Hump Day!

**Note: So I'm a total slacker - I wrote this post on Tuesday and never got around to putting the pictures on it - so read as if it was last Tuesday! :) **

A picture of my "Baby Bump" (By request)

Today marks the ½ way point in my pregnancy!! I am 20 weeks and have 20 weeks to go – 140 days each way! I have been remarkably surprised at how fast the whole this has gone! And I’ve heard that the second half flies by even faster!! I feel so fortunate to have felt as great as I do!! I can’t say I don’t still complain about the occasional headache, or back/hip pain, or about being tired – but comparatively I’m a lucky girl!!

So I mentioned in my last post about our 1st ultrasound that I had felt the ‘flutters’ twice up to that point. The first was when I was only 13 ½ weeks along, so I got a lot of grief from people that didn’t believe me that I could feel movement that early. Well, on Saturday the 10th (17 ½ weeks along) I was getting my back worked on so I was on the massage table lying on my stomach. She kicked so hard that it felt like someone had flicked the table from inside me! I was ecstatic to feel her actually kick! I didn’t feel any more movement until the next Thursday when I felt a few nudges throughout the day. I knew that it was unmistakably her!! Then on Friday the 16th, Neil and I were lying on the bed relaxing after work. He was on the phone with a friend making plans to watch the Jazz game that evening. I started feeling her pretty strong (for how small she still is) so as soon as he got off, I had him place his hand on my stomach. Sure enough, he felt the next few kicks from our little girl! Not only did I now have proof, but he got to share the excitement in feeling our baby!

Her cute little foot

Being a person who gets excited about the smallest little things, I have been on cloud 9 for over 2 weeks now. Not a day goes by that I don’t feel her for anywhere from 2-3 kicks, to 30-45 minutes of straight movement – usually at least 3-4 times per day!! I probably get annoying to listen to ‘cause I’m constantly talking about how amazing it feels and how fun it is. I love every minute of it!!

Her legs - bent and crossed

We had our ‘Dr. prescribed’ ultrasound last Thursday. It was quite a different experience, as the first time was all about how cute she was and seeing her move, etc. This time it was all about measuring her head and femur and spine and making sure she has all her parts. It was still amazing and fun and we still got some great pictures.

Her adorable little profile!

The Zoo

Chilly Willy and his pal Neil

While my parents were on their annual “After-Tax-Season Trip” (My dad is a CPA), we stayed at their house with my brother William (who has Down Syndrome). We had quite the experience with him – he definitely has a unique personality! Most days were great, although he had a few moments of “William” behavior!

William at the lion drinking fountain

We took him to the zoo last Saturday. Can I just tell you how fun the zoo is!? I haven’t been in years, but even having been probably dozens of times, it’s still fun to see animals up close and to re-learn things about them that you’ve probably learned 100 times. He took awhile to warm up from being a bit cranky, but once he got going, there was nothing slowing him down. He had to see EVERY animal, and read EVERY word about them, their habitat, their eating habits, etc. All-in-all it was a very fun afternoon activity! He’s sometimes camera shy, so a few of the pictures were ones I surprised him in, and others you can tell, he wants to be the center of the attention! :)

William liked that the lemur was so close to the cage.

He's almost as tall and almost as wide as a gorilla!

Will's handle in high school was 'Giraffe' - he liked watching the baby eat.

Apparently the “Ghost of the Bayou” is not an albino, but an actual species of Alligator that is white.

He thought it was quite entertaining when two of the black bears were having a wrestling match. He thought they were fighting – it took us awhile to convince him they were just playing with each other.

(The video is having a hard time uploading - I'll add it later)

We are glad to be back at home now, but we did have an overall pleasant time with our “Chilly Willy.” Thanks bud, for making it fun!