24 weeks!

I don't think I've blogged about the pregnancy for a while... sorry to neglect! Things continue to pick up pace -- Matt felt the baby kick for the first time on Father's Day (how about that for timing!) and now we can feel/watch him ALL the time! He is a lively one and keeps us entertained already! 

We also went and started the grueling process of registering (for whatever reason, I have yet to truly enjoy a day of any kind of registering... it just saps the life out of me). Even though it wasn't my favorite 6 hours spent, I'll admit it was fun picking out and looking at things and feeling like we were making progress at getting ready!  It was also funny to me how extensive those check lists are they give you in the store... making you feel as though your baby needs 2 million items to survive.  Don't they just eat, sleep, and poop?  :)   

On another note, I was thrilled when I first saw the "stork parking" spot while shopping; however, it got me thinking about what it implied when a pregnant woman was given the chance to park closest to the handicap parking.  So, although I may have been excited about the spot initially, I have a feeling I am going to now park further out (even if it's just the parking spot next to it)  just in spite.  haha  I know, I know, beware of pride.  It's alright, you can call me silly...

After a quick view of the photo below, you will easily see that I have apparently "popped"!   I have been comparing the 20 week to the 24 week picture in amazement... no wonder I've been having these terrible growing pains in my hips!  The belly is still a shape shifter - sometimes I look like this, sometimes I think I look twice as big :)  

Alas, no name still... but we're starting to work on it!  Too bad I'm not one of those girls who had a full name picked out by age 5.  What can I say, I like to live life on the wild side ;)

I'm going to end this post with a question/shout out to all the Moms out there (and Dads, if you feel so inclined!) -- after experiencing the plethora of baby gear/accessories/doo-dads out there:  what one baby product/item could you not live without?

YEEHAW!

As I mentioned before, summer is not summer for us without some rodeo action! Strawberry days is probably my favorite... too bad I was too excited about the two cups of strawberries 'n cream I bought to stop and take a picture of them! Just imagine a cup of beautiful, sliced strawberries drenched in the most heavenly sweet cream... ahhhhh. The evening started out with mutton busting (see picture below... that's a kid on the sheep), which lead to a conversation of how we're going to convince our son to ride a sheep... Mom and Dad, get ready, bc I think we decided we're going to have to convince you guys to buy the sheep :)

Just because...

...this was too funny to not share with the world :) And Matt apparently thought it was too funny to not take a picture. "Who are you callin' short?" Sorry El :)

Parading 'round the homes

This year I got to go to the parade of homes again (sad day, Matt didn't get the chance!), and got to see some more cool stuff! Although nothing compared to Melanie's Manor of last year (ahhh, I can dream, right?) there were still some nifty things to take away from the homes... like, decorating with candy, fun phrases to post around your house, great color schemes, awesome play places for kids, amazing intricate bath features, and that you probably need to be a millionaire to make it all happen. Here are some pictures...

Best husband award...

The night I got back from my trip I noticed something funny... a closet rod sitting in our spare bedroom. I said, "Matt, what is this rod doing here?" and he nonchalantly responds, "Oh, just a spare rod." Spare rod??? What is he talking about?

I could see in his closet and it looked the same...

It clearly wasn't from there... but.... how....

So, I run to our bedroom, smell the scent of cut wood, throw open my closet....

and I GASP when I see this!

My dear sweet husband took a half day off of work the day I was getting home and surprised me by building a closet system with his own two hands! I have wanted a closet organizer for SO LONG now and we kept putting it off for various reasons. He didn't even have a design or anything - just some wood, his imaginaton, and a pencil to draw on the wall. He is such a sweetheart... I just had to share!

20 1/2 weeks... still a boy!

We went in for our "full" ultrasound today -- it is so amazing to watch! She checked his heart, kidneys, bladder, several areas of his brain, his lips, etc. They will send the images to be reviewed, but she said everything looked normal and healthy! We're still on target for an October 19th due date and our little man - who has been officially double checked... talk about indecent exposures, it's definitely a boy! - is 3/4 of a lb right now! Here is a profile picture (head & ribs) and a shot of his foot! We are just so excited for him to get here!

This is how much he weighs!

20 Weeks... HALF WAY!

20 Weeks... and growing! My belly seems to be a shape shifter... at one point it'll seem to be just a little thing, then a little later I'll feel huge! It is fun to see the progress!