14 Weeks!

Why, hello there second trimester. This pregnancy, like the ones before it, feels simultaneously like the longest and also shortest passage of time in my life. Each week seems to last FOREVER. I'm so anxious to get that baby in my arms and to get to know him or her that I can hardly stand it. At the same time, this is the last time we plan on doing this and so I don't want to rush a minute of this pregnancy. Like, I'm just now realizing I will never have a first trimester again - and that is so sad to me! Granted, I may be a touch overly sentimental right now as I grieve the end (hopefully) of morning sickness and extreme exhaustion but, really?! It's over?! Every day I wake up and I think, "ugh tuesday..." or whatever day it happens to be and then I think, "but wait, I'm pregnant!" It's no ordinary tuesday, it's one of the very few tuesdays in all of the tuesdays that will make up my life that I get to carry around a growing baby inside of me. This is a very special, very short season in my life and I'm trying to relish every day of it.

That said, I am very much looking forward to the second trimester. I hit 14 weeks on Monday and celebrated by scrubbing my house from top to bottom and then having a good cry. I don't know. I'm just hoping the hormones level out a bit as we enter this new phase. I am also looking forward to feeling the baby move soon! I have felt a few little twinges here and there that I can't be 100% positive were baby, but I expect the real deal to begin anytime now.  We also get to see our little one via ultrasound again at our 18 week appointment and I am so excited. I think we will hold off on finding out the gender again until birth like we did with the other two, but I just can not wait for another glimpse of my little babe.

I thought I might steal a page from Sydney's (day) book and do one of these little listy-posts below...by the way did you see she's having a girl?! What a gorgeous way to announce it too - those are the dreamiest photos. And speaking of babies did you see Joy's big announcement yesterday too?! We have the same due date so it will be fun to follow along with her pregnancy and compare virtual notes. Lots of bloggers having babies right now and I kind of love it.

Me, at 14 weeks:

Making: a baby. about 26 weeks to go until completion but I'm feeling pretty good about it so far.
Cooking: big pots of this simple sauce. it's the perfect light dinner for these warmer, spring nights.
Drinking: lots of water and other caffeine free beverages.
Reading: the poisonwood bible and loving it so far, I'm sure you'll find a book review here in the near future.
Wanting: hmmm, where to begin? how about more sleep for starters.
Looking: for nursery furniture and décor. post coming soon...
Playing: gillian welch records on spotify.
Wasting: time on instagram, what else is new?
Wishing: I had an unlimited budget to blow on previously mentioned nursery furniture and décor. see also: extended periods of paid maternity leave a la our european and nordic brethren and also free healthcare. I started pre-paying on my estimated labor and delivery fees last month - ain't that some shit?
Enjoying: the thunderstorm as it rolled in this morning.
Waiting: for my handheld fetal doppler rental to arrive, ups says tomorrow is the day! I admit to being a bit of a helicopter parent when my children are still in the womb and i'm fine with that.
Liking:  that jenny lewis added a tour date to the calendar that happens to be somewhere near my vicinity. pittsburgh here we come.
Wondering: about the gender of our baby.
Loving: that we're headed to chicago for a long grown-ups only weekend for memorial day. is it too soon to pack?
Hoping: for a sunny mother's day weekend. we're planting flowers for my mama!
Marveling: at my sons. all day, every day.
Needing: new sandals. one of my favorites got lost in the move.
Smelling: everything. especially all of the gross things. it's one of the more undesirable side effects of pregnancy.
Wearing: long sleeves in the morning, short sleeves in the evening. make up your mind, ohio!
Following: tracey's blog and loving every minute of it.
Noticing: how oren's speech and language is changing and improving all the time.
Knowing: my way around town a bit better these days, we're coming up on a year since we moved and I don't feel like such an outsider anymore.
Thinking: about baby names. I'm fresh out of boy names y'all.
Feeling: nervous about this birth, but that's a topic for a whole other post.
Bookmarking: this recipe since january. I still haven't convinced anyone (abby) to make these for me yet. I'm still holding out hope.
Opening: bins of summer clothes for the boys and starting the big seasonal switchover.
Giggling: when oren tells me to be careful I don't squish our baby if anything comes near my belly.