Weeks 21-24 with Baby Rubiks

:: Weeks 21-24 ::

Holy growth spurt!  Its sort of funny actually looking at this picture because it doesn't look like much change from last month. But from my aerial view that I get 24/7, the belly is a-growin. I realized that this is probably the last month of getting to really look and feel pregnant without all the super fun discomforts. Which is sort of funny because I keep thinking about how uncomfortable I already am. Oh boy :)

:: Symptoms ::

I am so thankful the headaches have simmered down and the nasal issues have gotten more manageable (thanks Mom for the tips!). The lastest and greatest have been the beginnings of second-half heartburn (which is actually somehow different than first trimester heartburn), braxton-hicks, itchy skin thanks to belly expansion, and sleep is still touch and go. And the struggle has gotten real in regards to bending over, putting on shoes, or getting up off the floor. Way, way too early for this.

:: Movement ::

I'm thankful this kid has a few inches to grow before she gets access to my ribs! She is a strong mover and sits, head down, nice and low all the time. At my 24 week appointment the midwife was impressed by her strength. It took a while to find her heartbeat (because she is sitting lower than the midwife was expecting) but there was no concern about he being alive because this girl would hit the doppler so hard the midwife was having trouble keeping it in place.

:: Missing Most ::

I'm already growing out of a lot of my clothes already. Vain, I know. Still, I'd rather be getting creative with my wardrobe any day for this kiddo.

:: Best Part ::

I've had a few fun evenings watching what look like mini bombs going off inside my stomach. It's the best phase, getting to see and feel her move around without it hurting much yet.

:: Hubby ::

The naming wars have begun! We honestly have no idea what this girl's name is going to be. I have a favorite, and am trying my dardnest to convince Josh of how wonderful it is. He still hasn't found a name he loves, but I think that's to my advantage thus far.

Getting her self "maked-up" for the day.

:: Dellie ::

She's been a little confused lately about the fact that she really is having a sister.  She asks a lot about why God gave her a sister and other people get brothers. She's also been asking a lot about how big her sister will be when she's born. Her initial guess was about 2 inches long, and doesn't believe me when I tell her that the baby will be as big as some of her dolls. I'm guessing its all just a lot to wrap around your brain when you're three. She's also still stuck on the name Margaret Tiger and worried about her toys getting chewed on.

She has wanted to "feel the baby" regularly, although that has consisted of poking my belly button and exclaiming "it moved!"

:: Looking Forward To ::

We're currently in a point in time where a lot is unknown about our future, particularly with graduating, finding a job, and moving (or not moving). I am really looking forward to all of those unknowns being answered one way or another. I know it isn't really baby related, but it's been such a big part of our world right now that I can't even really comprehend another child coming into our life without getting overwhelmed. It has made it harder to be purely excited for her arrival without a tinge of fear of what else in our world needs to shake out.

Halloween 2015

This year marked the beginning of Kiddo deciding her own costumes. Not gonna lie, it makes me a bit sad. Somehow the concept of Halloween came up a couple months ago with her and she decided from that moment on she was going to be a princess.

For a while she was pretty comfortable with wearing one of her dress up princess dresses (which is quite nice, being handmade by my mom and all), but I was given a Sophia the First dress as a hand-me-down and decided to save it until the last moment in hopes of a big reveal right before Halloween. (Also to ward off any chance of her wearing it incessantly throughout the month of October.)  

Reveal was more of a success than I imagined it would be. The first official costuming time came and I took the chance - here's how it went down:

Me: "Dells, I know you've wanted to wear your yellow princess dress, but would you like to wear this (whipping out Sophia dress) instead?"

Kiddo: eyes huge, heavy breathing for a full minute. "...Really?..."

This girl took the. best. care. of this dress for a full week. She went to great toddler lengths to make sure she had her matching crown, "ambulance" necklace and appropriate foot gear every stinking time she got dressed. So even though it was far from any wonderful ideas I would have had for her costume this year, the outcome was totally worth it.

Here's some pictures from the events we did. I may have gotten close to zealous with all the potential fun to be had, especially since Dellie was even more excited for Halloween than I was.

Her first choice for a pumpkin was the "bumpily one."

She was eventually persuaded into a more paint-able pumpkin, which she painted with just as much gusto as last year.

We went to a pumpkin patch with some friends, complete with haystack maze,

tractor ride (which she loved so much she waited 20 minutes in line to ride it again),

and another pumpkin of her very own to cover in complementary stickers.

On Friday, we went trick or treating with all of Dellie's church buddies in Downtown Mesa.

She clearly had no fun, what so ever.

And Friday night we dressed up ourselves and the house for a quite fantastic Halloween shindig,

which included a giant fake spider (in honor of all the real giant spiders we can't seem to get rid of in our backyard),

along with Hockey Vlad, a pregnant cow, and, by this time, Cinderella (she got tired of being Sophia, apparently). On a side note, I don't recommend The Fly (the 1958 version) if you're looking for a hokey Halloween movie.  There were only two good parts, but they weren't worth the hour and a half of backstory.

Whew, you made it! How was your Halloween? Any trick or treaters? We had about five, I think. No complaints - just means more candy for me :)