making me crazy.

i'm thinking it was this past week that i had to take the gestational diabetes test.  you know, drink the syrup.  at first i thought, this isn't so bad.  why do people make such a fuss.  by the end of my diabetes cocktail i was almost gagging.  one hour later - it was syrup revisited as it decided to exit my body.  i felt much better after a few minutes of hugging the toilet bowl and praaaaise - i do not have g.d.!  treat!

ben and i had a lot on our plates for the last week, so things felt a little tense at times.  i think i was on edge and felt pressure so i wasn't being the easiest person to live with or love.  i'm sad about that.  not that i'm always sweet in regular life [believe me i'm not] but i do still feel a little out of control when it comes to my reactions & emotions.  i'm just a crazy pregnant lady.

never forget:
yet again little one you had a big ol' weekend full of parties.  you had lunch dates with friends, kickball games, randi's bachelorette party, leadership, cinco de mayo eve dinner with friends, and don't forget - you got to see your poppa graduate & then celebrate with all kinds of family & friends!  that was a definite highlight for you. [more on that soon]

you also got to participate in some super fun housework.  ok ok maybe the work wasn't that fun but the final product is certainly worth it.  i'm so glad we'll have an organized, sweet little place for you to come home to.  you should thank your pop for being so diligent and following through with all the things we have planned.  i'm so thankful to have his help & to have him as a partner.  i can only imagine what kind of home i'd be making if i had to do it on my own - it would be more than a disaster.

this week your poppa sang to you a bunch.  i think that you loved it.

you've always been pretty active whenever your dad is around.  mainly because he jiggles my belly and pokes you - to which you respond with kicks and fist pumps.  but this past week, even if he just lightly places his hand on my belly you kick him right away.  i think you know it's him.  you could be completely still for two hours, he says hello and you're all perked up.  maybe you're going to be a daddy's girl?

we had a doctor's appointment this week [apart from the diabetes test].  they told me everything was measuring right on track and they didn't even reprimand me for reaching my end of pregnancy weight 3 months early.  we got to hear little bean's heartbeat for about 10 seconds.  i think the tech said it was 130 which is much slower than it was a few months ago.  they said as you grows it slows down a bit.  we talked about labor and delivery with our midwife which was both exciting and terrifying wrapped into one.  when we walked into the hospital it hit me, one day i'm going to walk in here and come out with a baby.  we're going to walk in and be able to look at each other and know that it's 'go time', have-a-baby-time, get prepared because this is the biggest life change ever-time.  exciting. and terrifying.  i'm praying that i'll be braver and stronger than i think i am when that rolls around.  we've scheduled baby classes for the next few weeks.  i think as i learn more and feel more prepared [if that is even the slightest bit possible] then i may be a bit more at ease - mentally at least - for what is to come.

we have narrowed down our names to three. and i love them all.  i think we will have a decision oh so very soon.  and i cannot wait. i wish you would just tell us what your favorite name is now and we'd pick that.  too bad womb-communication isn't really working out for us yet. and at this point you'd probably pick out something silly like princess consuela banana hammock.

this week aunt ang took you and i to register for more baby things.  it was so helpful to have a mom walk through with us and show us what [in her experience] has been really valuable and what isn't so much a necessity.  thanks friend for taking time out to do that with us!  i appreciate it so much.  i think if i do one more quick scan online at our two stores i should be all set in our 'wish lists' for all things baby.  we are so thankful for all the ways people have already showered us with such generosity in getting us ready for itty bitty to arrive.

um hello third trimester.  holy crap.