Dear Baby Bean: 19 Weeks and First Belly Pics

Dear Baby Bean-

Hi there little one! Once again, it has been a week since I've written because, once again, our week wasn't too exciting. The most exciting thing about our week is today, because you are officially 19 weeks along! I can't believe that in one week we will be halfway through this pregnancy. I can feel you moving around inside of me daily, and you are most active when I am snuggled up with Tenley at night before she goes to bed. Just as I typed that last sentence you gave me a swift kick to let me know you're in there. It might have something to do with the root beer I just drank. :)

Our past week started off pretty low key. Tenley and I stayed home all day Monday except for a quick trip to Target to pick up a few odds and ends for the week. Tenley wasn't feeling very well on Monday, so it was a good thing we were close to home. Tuesday Grandma Carol and I took Tenley to the doctor to see if he could help with her tummy problems, and we got lots of good news pertaining to that. Even though Monday and Tuesday were hard because Tenley was grumpy and didn't feel good, the doctor's appointment helped to give Mommy piece of mind and Tenley started feeling better Tuesday night.

Wednesday was a lot of fun. I took Tenley to the Munster Library for their Mother Goose on the Loose program for the first time. We spent a half hour with other kids her age singing and reading stories. After it was over, we stayed at the Library in the kid's corner for a bit playing with the toys. Mommy saw her friend Katie from school and we had a little bit of a chance to catch up.

Thursday was a day full of house cleaning. Mommy really wanted to get her work done so that we could go to Clara's big talent show that night. Clara is in the 5th grade right now and this was her last elementary school talent show. She did a great job introducing the acts and dancing with her friends. Tenley had a lot of fun running up and down the aisles and between the rows of seats. It was a fun night!

Last night was Daddy's basketball game and his team won by 12 (I think). Grandma Carol rode with us to Daddy's school and we were able to watch the whole game. Tenley had a great time running around in the balcony and afterwards Daddy's friend Jason kicked a ball around with her in the hallway while we waited for Daddy. It was a great night but we were so tired when we came home!

Today was another stay-at-home day. Tenley woke up really early but Mommy was able to get her to go back to sleep in our bed and she slept until 9:00! Once she got up we spent the morning playing, ate lunch, and then had a nap. Tonight we were supposed to go out to dinner with Daddy and go to the mall. Mommy is having trouble fitting into her pants now that you are getting bigger and that's what the mall trip would have been for. After a whole lot of mess that I won't go into, we ended up going all the way out to Orland Park to eat a late dinner and come home. And Mommy has no new pants. :(

Tonight was the first night that I began to feel "pregnant." I went through the morning sickness-ish phase and of course have to get up and go to the bathroom multiple times every night but otherwise I have been feeling pretty normal. Tonight though, my back hurt the whole time we were in the car and when I was eating I just felt SO FULL, like my stomach was going to stretch and explode. This all may sound like a bad thing but it's not- it's reassuring because I remember feeling that way with Tenley and it is all to show Mommy that you are really growing in there. According to the "experts", you are about 8 inches long (the size of a big bell pepper) and weigh about 8 1/2 ounces. Pretty cool, right?

Mommy thought it was about time to take some pictures of your progress. Hopefully I will be able to take pictures every week for the next 21 weeks or so, but we will see. For now, here is how Mommy looks this week! I love you, Bean...congratulations on being almost half-baked :)