Our lives right now and thoughts on being pregnant

So, I tried to post a bunch of pictures of all the fun things we've been doing, but for some reason it didn't work. Grrr. So I posted them on facebook instead. Look there until I can figure out how to make my way around blogger.

So, life. It's pretty dang good. Brent and I are celebrating our 6 month anniversary this weekend, and because when we hit our year mark we will be quite busy with a brand new wee one in addition to being surrounded by relatives for the Christmas holidays, we decided that we will go a little more all out for this anniversary instead. We are going to stay at a B&B in Albuquerque and go to the zoo and aquarium. I'm super excited. And hopefully my tummy will cooperate. (I thought people stopped throwing up their second trimester??)

Brent is loving his internship. I looked for work before we came, and couldn't find anything that
 a) I was qualified for   and  b) wouldn't drive me to suicidal thoughts (such as nannying). So, instead, I volunteer at the local art center, joined a figure drawing group, make art, read, etc.

I am four months pregnant now. Almost half-way!! We will find out Baby's gender in a month and we are so excited. We have a doctor visit in a few days, and hopefully I won't puke in the doctor's sink this time. Now, don't get me wrong, I am thrilled to be pregnant. We are so grateful and see this as a big blessing. But I am a little baffled at people who act like pregnancy is 9 months of roses and sunshine and rainbows. I have thrown up more than I ever would like to remember. I actually lost weight during the first trimester. I laugh at all these "healthy pregnancy diet" articles I see floating around, because honestly, my diet consists of whatever sounds remotely tolerable. We HAVE to keep grocery bags in both of our cars, because there is a 75% chance I will need one anytime we go outside of town. And now with the second trimester under way, the pukes have decreased, but now I have developed an allergy to several fruits (isn't the heartburn enough???) And I get so irritated at things that shouldn't bother me. Why did I do that stupid thing when I was fourteen?? Did you see what that driver did?! I swear I will never speak to her again for talking to me that way in my dream last night. Parents should thank me that I am not teaching right now. Because the lives of their children would be at stake. BUT It will be worth it. I can at least cook again, which is much consolation...even if the Hawaiian haystacks I made yesterday had to be washed down with Benadryl.

I also find myself worrying about things that I never worried about much before. What if our baby has Down Syndrome? Or Autism? Or has a personality that I don't know how to handle? What if our child is rebellious? What if the pregnancy doesn't last? What if we one day have to bury our child? What if our child is born with both genders and we have to decide which gender it will be for the rest of its life, and we accidentally choose the wrong one? What if this has a negative impact on my marriage relationship? What if my child is awkward like I was? But I know that worrying gives a small thing a big shadow, and so I don't dwell on those thoughts too much. I remind myself of all the promises that the Lord has given me, and I take hope and comfort in that I am not in this alone. Yes it's sometimes scary. But it's also really exciting. I have an incredible husband. I have amazing family and in-laws. And awesome friends. And the Gospel. I have so much to be grateful for.

27/100: self. And a tribute to the first trimester of pregnancy

Medium: etch-a-sketch. Sorry this one is gross. But I also think that most who have gone through pregnancy can relate to this, so I couldn't resist, and my simplest hope is that someone gets a laugh out of looking at this.