Still cozy...

...is our baby boy. To be honest, I am totally fine with that. Don't get me wrong - I am super excited to meet him. But yesterday was my last day of class, and today I finished my last group project. So I, for one, am glad he seems to be perfectly content to hang out a bit longer. At our doctor's visit today, he seemed to think we'd have another couple of days, at least.

I know it sounds bizarre, but I am actually a little sad for this pregnancy to be coming to a close so soon. Again, I am thrilled for our little one to join our family OUTside of my body, but part of me will miss having him with me all the time, feeling his movements, and knowing he is safe. I am really grateful for this time, and it is surprising to me how quickly it has gone by. Maybe it's because I've been lucky enough to have an easy pregnancy and because I'm still not uncomfortable, but I really love having this little guy in there.

In any case, we decided to have a few pictures taken of this belly while we had the chance. My amazing sister very kindly took some, and then a very talented friend who is building up her photography business snapped a few, as well. I could not be more thrilled. A huge thank you to these beautiful ladies who captured this time so well.

Purple Grape

A few weeks ago, I wore this purple dress to church. At one point, a little boy sitting behind us excitedly said, "Mom, look at the purple grape!" Dan is convinced he meant me.

This picture was taken at the end of our last shift as temple workers. We're hoping to have one final shift the Saturday before I'm due before we can't serve for another 25+ years.

Quick Update

Whew. Things have been crazy. School is in full swing, Dan's work has been crazy, and we now wake up at 5:30 to teach seminary. We and baby are doing well, although we can't quite wrap our minds around the fact that I am officially FULL TERM. This baby could come any day, folks (but we hope he opts to wait a few weeks).

Evidently, I am only capable of remembering to take belly shots at 10pm at night, when the light is poor and my appearance is poorer.

32 Weeks



34 Weeks


37 Weeks!



We also went camping last weekend. It was incredibly fun and relaxing. We stayed in a spot right by the bathrooms in the event that I needed to get up in the night. Fortunately, I didn't. For as much water as I've been inhaling, it is quite miraculous to me that I still manage to sleep through the night without a peep.



My belly thought it would be fun to jut out from under the life vest.



We also spent a lovely day in Harper's Ferry, and spent this past weekend studying, organizing, and participating in speed reading. Fun times were had by all.

Peaches

Last Saturday, we headed out about an hour west of DC to go fruit picking. We found some delicious peaches, as well as some chard and tomatoes. It was so fun, despite the blistering heat. By the end, we all kind of wanted to pass out. But at least they were tasty!

We also saw a calf. I wanted to bring it home with us. Dan thought it would prefer being with its mama-cow.

On the way home, we stopped by the Marriott Ranch for a Pioneer Day celebration. We then followed our GPS across treacherous, non-state-maintained roads that are definitely intended for large vehicles possessing 4-wheel drive. We have a Nissan Sentra. Oh well. At least we made it.

And now I present the last couple weeks' worth of bump pictures:

27 Weeks:


28 Weeks:

Belated 24

Today I am 25 weeks pregnant. Because I am evidently incapable of both taking and posting pregnancy pictures in a timely manner, here is one from a week ago, at 24 weeks.


I am apparently finally looking pregnant to the random bystander, as several very kind folks offered me their seats on the Metro last week.

In which I retained my car... and got a blanket

As some of you probably know, pregnancy does weird things to your body. I've been (very gratefully) spared of many of these symptoms, but most of the unusual things that happen to me lately can be blamed in some form or another on the parasitic being inhabiting my uterus. I felt very validated when BabyCenter sent me an email a couple of days ago detailing why some pregnant women occasionally awake with cramps in their calves.

Perhaps the symptom that has most affected me, though, is very very strange dreams. I am an extremely deep sleeper, so I didn't typically remember my dreams when I awoke. Lately, though, they have been so vivid that I remember specific images from them weeks later. This is very rare for me... I remember a grand total of one dream from my entire pre-pregnancy life.

One dream included Dan turning into some sort of undead creature who left me, but then was chasing me. A police officer who was attempting to protect me and I rushed onto some sort of elevated rail system, but couldn't seem to shake him. It was rather terrifying at the time.

Last night's dream included me parking my car somewhere and handing over the keys to someone else. By the time I got back, this incredibly responsible person had decided to trade in my car for some new fancy-pants vehicle. The funniest thing was that I COULD NOT figure out what was different for the longest time after returning, even though it looked completely different, even in my dream. I sat in the driver's seat (with this girl in the passenger seat) and stared at the new dashboard for some time before wheeling sideways and pronouncing, "This is NOT my car!" I was, naturally, upset, because I didn't want to make big car payments on a new and fancy car that I didn't want.

Luckily, the dream concluded before I woke up (can you imagine the horror of not knowing how it ended?). She somehow managed to trade the car back, and when I returned, she handed me my old keys. She also had an armful of quilts, and said the person who had sold her the car was also trying to sell blankets... for $50 each. I thought for a moment, and then said, "Sure, I'll take one - and you're paying for it!" Then I drove away, blanket in hand.

What strange dreams have you had? Interpretations also welcomed.

By Popular Request

Several of you have thoughtfully requested to see a picture of Pregnant Preethi. As I am notoriously poor at uploading photos to facebook, I figured I could at least use this as a forum for one of them. I didn't look particularly pregnant for a while (and think I'm still sort of in the "is she fat or pregnant?" stage), but here goes.

Welcome to Almost Week 23 (I turn 22 weeks tomorrow).


It also sort of depends on what clothes I'm wearing. Here's another look with a different shirt.


Thanks for visiting!

(Please excuse the poor lighting and photo quality.)