The Tale of the Pregnant Woman's Woes:

It's been a long time coming that I document some more of this pregnancy's adventures... The past 3.5 months have been rather rough, to say the least. However, I am now in the middle of month number 4 (Second Trimester) and things are stating to look up. A long gradual incline kind of up. Finally.

At least I can honestly say that I feel more human now instead of that previous barf machine I was EVERY single day. I am officially 16.5 weeks pregnant now... though some of these pictures are a week or two old. We are all growing in excitement as we near the halfway mark. Grammie made Quincy a little countdown chart for the weeks (obviously this picture was taken 2 weeks ago). It helps him to see the progress because lets be honest, 40 weeks is a long time for anything. :)

 To help Braxton understand the changes that are happening I drew a little family picture. He smiles when we say: "Where's the baby?" Sometimes, if he's in the right kind of mood. He will even give Pula a kiss on my tummy. This makes my heart melt.

 Like I was saying... things are starting to look up (slightly) and that means that during the glorious second trimester I am gaining back some of my time to put towards productive things... like making our monthly meal plan. I really have learned to love to cook over the years that we've been married, but in the previous 4 months it held no appeal. Especially the smell part. Oye! It was awful being around food at that point. Thank goodness I am starting to be friends with my beloved food again. In fact, I recently tried to explain to Tyler that I feel like a giant grizzly bear who's been hibernating all winter and has finally awoke to realize that he's STARVING! I feel like no matter how much food I eat my appetite is rarely satisfied. I am trying NOT to indulge in every food item in sight so I don't end up gaining like 100 pounds. I guess if Pula's hungry I better listen. Though I try to be mindful about what I'm scarfing down. :)

As a little added bonus... I thought I'd post some ultrasound pictures.

They are pictures of my print offs (so not the best quality), but I wanted you all to be able to meet Pula!

 I think you can make out the picture... Head on the left (see Pula's cute eyes, nose, and mouth) and note the little hand by the mouth.

 This one's a little blurry, but I love that it appears Pula's giving a 'thumbs up'. Lol

 This is the side profile picture. Head at the left, arm/ hand, and leg/ foot to the right.

 And, although I dread taking tummy pictures... I thought everyone else might like to see Pula's progress. Front isn't too terrible yet, I'm still able to slightly conceal my belly with baggy shirts.

 But, as you can see the side profile is getting big. (These pictures were only taken at 14 weeks) I meant to have Tyler take a picture at 16 weeks to show the difference, but I forgot. You will be able to better see what I mean about how much I'm showing now!

Overall, I'm much more human now.... my family is grateful for that part. :) And lastly, I'm so excited to announce that we have about 4 more weeks until we find out what our little Pula is.

(I make my appointment next week for that gender ultrasound).

Until next time....