20 weeks

This is a very special edition of belly shots.

1) Full body shot! Yes, you get to see my smiling face.
2) Christmas Tree! Apparently, this is a required shot if you are pregnant at Christmastime.
3) 20 weeks! That (should) be about half way!

I'm wearing my snazzy new top my mom gave me for Christmas. My mom knows what she's doing, I always seem to buy my maternity shirts too big. I'll get there, just not yet!





So, what are your gender predictions? I'd love to hear them and why you think that!

19 weeks

I wore a dress to work today, so it didn't work for pictures. Hence, the cashmere-sweatpants combo. They were both closest. It's hot, I know.



Not quite as round this week...that's disappointing!



LuLu is the size of a mango this week

Believe it or not, Kizie is 7.

I certainly can't believe it.

She celebrated in style -- and ultrasound and Yesterdog.



Everything looked great on the ultrasound. I'll try to scan some of these pictures in at my parents house next week. There are some super-cute little hand and feet shots. Our Ultrasound lady Mary loved us. She printed double pictures for Tim to take to school, a few for Kizie and a profile shot for the grandparents. She measured a foot for us. 2 cm. How cute is that?! She said if we ever get another ultrasound to request her. I totally would! I also heard a phrase I never thought I'd hear.
"Your cervix looks awesome."

How delightful!
LuLu currently weighs half a pound and is measuring exactly on. May 17 is still the due date.

18 weeks

I feel like I look smaller than last week in these pictures, but I'm definitely bigger. I'm having excited customers exclaim about me being pregnant nearly every day. (We get a lot of repeat customers!)



At least it's more rounded than last week! The skirt is up a little higher on my waist because it's actually a non-maternity skirt. (Yes...it is two sizes bigger than my normal size.) I think that gives the smaller belly look.




This week, LuLu is a sweet potato.


Your fetus has become amazingly mobile (at least compared to you), passing the hours yawning, hiccuping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking and swallowing. And, baby's finally big enough that you'll be able to feel those movements soon.

Don't want a doll, no dinky tinker toys...

Yesterday morning I heard "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas" for the first time this season. I adore this song.



Now, I was really excited for Kizie when I heard there was a YouTube video of the Jonas Brothers signing this song. Unfortunately, it's crappy quality and they don't have the lyrics right.



Sorry boys, you've let me down...

But, the song actually brought a real hippo to a zoo. A baby hippo named Matilda!

My little crybaby.

Baby's skeleton is hardening, changing from rubbery cartilage to bone, and fat is finally accumulating around it. The umbilical cord is getting thicker and stronger, and those little fingers and toes are now topped by one-of-a-kind prints.

17 weeks

I promise this shirt is cuter than it looks in this picture. Cara once mentioned the "slimming black" I've been sporting a lot lately. Really, it has to do with non-J. Crew clothing. When it comes to color, J. Crew really has it done. When I'm at the Gap, the colors are just...off. But, they can do black, so I buy that if it's an option and pair a J. Crew cardigan in a lovely color with it.





p.s. We learned at a meeting this year why J. Crew has the best colors -- it all starts with the base material. Colors dye best in the cleanest of fibers. For example, we get our Merino from an Italian farm that has sweaters for each sheep to wear. This keeps its wool as clean as possible. And, the sheep look so cute in there little coverings with their names on them. No mistreatment of animals here!

Sometimes, customers are great.

Yesterday I was ringing a woman up when she looked at my outfit and said, "Oh! I bought my daughter that tank top this summer. I should tell her to wear it now with a cardigan like you are."

That made me feel great because sometimes I feel like I'm just wearing clothes to cover up lately, not to be fashionable. Maternity clothes are too large, and J. Crew shirts fit, but I definitely have a belly. It's my new favorite outfit.

Then, I was talking to another customer about some jewelry she was buying. In the middle of a sentence she stopped and said, "When did that happen? I looked at her with a confused expression. "I was here two weeks ago and you helped me and you were this tiny! [She held her hands to show a waist about as big as barbie] And now, you're all cute and pregnant!"

Best. Customer. Ever.

Watch what you say... tiny bones forming in baby's ears mean the little one can now pick up your voice. Eyebrows, lashes and hair are starting to fill in, and taste buds are forming. And, if you're interested, an ultrasound might be able to determine gender.

I guess I should stop saying things like "dang baby", etc when I can't do things I want to...