So it's a new year...and I realize that I haven't posted anything since Joseph was a few weeks old...now he's almost 5 months old...it seems like time is just flying by! We stayed home to ring in the new year...I know, what party animals we are! I was woken up at midnight by firecrackers as well as gunshots going off...luckily, Joseph slept through the whole thing. That's one thing I have been ultra blessed with. That boy SLEEPS. He only wakes up once or twice in the night to be fed, and then he's (for the most part) back to sleep. He also takes several naps during the day, making it easier for me to get things done. What a blessing! We have spent the rest of January just plugging through our routine. It's gotten a bit easier, finding out that Joseph is lactose intolerant.

I thought I'd test out my mad skills of lounging back on the couch, Joseph propped up against my shoulder, and my computer balanced on my lap. I can actually type like this, lol. I wanted to get out a quick update on the happenings here. We are settling into some sort of a semblence of a routine. Joseph is growing each and every day. It is so hard to believe that the baby I carried inside of me for nine months is now just over 3 weeks old. One month old is just around the corner! The more I look at him, the more I see his daddy in him. He's got a few of my features, sure...but I think he is going to be his daddy's boy, which I am ecstatic about, because his daddy is a very handsome man!

I need to try to type this quickly, while Joseph is still sleeping :) I wanted to post this so that family and friends have the particulars of Joseph's birth. I had my last doctor's appointment on Friday, Sept. 2, where my doctor stripped my membranes (sorry if that's too much TMI). Paul and I then went to Target to get a few last minute things, when I got a call from my doctor's nurse, saying they thought that my doctor might have inadvertently broken my water (so THAT's what that small gush was), and that if I felt like I was leaking (again, sorry...) to go into the hospital. I was a bit, but it wasn't too bad. Then contractions started coming...and started getting closer together and more consistent.

Well, I've reached 36 weeks. Only 4 weeks left! Highs and lows so far: Getting to watch my stomach become a jungle gym. A couple of nights ago he was literally moving completely from one side to the other, so my stomach was either really big on the left, or on the right. It was pretty entertaining, lol. Another high: I still feel really good. I hope I'm not jinxing myself, but I have had a really uneventful pregnancy so far (the only thing that I had a hard time with was when I was so sick during my first trimester). I know that there are 4 weeks to go, so I hope that I can make it that far without any complications.

Once again, I win the worst blogger award...lol...apparently it's been about two months since my last post. I have been super busy ending the school year, dealing with my ever-growing baby-belly, and trying to rest up while I can. So here is what week 30 has laid out for me. I have reached the point where I can't just roll over in my sleep. I have to shift from one side to my back (dragging my body pillow with me, of course) and then shift from my back to my other side. By this time, I am completely awake, and so is Joseph, so it takes a while to get back to sleep. I love feeling the kicks and nudges, but now he is getting big enough that sometimes it really hurts!

It's hard to believe that I am past the hald-way point of this pregnancy! Here are the lows and highs: I am having a hard time sleeping. I am SO not a side sleeper. I am a stomach sleeper through and through. I have a body pillow that I try to curl around, which helps a lot, but I still inevitably wake up with a sore hip (either left or right, whichever side I ended up sleeping on the most). Plus, it's hard for me to STAY on my side. I will end up on my back sometimes, which might not sound like a big deal, but one time I woke up, on my back, with the bottom half of my right leg all tingly. Now I know what they mean when they say the baby will end up pressing down on certain arteries if the mom sleeps on her back. Yikes!

A couple of days ago one of the kids at school said the cutest thing. There was a class in the library, and a couple of students noticed that the wallpaper on Paul's computer was one of the sonogram pictures (the one where the baby is sucking his thumb). One student asked the other, "How come the baby already knows how to suck his thumb?" Before the teacher could interject (explaining that it's a reflex-type of thing), the second student answered, "He can do that because he's smart, like Mr. Darr!" The teacher told me this story at lunch, and it just made me laugh. The way kids' brains work just boggles my mind. I had to write it down before I forgot.

The farther this pregnancy progresses, the better I feel. I am grateful for this fact. i was so afraid that I was going to be sick the whole time! Here's the lowlights and highlights lately: I have figured out that it is really hard for me to sleep on my side. I miss being able to sleep on my stomach! The only thing that makes it worth it is knowing that I have a sweet spirit that I get to bring into this world. I also have discovered that once I wake up, I'm awake. Apparently it doesn't matter if it is 2 a.m. or 8 a.m. I wonder if it's just prepping me for after the baby arrives...lol On the plus side, I have been able to start feeling the baby move, and we found out that the baby is a boy. I am looking forward to having a snuggly baby boy to love, nurture, and help grow strong.

Wow! I will officially be 16 weeks tomorrow. I can hardly believe that in roughly 5 months this baby will be here! Highlights of second trimester (so far): much less morning sickness (I had to switch to a battery operated toothbrush because my manual one was triggering my gag reflex...I mean, it was kind of pointless to brush my teeth and then throw up...it made me feel like brushing my teeth again, but what would have been the point?!), feeling less tired (though I can still sleep a solid 10-12 hours if allowed to), and being able to cook again (for the most part. Cooking some things still smells nasty for some reason).

Wow! It's hard to believe that I am 10 weeks into my pregnancy. I am amazed that I am almost done with my first trimester...crazy! Some days I lose track of the fact that I am pregnant (though never for very long) while other days it is ALL too apparent (have I mentioned that nausea & vomiting is my least favorite type of illness?). Today I was able to get my blood drawn >.< so that I can find out "officially" how far along I am. This way, I can pick an OB and get started on prenatal stuff. I am grateful for that. Here's to welcoming a new little person into our lives! We are SUPER excited :)