BeBe Update (26wks)

For reals!? Almost to the 3rd trimester! Only 11wks to full term!!

And, our official baby-ticker to the right, says 98days left!

Elias is as long (from head to toe) as an English cucumber... 14inches!

and weighs approximately 1pound11oz! Still *so* tiny!

Thoughts/Happenings:
** First out of town trip (other than the trip to JAX to confirm the pregnancy) since we've been pregnant. The actual trip wasn't too bad. We scheduled stops to walk every 1.5-2.0hrs which helped break the trip up. The rental car (a Ford Fusion) had a funky angle in the passenger seat... so that coupled w/ sitting so long is what I think caused me to be so crazy achy & tired Saturday! And last night, when we arrived home 10hrs after beginning the trip, I felt pretty exhausted. We took about 2hrs worth of stops on the way back down & even stopped @ an outlet mall where we found some deals on clothes for Elias, Daddy, & Momma. I didn't snap any pics, but I'll try to later. He even got snow boots... for $1. Couldn't resist. And what boy does need as many boots as possible!? I think we will only have one more trip out of town to the Tampa Bay area to visit Nick's family & friends before Elias arrives. Due school obligations every other weekend (I am so ready to be out of school once again), we haven't been able to travel much on the weekends. Hoping to have a nice trip in July to the sunny beaches! Oh, yes, we will be heading to P'cola for the maternity portraits, too. So, two more! :)

** We have our next baby appt in one week from today. Then, we begin going every 2wks. Maybe it will seem to fly by then. Sure hope so, since it means I'm getting closer to the end of school, too! :)

** Our birthing class begins next Monday. Umm, wow!? Since my school schedules takes up most evenings & weekends, we were blessed to have a birthing instructor that is willing to work w/ our crazy schedules. Her class is the one we really wanted to make it into, so I'm very happy that she will work w/ us. Not sure I would have found another one that could have scheduled us anyhow. It's a 6wk class every Monday night from 7:00- 9:30pm. The first two classes, I will be in my nursing class, so Nick will attend alone & record the sessions to review w/ me later. The third class, I should be able to attend since we are scheduled for a final exam from 6:00-7:15 that night... then I will head to the class. Finally, the last half of the classes, I will head from work to the birthing class! :) Disappointed to not be there the whole time & I hope that Nick won't be too uncomfortable being half of a couple, but I'm happy we are getting to attend a birthing class.

** We bought a small wooden train set for Elias this weekend. And some other wooden toys. I'll have to snap pictures of those, too!

Symptoms/Cravings:
** This past week, Elias' nightly movements are pretty predictable... I sit for a while & wait. Then he starts to wiggling! AND we can see them from the "outside". He'll move somehow & it's funny to see the outside of my belly jiggle & rumble. Weird stuff, but so amazing.

** Give me ice cream, milk, & steak... I'm still pretty predictable when it comes to cravings. This week, our Sunday School class is heading to a Japanese Steak House... so I'll be miserably bloated from the filet mignon I'll eat that night! I just can't resist the good food!

Hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday! I'll whine a bit & say that I am pretty much over working full-time & attending classes/clinicals 10-25hrs each week on top of being pregnant... I'm ready to knock one of those responsibilities out. I just keep telling myself I only need to make it through June 17... three weeks and two days...

Just for fun... since I haven't taken a belly shot in weeks (school on Tuesday night gets in the way), I had Nick snap a couple before heading into work today. The first one was just for fun... those slightly cheesy, "gazing at my belly" shots you all see...


And here's a belly shot...