michele's mommy memoirs: HALFWAY.

Woo hoo! The halfway mark is already here! I can’t believe it – this has gone by too fast. With Bella I would sit counting down the days until she arrived. That’s because I didn’t have another child to keep me occupied…now, I find myself chasing Bella around the house, reading books, coloring, playing with puzzles…and boom – 20 weeks have already passed. Here’s a little message for you Time – S L O W down.

This week has been very eventful. On Wednesday, Stephen dressed up like the Easter Bunny for all of the kids at daycare (Bella was NOT having that, she kept telling him ‘bye’.) Friday, we bought my Aunt and Uncle’s Expedition from them – now we have a car big enough for our growing family…Sunday was Easter, so we colored eggs with Bella and Kenzie on Saturday…let me just say that this year was very different from last year. Last Easter- me, Stephen, Derek and Kristen were doing most of the coloring because the girls were so little. This year it was all we seemed to do is watch to make sure that they didn’t dump all of the food coloring on the patio J. It’s pretty cool to watch them try new things – by the time we were done with coloring, Bella’s hands looked like the Hulk’s (she was all green!). The Easter Egg hunt was also a blast, the girls were running around everywhere looking for eggs – I can’t wait until little E can join in the activities…I have a feeling that him and his sister are going to be verrry competitive (just like me and Derek J)

On Monday, we had our 20 week anatomy scan to make sure that everything is measuring on track for Ethan. Stephen and my mom met me at the appointment – this particular appointment is longer only because they measure every major bone in the body and look at all of his organs. It’s great to sit there and watch this on the monitor – I’m amazed with modern medicine (I should have been a doctor!). Everything looked great, and he’s a big healthy boy! We were able to be a few great shots of his face in 3D – and I can already tell that he’s going to be a heartbreaker…seeing him just makes me want to hold him that much more – only 20 weeks to go!

Week 20 - baby is now the size of a c a n t a l o u p e

Here are some cool facts about the baby at week 20:

· Increased blood flow is making the pelvic area extra-sensitive, libido is re-surging, and the weight gain has just barely begun.

· He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel, the length of a banana. He gulps down several ounces of amniotic fluid every day, both for nutrition and to practice swallowing and digestion - and these days, those taste buds actually work!

· He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper – fun stuff!

A few updates from the mommy-to-be...

How far along? 20 weeks 6 days

Total weight gain/loss: I only weigh at Dr. Chu’s office (this is a good thing) – so, it’s still been 2 pounds, although I’m definitely feeling larger these days…this belly is getting BIG.

Maternity clothes? Yessssssssss – on the plus side, I am still able to wear all of my shoes J my feet haven’t gotten fat…yet.

Stretch marks? the same ones :/

Sleep: what’s that? Haha! Kidding, I can’t complain since I go to bed every night at 9:00pm.

Best moment this week: LOTS – we had our 20 week anatomy scan and he’s perfect! ANNNND, we got to see his little face in 3D. (amazing).

Miss Anything? wine.

Movement: LOTS.

Food cravings: MEXICAN FOOD

Anything making you queasy or sick: nope.

Have you started to show yet: Yes.

Gender prediction: this is funny, the doctor that was doing the anatomy scan said, ‘Dr. Chu told you that you were having a girl?’ and we said, uhhh no…then he told us, “well that was just my first guess, I haven’t even made it down that far, I’m still measuring the head…” once he made it down to the ‘pee pee’ he said, “ohhhh yes – it’s a boy.” Thanks doc, for clearing that up.

Labor Signs: No

Belly Button in or out? In, I think it's working its way out though...hard to tell.

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!

Weekly Wisdom: there’s this exercise called walking – I need to do it.

Looking forward to: still waiting for daddy to feel this little guy move – COME ON ETHAN!!!.

Isn't it amazing how we can already see his face!? He looks so handsome, just like his daddy! Trust me, I've already compared his 20 week photo with Bella's, I think they look a lot alike :)