20 marks halfway!

i am thrilled to announce we are 20 weeks, 5 months, and halfway pregnant!

• it's been an uneventful week filled with the usual...never-ending excitement about meeting our little. 
• i've managed to work out five days this week (a record for me + babe). it seems the more i exercise the fatter i feel...oh the joys of pregnancy!
• the only pants i can wear comfortably are the red maternity jeans pictured above (thanks andrea). those bad boyz are going to be worn thin by september! 
• my core is becoming weaker and weaker and i am realizing how much i take that muscle group for granted...what was once quick flip side to side in bed is turning into more of a seal roll. 
• we were surprised with a package of books in the mail from my best friend and experienced momma, kristen...papa is loving his daddy-to-be handbook-even wants to buy himself a 'gear bag' (diaper bag equivalent) from the army/navy store.
• mom also sent a few not-so-surprise packages including the first 'almost addressed to baby' package below... 

kickin' it

rolling waves, pokes, internal momentum? i just can't figure out how to describe this amazing feeling inside me. often, i can feel the little jabs with my hand resting gently on my stomach. rob has been hoping for a feel for over a week and nearly every time i grab his hand the babe stops moving all together but...

papa felt his first kick this week! how sweet is that? 

easter

bunny brought sweets and new kitchen gadgets

first catholic mass

brunch at benchmark

stroll through the neighborhood

afternoon nap

late afternoon lazy in the sun

grilled steak, peppers, and truffled mac & cheese

happy easter! 

i think we are growing

the last 18 weeks i have been taking as much 'me' time as possible. in addition to napping as much as i feel necessary i enjoy long baths almost every evening. i just keep thinking about how my warm soaks will be few and far between once this little is here. it is crazy to look down at my growing belly while laying flat on my back. all the belly sinks in (like usual) except a perfect little outline of my uterus. 

growth has been so slow until this week and now it seems the bump gets bigger everyday. i have read that baby will double in size between weeks 16 (5 inches) and 20 (10 inches!). i guess it's really happening! 

i feel very energized so my sedentary ways of last week have been replaced with jogs in the park and gardening. relief!  

strangers' smile

i was thrilled that our farmers market had such beautiful spring planting flowers so, in addition to buying apples for the week and dinner for tonight, i loaded my bike and bags with begonias, pansies, dahlias, and impatiens. 

as we rode home through prospect park strangers kept smiling at me. who knew a basket full of beautiful blooms would make so many people happy! ah spring!