Twenty-Three Weeks!

Woo! Our twenty-third week has been a doozy! Full of family, food, and fun, it was a weekend worth remembering. Here are the highlights:

• Shaken & Stirred: My family lives in VA and experienced the relatively-tremendous (by east-coast standards) earthquake earlier this week. It was a scary experience to be far away and wonder how everyone was doing (phone lines were overwhelmed), but modern technology is pretty incredible, and they were able to text updates so I knew all were unhurt. One day after cleaning up the spilled and broken things around the house, Mom had to set to work battening down the hatches for the onset of Hurricane Irene. Double whammy! Throughout the weekend I was checking in to see how they were faring, and was pleased to hear they weathered the storm with bacon-wrapped steak, good company, lots of rain, and no damage or power-outages. They dodged a bullet, no doubt. I'm relieved for them, as that's a lot to take in less than a week!
• A "Minne" Family Reunion: Speaking of family, R's entire immediate family made their way by plane, train and automobile to our fair city for a cousin's wedding this weekend. We've lived here for over four years and it was the first time the gang was all here at once - so fun, and so long overdue! Really the only downside was that I came down with a horrendous summer cold just in time for everyone's arrival and was managing head and chest congestion (read: man voice!) throughout their visit. Many thanks to my baby-weakened immune system for that! Here's a run-down of the weekend's activities:

• Wednesday: R's youngest brother S, wife A, and Baby E arrived and we picked them up at the airport. E is now 4 1/2 months old and it was our first time meeting him. We were smitten! He was a little tuckered out from a busy day of travel and thus, if his crying on the way to the hotel was any indication, he was slightly less impressed with us. After dropping their little family at their hotel, we picked up R's sister K and her boyfriend PV from the light rail and brought them to our house, where they'd stay for the weekend. On the way, we swung by the store to retrieve pregnancy-safe cold remedies. Side note: Menthol Breathe Right Strips are a lifesaver. Everyone safely deposited, it was time for bed!
• Thursday:  R & I both worked Thursday, so family members were on their own for the day. I popped into the doctor at work and was reassured that I did not have pneumonia (my wheezing and shortness of breath could - once again - be blamed on my ever-expanding girth in combination with the cold I was battling). K & PV breakfasted at our favorite little neighborhood coffee shop and took the puppies for a walk before heading to the aquarium with S, A & E for the afternoon. R's Mom arrived that afternoon and visited a local cross-stitch shop with her free time. K & PV sweetly walked the puppies for us that afternoon, so when I arrived home we piled in the car and headed downtown. We met the family at a boutique in town for a little baby-centric window shopping and then grabbed dinner nearby. Finally, it was time for R to run in the Torchlight 5K with 5000 of his closest friends. He had a good run, in spite of the fact that he was starting to come down with the same cold I'd been sporting for a few days. We made plans for the following day and went our separate ways.
• Friday: R & I took the day off in order to spend time with his family, but we had a quick errand to check off the list first: a tour of Baby Girl's future daycare center at my office. We spent about 30 minutes checking out the facilities and meeting various staff members. We peppered them with questions and watched smiling moms, dads, babies and staff go about their morning routine. Upon leaving, we agreed that we felt great about our choice to have our daughter there when I go back to work after maternity leave - what a relief to know she'll be so close and in such good hands! We made it home in time to pick up K & PV and head to the State Fair where we met Mom, S, A & E for a day of animal-admiring, people-watching, and food-sampling. The high points (for me) included just-born piglets, goats and lambs, crop art, beauty queen butter sculptures (really), and the FOOD: cheese curds, old-fashioned lemonade, a lamb gyro, frozen grapes on a stick, a Pronto Pup, roasted corn, warm chocolate chip cookies, and all-you-can-drink milk for $1. After four hours, we were spent, so we parted ways to rest and freshen up. Meanwhile, R's Dad landed (he'd been detoured by a quick business trip) and R's brother J and wife D arrived after driving over from Wisconsin. We all met for dinner and some ice cream that night, and having everyone together in a big, raucous group was very reminiscent of old times. Satiated and sleepy, we all departed for our various abodes for the evening.
• Saturday: We met for breakfast at one of my favorite spots in town. An assortment of breakfast dishes were ordered, including R's favorite fried egg sandwich (he no longer even bothers to open the menu because he orders the same thing every single time) and my dearly beloved tall stack of pancakes (with a side of hashbrowns). The table quieted a bit while everyone devoured the feast before us, at which point we parted ways to get ready for R's cousin's wedding that afternoon. First, however, Mom, K and I made our way back out to the cross-stitch store to pick out materials for a nursery project Mom is taking on for us - I'm so excited for the end product and can't wait to reveal it when it's complete! 
• Saturday Afternoon/Evening: R's cousin's wedding was both lovely and full of love, and I will confess to being choked up on more than one occasion. I've always had a soft spot for weddings, but now it's a really, really big soft spot as it doesn't take a whole lot to make me cry (more on that soon). We ran home after the wedding to walk and feed the puppies, then made a quick pit-stop for fast food to ease my gnawing hunger on our way to the reception (K's treat, as she was a top finisher in an art contest and received a year's supply of restaurant gift cards for her prize!). At the reception, I was delighted to get to feed Baby E and rock him to sleep. There's nothing like the sweet, sleepy weight of a baby in my arms - it's a feeling I've always loved. Holding him was taxing for my upper arm strength, but totally worth it, and I wait eagerly for the days in the not-too-distant future when I get to hold my very own little one. It's admittedly sappy, but my heart feels simultaneously gooey and about to burst at the thought. We enjoyed dinner, delicious wedding cake, and some photo booth fun(!), and during the slide show, R got to feed Baby E to sleep as well (adorable and rewarding, as E was hamming it up for R at one point). After spending some great time reconnecting with R's cousins and extended family, we said our goodbyes and headed home. R's family all departed on this morning, but we look forward to seeing them again in less than a week when we travel to them for another wedding and the holiday weekend! Again, it was an action-packed weekend, but it was a series of memories I will enjoy for some time to come!

A few more highlights:

• No Doubt About It: Sometimes I look down at my burgeoning belly and wonder whether people realize I'm pregnant or just think I'm chubby. I started posting weekly photos of my bump here and on Facebook because I thought far-away friends and family would enjoy experiencing the pregnancy along with us. In doing so, I had to acknowledge that some out there would likely not care about our happiness but would just smugly enjoy watching me "get fat." Initially this was a tough pill to swallow, as I want to surround this long-awaited experience and baby with only people who love and are genuinely happy for us, but then I realized that the joke's on anyone who takes pleasure in whatever they perceive as my misfortune. I love everything about being pregnant! I know I will get back to my pre-baby shape and I'll be better for the experience as I will get a pretty amazing reward for my efforts! Anyway, today I saw some photos of myself that R took at the fair this weekend and was sort of pleasantly shocked at just how pregnant I really look. There's really no mistaking my big ripe belly for anything big a growing baby. I rather like the look of it!
• Biggest Fan: R had a big race today, so the baby and I went to cheer him on bright and early. It was fun to feel her squirm and wiggle while waiting to spot him on each leg of the race. I kept thinking that next year, R will have a pint-sized fan who thinks he's the most heroic man alive - so precious! By the way, R was fantastic today, even though he's sicker than ever. I slow-braised a pot roast and veggies to help him feel better (and maybe also because it sounded incredible to me). We'll see tomorrow how effective my treatment has been. :)
• Navel-Gazing: As I sit here writing this, I can feel the baby rocking and rolling in my belly. I looked down just now and watched the rippling movement through my shirt as evidence of her growth and development. It's such a joy to feel and see these little reminders of the amazing gift waiting for us in a few short months. I just cannot wait to meet our daughter. R has also been able to feel her increasingly-strong kicks and punches as well and commented recently that he can't wait to meet her and get to know her. We're just over four months away now and grow more excited by the day!

This post is growing rather long, so let's just get to the tracker:

Week: 23

Weight: +9 so far (as of our Week 21 official doctor weigh-in) 

Baby is the Size of a(n): Bag of Coffee Beans (in both length [just shy of a foot long] and weight [a smidgen over a pound], actually!) 

Symptoms: still always hungry, increasing round ligament and general "growing" pains, really achy pelvis, tailbone pain when sitting for awhile, shortness of breath, congestion, wacky dreams, and moodiness (noteworthy breakdown: saw this post several times this week and made the mistake of reading it while eating lunch at work, which resulted in me sobbing in a bathroom stall - embarrassing!)

Current Obsession: watermelon, Honey Nut Cheerios, heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, all the vegetables from our farm share, apples, peanut butter, Greek yogurt, chicken, milk, and lemonade

Current Aversion: eggs and seafood (not bad now)

Thinking About: who our little girl will take after; what her personality will be; working on the nursery; finishing up our registry (it's done!); finalizing leave of absence plans; and still pondering names (I have a feeling this will be true until we meet our little girl!).

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