Preggo 15 Weeks

Actually, as of this writing, I am at 16 weeks, but since the picture I am posting is from 15 weeks...

Things seem to be progressing very well for me this time around. I started feeling the baby really early, some time in the 14th week, and the movements are becoming stronger and more regular. I have my next check up this Friday, and then the one after that will include the big sono where we find out if it is a boy or a girl! My instinct says that this one is a girl, but I know plenty of moms who had a strong feeling that turned out to be wrong, so we shall see. Either way, we are happy though.

I am not in maternity clothes yet, though I have bought quite a few shirts that are much more flowy than what I traditionally wear that I have already moved into, and I bought a bella band that I think will start getting use in the next week or so. In fact, I got out my old maternity clothes last weekend only to put over half in the donate pile and the other half as far in the back of my closet as possible. I don't know if the clothes really are that bad or if I just remember how unattractive I felt at those last few months.

Maybe I delude myself, but I think that in certain outfits, the pregnancy does not announce itself quite yet. Here is a side view taken when I was unaware...

Adventures Right by Home

So, I have wanted to go to Fossil Rim for a while now, and we decided Robby was old enough to really enjoy it, so we headed down to Glen Rose first thing this morning to see some wildlife in a free range environment.

It was quite the day! We were all pretty tired of being in the car by the time we were done, but it was well worth the trip and entry fee costs.

The first animals we encountered were the ostriches and zebras. They both came straight up to the car and poked their heads in for a bite of animal food. Robby liked the zebras, but the ostrich was a little scary (okay, it scared me too!)

Here is a pic of Robby curled up in my lap after the ostrich went away. It took a while to get him to check out the deer that were everywhere after that.

About half way through, you get to stop and there is a petting zoo we let Robby go into. He really liked brushing the goats, but one of the goats got tired of the brushing and turned around and gently butted Robby! He was a surprised but did not cry.

After lunch, Robby was too tired to sit up front with us anymore, so he went into the back and napped just before we reached the giraffes. Two giraffes ate right out of my hand, but the slobber they left behind was disgusting, so Bryan did all of the feeding after that!

A Sweet Story

So, this story happened several weeks ago now, but I wanted to wait to share it until the first trimester was over...

Although I was very nauseous every day, I did not throw up too terribly much. So it just happened that there was only one morning where Robby and I were the only two in the house when I got sick.

He has a little table on the landing where he eats breakfast, and he was at his table when I became sick. A couple of minutes into it, however, I heard him coming into the bathroom. I wanted to tell him that mommy was okay, but it was a little difficult. He didn't get scared or anything though.

He just walked up behind me and stood there for a few seconds. Then, he starting pulling my hair out of my face. He just stood behind me holding my hair until I was done and sat down on the floor. Then, he put the lid down and attempted to flush, though he couldn't quite get the handle down.

His love for me was clearer in that moment than I think it will be once he can actually say "I love you, Mommy" to me.

The strange thing though is that I have no idea how he knew what to do. Robby is still of an age where when he feels the need to throw up, he does so wherever he might be at that moment. He has never gone to the bathroom to be sick, and so I have not had the opportunity to stand behind him the same way he did for me. Whenever he is old enough to go through this himself, I will always remember as I stand behind him taking care of him that he did the same for me first without any prompting other than his own desire to take care of me in whatever way he can.

Girl's Weekend!

This weekend, my wonderful mother-in-law took her four daughters, her daughter-in-law (me), and her daughter-in-law to be to the Marriot at Legacy in Plano for a relaxing pre-wedding celebration, and it was just amazing. It was really fun to hang out with everyone and to welcome Ali to the family, Sloan girl style!

We got pedicures at the Stonebriar Spa, had meals at lots of yummy places including Jasper's and Mi Cocina, and then we also hit the outlet mall. I had been excited about this for weeks because a). I am at that place where I hate my entire wardrobe and b). I am about to outgrow it for now anyway. So even though there aren't any actual maternity stores at the outlet shops, I decided to shop maternity anyway.

I will never understand why this is true, but maternity clothes are not only much uglier as a rule than regular clothes, they are also much more expensive. Luckily, there are lots of non-maternity clothes (well, not pants but shirts and dresses) that can pass for maternity clothes for the first two trimesters at least. And, these can often be worn again after the pregnancy. So, that is what I went on the hunt for. I had surprisingly good luck.

I got some sweet clothes at various stores, but I did not hit the jackpot until I got to Banana Republic. They had a deal that if you bought at least three items, everything you bought was 50% off. I got 9 shirts. They should all work at least until July/August I think. But here is the kicker: I had to wait in line for right at an hour to pay because everyone was taking advantage of this sale. I even ran into my friend Laura there.

By the time I paid, my back was killing me and I knew I was done shopping for the day, but when I got to the register she gave me an additional 25% off just for having a Banana Republic Card! I ended up with a total of $168 in savings and spending only $100 to get 9 Banana Republic shirts. Looking in the review mirror, do I think the hour wait was worth it? Most definitely. What do you guys think?

So, watch soon for a posting on how my house fared with 8 Sloan boys (including Robby) in and out of residence all weekend with no females present at all.

p.s. mom--my shopping successes don't mean that our upcoming shopping trip needs to be canceled or postponed, so don't bother trying that one on me :)