Oh yeah, and I'm having a baby.

With five weeks to go in this pregnancy, I guess I should probably say something about it. Basically, it's been a breeze. Everything has been very routine, with no surprises whatsoever. Hooray! My feet hurt at the end of every day. My hands and feet and ankles haven't swollen at all compared to last time, hallelujah. As a general rule, sleeping hurts. My hips and knees and back are just creaky and sore all night. In other news,  I've also managed to not gain ten million pounds, believe it or not! Only like, one million pounds. Actually twenty if you really want to know.

Compared to last time, this pregnancy has really been on the back burner. With Nat, it was all we ever talked about or thought about. And now I don't have any more brains to think about anything. Ha. But really, life is a lot busier with one kid than with no kid, and between that and school and work, this little guy doesn't get quite as much as attention as Natalie in utero (sorry, too graphic?).

He's very active in the mornings and after supper until bedtime, with a LONG nap in the middle of the day. Maybe that's how he'll be when he comes! He likes to nestle his heels right in the top and center of my tummy and dig them in, probably causing severe internal bruising and definitely causing slight external soreness.

Names. Boy's names are SO much harder than girl's names. But we finally have a list! We have gone from zero options to about twenty and have it down to five. Sam would say three, but there's still technically five on the list. Hopefully we're not stealing anyone's favorite names for their kids (ahem, Bri), but we've got some pretty good options I think. And I'm not telling!

Yes, I've found a doctor for all of you concerned sisters of mine. My first appointment is August 17th. They're located right on the first floor of the hospital I'll be delivering at, which is 4 minutes away from where we live. Convenience at it's finest.

We bought a bag of newborn diapers and set up a second crib in Nat's room this week. I guess this is really happening!

37 weeks!!

And I quote:

Your baby "is now clinically mature and ready to be born."

HALLELUJAH!!!!!!!!! 

That is wonderful news. This is part in the recipe that says "remove from oven and cool on wire rack," and let's be serious, we could really just skip that step and scarf. But apparently our baby likes to follow directions, so she's in there cooling her jets and getting pumped to make her grand entrance.

Sorry I wear the same clothes in every picture...

Our appointments are every week. Our appointment last Tuesday was swell, I'm measuring 36 which is  spot on. The midwife that we met with made us nervous that the babe wasn't moving enough, so we panicked and went back the next day and did a non-stress test, where they just put a monitor on my tummy and we get to listen to her heart beat for 20 minutes and a little chart spits out of the machine. The lady came in and said that little Penelope is just perfect. Huzzah!

Baby Shower

This post is dedicated to Michelle.

Friend Heather threw me a baby shower! Thank heavens, because babies are exPENsive. And we didn't have any clothes.

Here's the invite:

It's a diaper. :)

I don't really have any friends, so all the old ladies that I work with were invited. They are very friendly, and can spend a lot more money on baby things than me. Convenient, eh?

One of the ladies asked me last week or so to put together a list of all the things I didn't have. She said that I had to put things on there even if they were expensive and I didn't plan on receiving them. So I did. It was fun. And I got a large number of things on that list!

We had it at Applebee's because there was plenty of parking and I didn't have to try and figure out how I was going to seat 15 old ladies with hip problems in my little apartment. Thank heaven. That was a stroke of genius from whoever suggested it.

PLEASE excuse the double chin(s).

 The lady on the very front right is named Cookie. Really! That's her name!

It's a wee little baby cradle. An old lady cut them, I folded and glued. And then we stuffed them full of Hershey kisses and  tulle.

It's time!!!

So, some of you may have heard from a little birdy (ahem, Ma)  that Sam and I know if we're having a boy or girl.

IT'S TRUE!!

Now is the time for your official guess. Here's some ultrasounds to help you. Sorry, but the first and last are upside down somehow.

MAKE YOUR GUESS! Then we'll reveal!

Bouncing Baby Buns

Ok, so this was our wee one at 8 weeks. I'm now officially at 12 weeks. And I'm due on September 29th. Which is 50 years away. But in another 8 weeks, we find out girl or boy!!!

And this is the coolest thing in the world. And the picture is the same as above, which is why the baby looks the same.

Being pregnant is super cool. And sometimes super weird. Like when I think, "huh, there's an entire human body inside of me." And it's nothing like my pregnant dreams ever were like. And it's also not like stuffing a baby doll under your shirt.