maternity dresses

hate. them. on. me.
there are lots of super-cute maternity dresses and i often admire how lovely women look when wearing them. and then i try one on. yuck.
i think the problem is how i carry babies. i actually like how i carry them... straight out in front. pretty much i don't get bigger anywhere other than my belly. this causes some other issues such as major stretch marks and a hard time getting rid of said baby belly. but it's the way my body works, and i like it. in fact, i actually think i look kind of cute in normal maternity clothes (except for the fact that now most of them aren't long enough to cover my belly). but not dresses. my theory is that since i stick out so far in front, dresses just hang funny and make me look and feel like a big boat.
the reason this is all coming up right now is that i have a wedding to go to of a dear friend from high school. it's in two weeks, so i'll be at 38 weeks pregnant. i've been asking around for a cute dress to borrow and have received many options. yesterday, i even got to see a picture of one i could borrow and it looked perfect. so i borrowed it today and tried it on. it looked so good on the gal in the picture! but not on me. sigh. maybe i should just be thankful that i even have some options for clothes that can fit rather than complaining about how they look. but it's a wedding, is it too much to ask to look cute??

two random things about me

when i'm pregnant, i want to buy pickles. not because i actually crave them, but because i think that's what pregnant people are supposed to crave. so every time i walk by the pickles in the grocery store, i pick them up. i don't often actually buy them, but i think about it. every time.
i don't like the nickname "babe" for me. i know a lot of husbands call their wives "babe" and vice-versa, but i just can't. i don't think there's anything wrong with it... in fact, i think it's cute when i hear others say it. but the couple of times troy's tried it or i've tried it with troy, it just doesn't work. good thing there's other cute names to call each other!

concept of numbers

i think caleb's starting to get the idea of numbers meaning amount. he's been counting for a while... he's pretty good up to 10... but this week he started showing a deeper level of understanding. in the past, when he hasn't wanted to be done with something fun, he's asked for "one minute" or "one time" (one more time). often we grant this request. but this week, he's gotten smart. now he'll ask for "three minute" or "two time". time to start the negotiations :)

how i'm feeling

lots of people have been asking me how i'm feeling, being that i'm 34 weeks pregnant and waddling around i could pop any day now. i'll be honest, this is rough on me. a lot more rough than my pregnancy with caleb. that's probably due to not getting back into as good of shape between pregnancies, having to chase after a 22 month old, and not getting to just lay around the house all day letting my body and joints relax. i feel a lot of joint and pelvic pain mainly, with the occasional kick to the round ligament. and i even had my first braxton hicks contraction (never did with caleb)... an event that i've been told is likely just the beginning. oh, and did i mention i'm not sleeping well because apparently alia has her days/nights switched. so yeah, i'm quite uncomfortable. the good news, though, is that i'm learning to take care of myself a bit better and not push it. also, i'm getting more and more ready to meet this precious little girl of mine!

progression of the alphabet

i wanted to get this recorded because i know i'll forget as time goes along...
1. A...B...C...
2. A...B...C...D...
3. A...B...C...D...P...Q...X...Y...Z
4. A...B...C...D...O...O...O...P...Qs...Rs...W(pronounced "double")...X...Y...Z

more to come, i'm sure

what's in a name

alia's name means "Yaweh is God" or "my God is Yahweh". and just knowing that was enough for us to love the name. but then we found out even more! according to my uncle (who's jewish) the "aliyah" or "alia" is a person who is given the honor of reciting a blessing over the torah or reading the torah. our prayer for alia is that she would know that she's been given the honor of always being able to read the Bible. and that she would be known as one who takes every opportunity to read the Word.

caleb's sentences

in the last week or so, caleb has started talking in two-word sentences. it just clicked all of a sudden. no more "ball"... "purple". now it's "purple ball" and so on. his favorite is to add "chocoo" (chocolate) in front of anything. smart kid... chocolate does make everything better :) so i hear a lot of "chocoo cookie", "chocoo bar", and "chocoo milk".
he's even tested out a few three-world sentences. so far i've heard "more chocoo cookie", "izzy eat bana" (a friend's dog eats bananas... for real), and "mommy color purple" when caleb wanted me to use the purple crayon instead of the brown one i was currently holding. it's pretty much adorable and fun for me to learn more about how his little brain is learning and processing information. it's cute when his mouth can't quite keep up with his mind.