popping

I got into bed the other night and Joey said, "Wow, you're really starting to get a belly there!" Being the good-natured pregnant woman that I am, I laughed, "Ha-ha-ha!"

Ha.

I'm only up 3 pounds or so, but MAN it seems like more. It's popping out. Especially at night. Oh the joy.

Also, apparently during pregnancy if you don't have an immune system (due to your gastrointestinal auto-immune disease), you become a walking petri dish. Got any spare germs? Send 'em my way! We've got a party going on in my sinuses! All night long! BYO Kleenex! Fun.

Braxton-Hicks have started already. Odd and only occasionally disconcerting. Upside: women who have more BH earlier tend to have shorter labors! Woo-hoo! I'm still being really careful. My doctor was very clear last time we went (Good solid heartbeat! Sweet!), so I'm being good.

Anyway, here's what we've all been waiting for:

Up

Today I slept in until noon.

This is not uncommon for me on days off. It is disgustingly indulgent and I will continue for as long as possible because I have a feeling that the nugget will not be quite as content with seriously extended snuggling as the monster dog is.

I explained to Joey that I don't actually SLEEP until so late, but that I generally lie in bed and daydream for a good hour or more. He laughed at me. Hard.

I gave him a Stern Face.

He hid his Cracking Up Face and played some very loud Irish Punk in my direction.

I like our relationship.

Also, we spent Sunday evening being exhausted, eating chili, and watching Pixar movies.

This is a big plus for me. I've found that pregnancy has really... err... "heightened" my emotional senses. Which has leaned farther and farther toward the bizarre end of things for a Girl Who Is Severely Controlling Of Her Emotional Self. Luckily, the Navy Blues have really been helped by fantastic computer animation and John Lasseter's passion for excellence. Truth and innocence are safe retreats for me. I think they are for most of us.

Anyway, I wanted to leave you all with the next great offering from the love child of George Lucas and Mickey Mouse, Up. Because secretly inside we all believe that it's possible for even me.

and now we're on display

Hello 2009! We're back from the cold north, which wasn't too bad, actually. It was fabulous to visit mi familia, even though most of them were/ended up with the Flu of Death. Seriously, Laura puked 12 times, Bill passed out twice, Wil and Kristen had to spend the day in airplane/airport bathrooms, Claire had to spend the day in bed, and Joey had to take a day off from work (which NEVER happens). Yeep! I had the "nastiness" with none of the puking, luckily. Other than the last weekend, it was a lovely, quiet Christmas. Surprise visit from my dad (the first time in our ENTIRE marriage of 5.5 years) and Joey actually vacationed while on vacation. Many movies and chocolates and good times with old friends. Nice.

Due to much peer pressure and "be a normal preggo girl" guilt, I'm going to try and take pictures of my growing belly. Body image issues be gone! Or at least be vanquished to the closet for a little bit! Actually, as I was trying to take a relatively flattering picture of my least-confident part of myself, I found myself excited about this preggo body for the first time ever. Really. So far I've just felt bloated and awkward, but it's beginning -- just beginning -- to look like there might be a 4 inch nugget rolling around in there, pushing my intestines and lumpiness out for all to see. Which is fun. Really. We're having a good time, this nugget and joey and me. Also, Christmas Bella Bands help a LOT.

So here is me and the Great Unborn. Doing well. Tooling around. Tolerating each other's space pretty well.

merry christmas eve

Due to the... ahem... craziness of our Christmas season this year, we completely forgot to put up lights. Tragedy. As an apology to the general Christmas community, I thought I could apologize by sharing the following video. Watch it all the way through. And turn up the volume. Trust me, it's worth it. And props to Randy for sharing it with me in the first place. Merry Christmas Eve, y'all.

news

Greetings to all from the great blogging desert. It's been a rather eventful fall here in our cabin in the woods.

Brief update:

1. eyeballs are better. thank you steroids.
2. cruised to mexico for an anniversary celebration with awesome married friends. ensenada was better than anticipated. wish i lived closer to several of my favorite people.
3. dashed up to oregon to celebrate becca's ordination. such a beautiful thing to be a part of. even cried a little bit. wish several of my favorite people lived closer to me.
4. reconnected with a wonderful old friend. she came to visit and we had a smashing time. i love how stories change and grow, but the deep inside heart remains so connected.
5. had a fabulous black and white halloween party (i'll post pics later). there is nothing as cute as little white pumpkins in zorro masks.
6. was brave and tried out for our church's christmas play. got a part. began practicing a lot.
7. familia came to visit for thanksgiving. i love them. i miss them. kit's lemon meringue pie is to die for. seriously.
8. had a play. it ended up wonderfully. played a pregnant college student trying to figure out if she wants to place the baby for adoption or not, ends up giving birth onstage (on an airplane). surprisingly funny, quite subtle, very original. i like my creative community.
9. have been a little sick. but it's all good...

...because I'm pregnant.

Surprise! Certainly was for us! You know, since I'm not technically able to get pregnant and all. Hah. We found out October 28th and Joey made me secretly virgin drinks at the halloween party. I endured months of "when you're preggo" comments throughout play practice and suspecting looks from a few friends. We're really excited, especially since the scary part has passed. We are SO appreciative to those who've been praying, and would like to invite the rest of you to please join in. I'm considered "high risk" for a variety of reasons, so we can really use it. I had my 3rd ultrasound yesterday, and the Nugget is looking great. Arms, legs, fingers, heartbeat, I could even see its nose! It's pretty cool that it's started looking like an actual human being. It's due on July 5th, but since it's Joey's baby, I'd be surprised if it didn't come on the Fourth. Because of America and everything.

I am now joining the ridiculous number of people I know who are pregnant right now. Which is fun.

So there you go. Consider yourselves updated.

ahoy

So I've been having some frustration with my right eye for the last week and a half. You know, red, puffy, extremely painful, overly sensitive to all kinds of light. Fun stuff. I changed my contact, wore my glasses, etc. Didn't go away. Bah. Joey convinced me to let him take me to the doctor after I spent the day wearing Ray-Ban knock-offs at work and grimacing each time I walked outside. After thorough dye-and-wash job, I found another fun side effect of my intestinal pal. Iritis. Woo-hoo for steroid drops and piracy!

dinosaurs

It is not a secret that I love dinosaurs. Not just, "Hey those giant dead lizards are pretty cool," but "Hey, seeing Sue the T-Rex at the Natural HIstory Museum made me flip my lid at 16." I really, really love these guys. Have since my friend Marissa in first grade (who had glasses and a birthday on Saint Patrick's Day) had a dinosaur sleepover party. Awesome. Especially for a 7 year-old girl. A stegosaurus would kick the tiny plastic ass of any My Little Pony. My personal favorite growing up: the Brachiosaurus. He's like the Blue Whale of dinosaurs (also a favorite), even though he's now known to not be the biggest. Also, he's from Colorado. Which is where many cool things hang out, at least for a while.

Anyway.

While digigng around in some boxes the other day, I found a collection of stories I wrote around 2nd grade. Here's one of my favorites. Verbatim. Just in case you think my first grade self is almost as fab as I think she is. Note my long-lived love of Taco Bell (curse you colitis!).


If I Saw A Stegosaurus
As I was walking down a hilll on Sunday, I saw a Stegasauras. It was fat and purpple. I named it Gina. She was nice. I brought her home with me. She had a baby. It was very cute. So we named it Cris. His favorite food is taco supreme.

The picture accompanying this lovely tale was my own illustration. I'd like to send a shout out of thanks to my mum for saving all of this wonderful what-not, and to all the archeologists of the land for encouraging my love of the pre-Barney purple dinosaur.