I'm Baaaacckkk!!!!!!

Well hello dear friends and family...it's been a long time away, but I have returned!  The last month + of my life has been enslaved to an online class from hell!  I started about 3 or 4 posts and never finished them.  Meanwhile the baby has continued to grow bigger and so I have lots of catching up to do here...

The 2nd Trimester dawned with the glorious relief from "all-day my mouth tastes like crap please feed me so I don't vomit" nausea, a shot of energy I didn't think would EVER come back and cravings GALORE!  Some of the cravings are rather normal and others are rather...interesting...

Normal

• Peanut M&M's
• Pretzels
• Italian hoagies - though I can't eat them :(
• Mexican food & pretty much any spicy food
• Cinnamon gum

Not-so-Normal

• Spanish olives...by the jar full...(thanks a lot Uncle T.J.)
• Russian dressing...plain with a spoon or on salt & vinegar chips
• Strawberry jelly...straight from the jar...
• Mayo - Extra! On or in multiple things (this may seem normal, but prior to being pregnant I didn't like mayo and ate it sparingly when I had to!) 

I think the craziest thing is still how I can crave something non-stop for weeks and then suddenly hate the very smell of it!  This phenomenon will forever boggle my mind!  It also amazes me how much of my lap has disappeared in just 4 weeks time!  And this is just the beginning!

*Picture was taken at 16 weeks, the other we took got deleted by a phone issue:( but more will be coming later!*

Along with this "dawning", came the realization that I'm really NOT all that good at this whole "being pregnant" thing!  I'm far too stubborn!  I'm used to doing things a certain way and the baby has a whole other plan!  It apparently doesn't appreciate me trying to clean my house on a 90+ degree day...even if it is in the AC...so it landed me on my back with dehydration cramps that had me calling my mom and the doc in a panic!  (But seriously with work and homework running my life, what else was I supposed to do on a holiday off with my husband working and no car to do anything...hmm?!)  It also doesn't like me staying up until 12 am to get homework done...which is why Ricky would look over to find me staring mindlessly at a computer screen while trying not to fall off the computer chair!

This conundrum will most likely induce a chuckle from seasoned moms (and dads) who know what's really coming in November when my whole life gets turned upside down, shaken and re-arranged for the greater good of my darling caramel latte, but I have this lovely idea that I will hold on to some semblance of MY version of doing things until November when the baby decides to arrive...Again, the baby has another idea entirely... 

In baby news, the baby is now in its 19th week! :)  It's gone from the size of my clenched fist to about 6 inches long and half a pound!  It grew little hairs all over it's body for warmth a couple of weeks ago and so I started calling it Chewbaca.  Ricky didn't think that was very nice, but I thought it was a pretty badass name for the baby personally...(of course, it sounded a lot better when I found out this week it's covered in a cheese-like substance and suggested Chucky Cheese as a replacement name lol! : P)  The baby has also decided to share the "hair love" with me by growing a beard on my stomach...just lovely!  Supposedly many women claim this means it's a boy and it's your body's reaction to the spike of testosterone...I have no idea, but waxing a pregnant belly sounds like a really bad idea so it's staying for the time being!

As of July 1st, if my caramel latte decides to cooperate, we will find out if we're having an Xavier or an Ariella!  Most people are guessing it's a boy because I'm carrying like my mom did when she was pregnant with my brother...but we'll see?!  Still time to place your bets...it's a 50/50 chance...not bad odds lol!  Either way, I love green, yellow and purple so they're not gonna be dressed in the traditional pink and blue!  (Speaking of which I saw the most adorable little black pin-stripe suit with a purple dress shirt and tie the other day!)  Little caramel babies look beautiful in bright colors! :)

So let's see...here's a few milestones in the baby's life to date:

• Trip to NY to meet relatives on Nonna and Nonno's side:)
• New doctor, Dr. Carol Zimmerman, who delivers at Abington (cause Mommy wasn't driving an hour to have her doctor deliver!)
• Daddy got to hear the baby's heartbeat for the 1st time!
• Went to very first wedding - Congrats to my darling Kimber and her Jamie :)
• Started moving and poking Mommy - particularly when there's music or Daddy's playing a loud game or watching a movie

Next on the list for baby, meet Grandma and Aunt Carol's side of the family 4th of July weekend!  Woohoo!