26 weeks

26 weeks

One week away from the third trimester, and I can NOT believe where the time went! I can't believe we're on our final stretch before getting to finally meet our little pumpkin! We are SO excited! Lately it's getting harder and harder to stay focused on school and work, and becoming easier to focus on what little crafty thing I can make, sew, or paint next for Baby or what meals to freeze for my crockpot/freezer meal endeavor. It's also becoming harder to sleep for more than 20 minutes at a time... nothing to do with my tummy (yet), but rather, this little boy's kicks every night starting around 9pm and lasting until 2 or 3am. Really, honey? Really? We're going to start this already?

I suppose I can't complain though, this little boy reminds me every few minutes that he's there, alive and well. It's gotten to the point now that Mike can feel him when we're snuggling, and he'll talk to him and try to calm him down for me. And believe it or not, it works. Mike's going to be a very good Daddy, I can see it already. He's a professional baby-whisperer and our little one hasn't even arrived yet. Here's hoping his techniques continue long after our sweet little guy arrives, since that baby-whispering will come in handy those first few months. At least for me :)

Speaking of Mike's baby whispering skills... it looks like we are definitely going to need them. Our little boy is already very quickly developing an personality (attitude), as was stated by our doctor, sonographer, and very obviously, Mike and myself. Last week, Mike and I had to stop in at the hospital for one last ultrasound to get some pictures of the little guy's heart, as he tends not to cooperate well when in the spotlight. And, once again, he did not want to cooperate. He was sucking (and by sucking, I mean pretty much consuming) his thumb to the point at which I was 99% confident if he didn't already have his Daddy's thumb-nubs, he will by the time he's born. The sonographer had to push and jab on my tummy for a good 10-15 minutes again just to get him to move his arm to see his heart. And what does he do when he finally lets go of that thumb for the sonographer? Why, he simply resorts to his other thumb. Down comes one hand, and up goes the other, straight to his lips. All caught on camera. Yes, my 26 week-old already is quite aware of his own self. The sonographer was very impressed. I simply saw it as a warning. I can see where this is going already... he's going to be just like his Daddy. Boy am I going to have my hands full!

So what else is new? Bathroom's done! Well, not the walls... we still need to finish caulking and painting... but Mike amazingly, as usual, replaced the plumbing and fixed the shower valves, soldered the pipes, installed the new shower, surround, soaker tub, and flooring, installed all new insulation (including inside the tub so my baths will stay nice and warm!) and made it functional and wonderful, and I can finally shower again in my own bathroom! And the best part: we saved WAY more money than we spent, thanks to a bunch of sales and Mike's amazing DIY abilities. Not to mention, what material science engineer doesn't like knocking down walls, taking things apart, and soldering pipes together? :) So Mike got some fun out of it, too. Oh, and the soaker tub... a thousand times better than the old 14" baby blue steel tub that said on the bottom of it was installed May 27, 1953. Clearly it was time for an upgrade.

On our agenda for these next few weeks? 

• Planning our "baby-moon"
• Mike's last hunting trip before the kiddo arrives
• Collecting foods to make our freezer meals (because our chest freezer we recently bought is a total dream!)
• Finishing up Christmas shopping

Notice how there isn't any house stuff on there? Notice how that's all FUN stuff? That's because we're DONE! Well, certainly not done done, but we are done with our "home improvement" projects that we set out to finish prior to our Baby's arrival. Kitchen, bath, laundry, and baby room: we did it! And it feels SO good to not have to think about that now. I'm not even mention our planned projects for next year, simply because they're just cosmetic and simple, and so not necessary to think about now :) The joys of accomplishment! Next week we hit the third trimester. And I can not wait!