20 weeks

whoooa! helllooo baby bump.
it just appeared one day. last sunday to be exact. totally crazy.

20 weeks already?
i feel like we've hit a major milestone
we're half way there...
now this whole thing needs to sloooow dooown!
we've got lots to do in the next 20 weeks -
like learn how to raise a child.
that's not scary, right?

i'm so thankful to be feeling great these days.
i started feeling some little kicks and flips this week! is there anything better than that? it's amazing.
it's sorta, kinda, slightly starting to feel real now with the kicks and the belly. but not really.

we're still totally amazed that this is all happening. excited doesn't even begin to describe it - like shout-it-from-the-rooftops giddy excited. this is such a fun time in life right now and we're trying to soak up every minute.

but it would still be ok with me if the next 20 weeks went by a little bit slower.

wheaton

i love living in wheaton.

i love the little parks to walk through

and the hardware store down the street

and the gorgeous wheaton campus





i love the saturday market with flowers and veggies and crafts.

i love the most perfect sized library - not too small but not too big. plus you can check out magazines :)


i love the several ice cream stores downtown



and old buildings



and even the sound of the trains coming through.



i love the rows of little shops and restuarants



and brick roads.




i love the old post office 1 block over

and that there's a church on every corner, because it makes us Bible-belters feel more at home.



i love living close to the train station so we can ride the train into the city.

and i love, love, love fall because it's absolutely amazing.

but most of all, i love that all of this is in walking distance. our apt is a bit dated (to say the very least) but it's worth it to get to walk down to the library or post office or ice cream or the hardware store. because if we're going to live a 1,000 miles from all our favorite people, then we might as well live somewhere interesting and different and fun. and for now, that's worth a dated apartment.

the best kind of surprises

it was one of those mornings.

i stayed up 2 hours past my bedtime and hit snooze as many times as possible.

got dressed in the dark and put my shirt on inside-out (for the 2nd day in a row)

ran out of time to pack a lunch and had to risk it with cafeteria lunch (scary).

my eyes wouldn't open all the way even after being awake for almost 2 hours.

my maternity pants wouldn't stay up and my non-maternity shirt wouldn't stay down.

and then i remember - 4 minutes before kids arrive - that i left all my copies in the copy room.

so i ran / waddled down to the copy room, while holding my shirt down and pants up, grabbed my copies and noticed a package. and then i took a double look because that handwriting looked so familiar and it made me miss home. and then - oh my goodness -i know that handwriting! i got a package at school!



really, what's more exciting than this? on a wednesday morning?


tons of my favorite bonne bell, footie pajamas to die for, teeny tinsy little socks, and sweet notes that make me smile


have i mentioned i have the best sister-in-laws ever?
ever.
they're amazing.

nursery ideas

i might have a slight obsession with looking at cute baby rooms...











but, come on, what else am i supposed to do for the next 5 months??

source

17 weeks

fall...

beautiful leaves

jackets and scarves

space heaters

all in september

we're not in mississippi anymore

kindergarteners

i think teaching kindergarten with a baby on the way is going to be lots of fun.

one girl already told me they'll probably have to slice me open to get the baby out, complete with a hand motions all the way across my belly. ouch.

girl 1 - "mrs. kent, your belly SURE is getting big"
girl 2 - "i guess it's just that baby in there"
girl 3 - "i sure HOPE it's that baby in there making her so big"

another boy said "your belly is getting so big, you're going to need to get some ETERNITY clothes real soon!"

here's to hoping i don't need clothes as big as eternity by the end of this...

happy sunday

You created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

All the days ordained for me

were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Psalm 139

thoughts on baby

source

* surprised? so were we.

* famous last words - "there's NO way we could move 1000 miles across the country from everyone we know, start a new job / doctoral program, and have a baby.

* it still doesn't seem quite real yet, but words can't even describe how excited we are

* after having to wait 13 loooong weeks for a doctor's appointment, i was a bit excited. james really appreciated it when i started the count down from 72 hours.

* hearing the heartbeat and watching that little baby flip over and over was amazing. and weird. but mostly amazing.

* i always thought it would be detrimental to give up diet coke when i got pregnant. like forking over my arm - my right arm at that - but thanks to a couple months of nausea, all i want to drink is water and milk (really, milk? i've never wanted to drink cups of milk before) oh well, problem solved.

* i have a whole new compassion for those who are sick while pregnant. so, so thankful it stopped right before my kids started school. so thankful.

and last -

*i found my first gray hair.

a little surprise...