The good, the bad and the ugly!

I feel like a sumo wrestler these days!
Look at that belly! No mistaking this preggo anymore!
Front view, and yes, my face has filled out as much, if not more than, my belly!
Thanks, Jordan! haha

26 weeks! I read that around this time some fatigue with the pregnancy may begin to set in . . . I would be lying if I said this was not true! To more accurately appreciate the symptoms, etc. I decided to formulate a little list entitled, the good, the bad and the ugly . . . reader beware, I am beginning with the ugly!

The Ugly:

• The weight gain: I always told myself that I would not be one of those women who eat and eat and gain a disgusting amount of weight during pregnancy; I simply thought there was no excuse for it. This was very easy for me to believe because, tah dah, I had never been pregnant!!! Weight gain is inevitable and no matter how well you eat or work out, you are going to be tired and sometimes healthy food choices are not appetizing. Needless to say, I have gained more weight than I would have expected by this point and I still have 3 months left!
• The clothing choices: I understand that maternity clothes have come very far from the dark ages of one rack at JC Penney, but let's be serious, how cute can moo moos really be?? Bold, hideous patterns, empire waisted shirts and dresses that tie in the back, and of course the very discreet waist bands on pants (sensing the sarcasm, right?) make me long for the day I can dig into the storage boxes of clothes I have packed away until I can fit into them once again . . . oh they are so painfully cute! I must also admit that it is a very real fear of mine that I will never again be able to sport my smaller attire.

The Bad:

• The nausea: This has subsided and I almost don't even remember it anymore, but I know it was bad!
• The heartburn: Oh Nelly! This hurts! It is bad! Almost ugly, but not quite! Ouch, is all I have to say here, no other form of acid reflux that I have had prior to this has been anywhere near as painful! Milk calms the pain, but I hate milk.
• The leg cramps: I just read yesterday that these are actually a symptom of pregnancy, I thought I was just crazy! I have been waking up in the middle of the night with excruciating pain in my calves. The muscle is tightening and cramping and I have to wake up and stretch it to alleviate the pain. I have tried drinking more water, assuming that it is from dehydration, but it still comes! Oh well, it makes me feel as if I have been working out, haha!
• The forgetfulness: I have been incredibly absentminded lately! Yesterday I decided to make some Puppy Chow for a snack and went to the store to pick up the necessary ingredients . . . came home started making the delectable treat and realized I had forgotten one key ingredient, powdered sugar! Unbelievable, but it isn't a one time occurance it happens very often! I find myself second guessing every placement of an item and appointments at work. No major mishaps, but I am hoping people are willing to forgive when the inevitable occurs.
• The decisions: Having a baby is a major, life altering event. No kidding, you are thinking, but the decisions that must be make concerning the little one are very overwhelming. Diapers: cloth or disposable? If disposable, which brand? Which bottles? Which bedding? Which color of walls? and these are only the few that my forgetful mind can think of right now.

The Good:

• Feeling my little man move: Indescribable and hands down the favorite parts of my days . . . I'll be sitting there and all of a sudden, movement! Sometimes it catches me so off guard and I giggle. Jordan has figured out now what the giggle means, but I still get the feeling he thinks it is some sort of inside joke of which he is not a part. (side note: before I began writing this blog, I forgot how to spell "which." It took me several attempts before I gave up and substituted another word. . . obviously I have used it several times throughout the blog now w/o thinking about it, but it is just another example of the forgetful mind of a pregnant woman when an English minor cannot spell "which!")
• When Jordan talks to Eoin: He leans over and talks right to my belly and kisses it! It is the sweetest thing in the world. I can't wait to see Jordan hold him for the first time. He is already a very proud daddy!
• The pampering: C'mon, it isn't too bad getting what you want when you want it! haha My only fear is that I might becoming too used to this!
• The shopping: Although I have been very strict on my purchases thus far (refer to "decisions") window shopping for a baby is so fun!!!!!! There are the cutest little outfits and items for babies!
• Knowing at the end of this I am going to have a little person: Daydreaming about taking him for walks and giving him kisses and watching him sleep could get me through anything. I wonder what/who he is going to look like? what dominant personality traits is he going to inherit?

Obviously, the good outweigh both the bad and the ugly by a landslide. Can you believe there are only 100 days until the due date???? Crazy to think when it is put into days!

In other news, my Papa Horner passed away last Monday night. He died peacefully in his sleep and will now get to join my grandma. My mom left for Ireland on Tuesday for his funeral and will return today. I desperately wanted to join her, but due to the pregnancy we decided it was best that I didn't travel abroad. I have a lifetime of memories of my Papa and pray that my children will be as lucky to have such a wonderful person in their lives.

McKaylah also hit the big "2!" She is such a little bundle of energy and although I don't get to see her as much as I would like to, we have many conversations on the phone! She is absolutely hilarious and definitely gives Jordan and I the giggles on a daily basis especially when she blames us for incidents that we could never have been involved (she recently said that I dumped her milk all over her crib). Happy Birthday to the greatest neice I could ever ask for!

"If mom says no, ask grandma"

All the cute little clothes from Auntie Erin
and of course cousin Grizzly Fifer all wrapped up in his little sleeping bag (he's getting lots of love now because he knows that things are gonna change!)

25 weeks and 1 day . . . Little boy is constantly moving and kicking and it is the best feeling in the world. Prior to Saturday morning, Jordan had only got to feel him move once, but Saturday morning little boy was kicking around and showing off for daddy! Jordan was astounded that some of the movement did not hurt me it was so strong; it doesn't by the way, it feels wonderful. Auntie Erin has been really patient holding her hand on the bump for long periods of time, but he is being very stubborn and not letting her feel him . . . even though she was so sweet to buy him what will be some of his first outfits which are so cute and pictured above . . . we are going to have a little chat and make sure hat she gets to feel him move soon. If you look closely you can read that the little white and green onesie says "if mom says no, ask grandma!"

Speaking of little chats, we talk to our little man all the time now . . . I think he can hear Jordan and I, and he may even be responding to his name because he began kicking when I said it yesterday. I can't wait to meet him and hold him and snuggle him . . .

The pregnancy is going pretty well now too . . . you can definitely tell I am pregnant! The baby bump is out in full force! The only complaints I would have is that it is definitely difficult trying to get comfortable to fall asleep; I am getting less sleep as I wake up to go to the bathroom, because one or both of my arms have fallen asleep or due to a headache or heartburn! I could sleep through an earthquake and quite literally a fire alarm prior to my pregnancy, but my sleeping is becoming significantly lighter . . . could it be practice?? My heartburn has been so strong that I have resorted to drinking milk; this is quite a defeat as I HATE milk (except of course with cereal). Oh well, it is good for me and little boy and makes the heartburn disappear for awhile, so I choke it down. Otherwise things are still processing nicely!

SuperBoy

Front view. This is me and my belly at 23 weeks! I had to wear some Chicago Bears attire b/c it was SuperBowl Sunday and I am still in mourning over last years loss . . . sad but true! Maybe my little boy can take them all the way in 25 years. . . hmmm dreaming!
Large and in charge!!!
Jordan must not have been able to use the flash on two of these pictures!

This is Aspen showing off her belly too! Actually she was fast asleep and I couldn't help but take a picture of her, check out her snaggle tooth!!!

23 weeks, 3 days and the countdown is still on in the form of days . . .

Jordan and enjoyed watching the SuperBowl and all the commercials at Pat's new apartment. Since I love football but didn't really have a team to root for in this years game, I was more excited about the food that we had planned more than anything else. It turns out we had an exciting game (at the end, the rest was rather uneventful and low-scoring) and some hilarious commercials. Little boy obviously did not know what was going on outside his warm nesting area, but decided to go crazy in the last few minutes of the game . . . I'm thinking we may have another SuperFan on our hands, or quite possibly the MVP of SuperBowl XXXVII???? A mother can dream, right?

Yesterday we had another appointment with Dr. Weaver and got another sonogram to see our little man. He was not quite as cooperative this time around and would only give us a glimpse of his little face. We get to see him again in 6 weeks, so hopefully he is not quite as stubborn (uh oh, he is sounding like a Brown) as this time and we get lots more pictures. Whitney, our ultrasound tech. looked a little puzzled at one point during the time she was taking measurements to discover his weight (oh, and yes, he is still a boy!). She asked Jordan and I, who are obviously of average height, who happens to be tall in our family? Well, Grandpa Kohn is rather tall, so we answered that there is some height in the family and she said that made sense since our little boy has very long legs and is measuring much later than his 23 weeks in height. Later in the evening, upon sharing our revelation with our mothers, we discovered that both of our great-grandfathers are very tall. . .we'll just have to wait and see. At my next appointment I will take the dreaded glucose test and then after that we go to appointments every 2 weeks! Everything is going by so quickly . . .