Day 119.

Officially, my normal clothes no longer fit. Unofficially, this has been going on for 2 months, but now it is extreme. I can wear my jeans unbuttoned with the bella band, but they hurt. I can wear my suit jackets with loose dresses, but now they are too tight in the arms. So, I guess it is time to move on to an all maternity wardrobe. Ugh. I hate maternity clothes. No matter what they look like, I still look like a whale. I am wearing a sheet to work tomorrow.
Tomorrow will be the half way point, and next Wednesday, we get another ultrasound! She must be growing in leaps and bounds for me to be feeling so large.

Answered Prayers-the antithesis of Garth Brooks

I felt lots of kicks (or punches) last night! I hadn't felt a thing all day, and then right as I am about to go to bed, I feel her exercising. I thought she was a little young for Tae Bo, but then again, who am I to stand in the way of fitness?
Speaking of fitness, I am going to get into spiritual shape tonight at a bible study that Alison M. and I are attending. It is called Apples of Gold, and not only do we learn things, we eat good food too! Lucky me! It is a bible/cooking/table setting all in one kind of class. I have already done my homework, and I am ready to learn!
We are down to 2 puppies now. Well, two that are still available. Technically, we have three left, but Partner, the chocolate, is staying with us! Yes, we now have 5 permanent dogs. Crazy, perhaps. But it makes me happy!
Our new neighbors brought us dinner last night. It was so unexpected, and wonderful! A thank you note is next on my list!
And...the grand finale is that my dear godmother, Aunt Deb, found the cutest tee shirt for the baby. It has a peanut on it! Pictures of that tomorrow!

I can't suck in anymore. Almost half way there.

TJ finally said he could tell I had a belly this morning. It's about time! So I thought I would post a real belly picture today, in hopes that others can tell too! Here is the series.

She is moving around a lot! Her little feet are are the lower left side of my abdomen (that's where all the kicking is), and her head is in the upper right side. I can hear her heart just to the right of my belly button, but down about an inch. She is all stretched out! Every time I lay down, it takes me a minute to figure out how to breathe again, because she shifts up into my lungs!

Friday will be the half way point. I start the 20th week!

you are just a baby...why do you need all these things?

Several people have commented on my belly this week. It doesn't seem any bigger to me than it was last week. And TJ continually tells me that I am not showing at all. The scale tells me that I have gained 6 pounds, and since we are eight days away from half way there, I am feeling pretty good about it! Not sure why though, I have been eating everything in sight!
I am working on a registry list on http://www.wishlist.com/ so that all of the internet items will be on one website. It is very humbling to realize I have no idea what my baby is going to need. Any suggestions welcome!
Oh, and most exciting news...I felt a good kick this morning! Before they had been strange flutters, but this was different. It was a solid kick in the gut at about 10am.

Levi? What a great name for pup.

2 weeks from today, we get to see Little Girl again. We are scheduled for an ultrasound, which we can get on DVD, and then we see the doctor! We will be starting the fifth month on Friday, and she is kicking away in my belly! It's a funny feeling. I can hardly wait to meet her.
Oh, I passed one more puppy to a friend. That only leaves Lacey P's and the female left! Chocolate is staying with us, and should have a name by tonight! Ok, heading home to cook Teej some dinner. Chili anyone?

Preach it.

"Tonight, George Bush enthusiastically passed the torch to the man who's earned it by voting with him 90 percent of the time and who will continue this president's legacy for the next four years: his disastrous economic policies, his foreign policy that hasn't made us safer and his misguided war in Iraq that's costing us $10 billion a month," Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said.
"The man George Bush needs may be John McCain, but the change America needs is Barack Obama."

Obama, He Ba-Rocks my world.

Yeah for a short vacation! I feel like a new person. Mom and I went to the beach Friday afternoon, only to return late Saturday night in order to escape some of the evacuation traffic. However, I got to shop, hang out with Searcy, and spend some quality time with Mom! All things accomplished. Oh, and I purchased a maternity bathing suit...lucky me. I look a little like a patterned whale in it, but it is better than the alternative. (Stay hot, and not be able to get in the water...or go naked, which is really only bad for the eyes that would see it!)
Sunday, Mom, TJ and I worked diligently to get the house in working order. Other than the kitchen, which is still under construction, and some miscellaneous boxes that have not found a home, we are organized! It is a great feeling. Speaking of feelings, I have a great feeling about the upcoming election. Is John McCain is stupid enough to think that women will vote for him because he picked a neoconservative female for his running mate? Uhhg. I hope everyone sees through his Rovian ploys, and votes for Obama.