17 Weeks

Warning:  This post contains an abundance of pictures.  Just fyi.

Hi again!  Spring Break was wonderful and relaxing and busy.  It went by so quickly.  The beginning of the week was very productive, and we accomplished a great deal around here.  Thursday, we drove to my parents' house to spend a few days with them.  My mom's birthday was Saturday, so we thought it would be nice to be there on her special day.  While down,  I got a much-needed hair cut.

Look at all the hair Angie cut off!  I took this in the restroom at the shop right after she cut it, so it's not washed or fixed, but I love it!  

Friday afternoon, we went to a festival that's held in my hometown every year during Spring Break.  We went with my best friend and her girls and had a fabulous time!  Here's a picture of the two of us and her newest little one.  Isn't she a doll?! Don't mind my no-makeup look.  I have not been in the mood to wear much more than mascara lately.  

And just for grins and giggles, here are the two of us, oh, 8 or so years ago when her twins were several months older than that wee one above is now. We were at the lake that weekend, so please forgive the "no-makeup-and-obviously-no-fixing-of-the-hair" looks we've got going on. And, please, someone explain to me how I could be at the lake all weekend and still come away as white as ever!  And, haha, my hair is about the same length then as it is now! 

Time has flown by.  We've been friends since sixth grade (I tried DESPERATELY to find a picture of the two of us from that year but couldn't find a one on my computer--darn!  That was a sarcastic "darn" if you didn't realize that because, well, our middle school years were not kind to us, and we are both very very happy to be long past them), and we know just about everything about each other.  Love that girl!!

Yesterday, Sunday, after our second church service (have I mentioned I belong to the most friendly, outgoing church and have a fabulous church family?), we had a church-wide picnic.

Here I am with my mother-in-law.

 Here's The Husband and me (he made that awful face because I took his AWFUL (see below) hat off his head for the picture)

 Below are the sequence of events it took to get a decent picture of the three of us (The Husband, me, and our friend, Hank)

1.  Trying to take off THAT hat

 2. Two out of three were ready

 3.  Now he's just being mean

 4.  We have a winner!

 Here's Bethany, one of the loveliest (both inside and out) girls I know.  

All right, enough with the pictures. :)
Pregnancy Highlights:

How far along:  17 weeks and 1 day today

Size of baby:  The Little One is 5 inches long and the size of a turnip (or the length of my hand).

Total weight gain/loss: I *think* I'm up another half pound or so, but when I weighed myself a few nights ago, it was after eating horribly (i.e. ridiculous amounts of fried food) at the festival in my hometown.  So, I guess I'll go ahead and say, in all, I've gained 5 pounds.

Maternity clothes:   Dresses and comfy shirts/shorts/capris.  Ahem, I had to get new undergarments this week because of some upper back pain the, ahem, smaller undergarments were causing.  I have worn a few maternity tops my bestie gave me, and they are super comfortable!   

Gender:  Our ultrasound that will reveal the baby's gender will take place in less than three weeks!  It's getting soooo close.  We are waiting, oh-so-patiently, for our Gender Reveal Party that will take place the following week. :)

Movement:  I thought maybe I felt something mid-week, but I haven't had any reoccurrence, so I'm pretty sure that wasn't the baby I felt.  :(

Sleep:  I'm sleeping fine (when I'm asleep and not heading toward the bathroom for my once or twice nightly trip).  I still wake to find myself lying on my back occasionally, but I mostly sleep on my sides now that I have the wonderful body pillow.  Even The Husband likes it!  He's tried to steal it several times in his sleep, hehe. :)

What I miss:  Sleeping on my back; wearing jeans.

Cravings:  Chocolate shakes.  

Symptoms:  Hmmm, mid- to upper-back pain and crazy bouts of hunger.  

Exercise:   I made it to the gym three times at the beginning of the week before we went to see my parents, so I feel pretty good about that.  We also walked a lot at the festival, so I didn't feel too lazy while on our mini vacation. :)

Best moment this week:  Hmmm, there were a couple!  I really, really enjoyed spending time with my parents, my sister and her family, my aunt and the cousins, and Kelli and the girls this week.  Those visits seem to fly by because there are so many people to see in such a short amount of time--and so many people I wish I could see!  I love summer vacations when we can go for a week and time doesn't seem to disappear quite so quickly.  Have a great week!