Happy Valentines Day!

We have had a big week building up to Valentine's Day.  First, it was Mommy and Jayden time, all the time, which is always fun, and Second, we've had wrapped presents sitting on the table allllll week!  Jayden managed to wait, and will be so excited to open them tomorrow.  I think I have a guess as to what Jayden's present is, Gramma, but I'm excited to see which one!  :)

I am ready for him too:

Since I don't always give Carmen credit: the flowers to the left are from Carmen.  They were delivered to our front porch today.  Calla lilies and deep red roses, reminding me of our wedding!  So pretty.
I figured I could get away with using a store bag for Jayden's gifts, since he can't read yet and hopefully he'll just appreciate the pretty red and purple bag.  Also, my own fun secret - I've been hiding that giant balloon in the house for the past six days.  Luckily Jayden didn't want to play with his play house at all this week!

I was lucky enough to have yesterday off (thank you state courts that randomly close on Lincoln's birthday).  It was a wonderful morning because I wasn't rushing Jayden anywhere.  I still took him to Juju's, but was able to be relaxed and not have to rush him through everything.  After I dropped him off I stopped at the arts and crafts store and bought too much stuff.  Because I'm smart I decided February 12th was a good day to decide to make homemade valentines.  Right (that was sarcasm in case it wasn't clear). But I found some simple ideas that I could combine with stuff I already had - red paper (from our wedding, actually!), plain white paper, two valentines-themed stamps and some salt dough I "whipped up" in a few minutes, and voila!  Clay heart necklaces strung to a hedgehog valentine card!

These were the valentines for Jayden's daycare.  He wore two necklaces to daycare, and I wore my necklace today of course.  Juju said all the kids loved their heart necklaces - so glad, because I wasn't sure if everyone would like them!

Jayden has been amazing this week.  He asks about his daddy a lot.  Even though he refuses to talk to him when he calls, it's clear he misses him.  And when Carmen called today while we were driving and mentioned swim class coming up tomorrow, Jayden's eyes doubled in size, his mouth opened wide and you could feel the excitement oozing from him.  I couldn't snap a picture since I was driving, but his excited face is one of my favorites.  I'll catch it one of these days, I promise.

I haven't snapped a ton of pictures this week, so I'll post another update after this long weekend with some photos.  For now I'll throw in the baby girl update:

I'm 22 weeks today.  I can't decide if it feels like I have forever until the end or no time at all.  I was joking with someone recently that I'd like to stay pregnant for a few more months, but definitely not any longer than necessary.  And that's about right.  Not that life gets easier once the newborn arrives, but it'll be change.  And work has been brutal/frustrating/overwhelming, so in some ways I'm looking forward to maternity leave as an opportunity for a break.   And maybe as a way for me to reevaluate whether I'm really in the right job.  I know I won't be spending every waking moment (which will be a lot of moments) analyzing my job and my happiness, but I'm hoping it will give me at least a clue about whether or not I really want to return to full time.

On to the baby girl - she is about 11 inches long, and weighs about a pound - about the size of a spaghetti squash.

She looks more and more like a tiny human and less and less like an alien.  Her lips, eyelids and eyebrows are more distinct and her tooth buds are developing under the gums.  [By the way, despite the fact that I breastfed Jayden and I plan to breastfeed this little girl, I still think babies should grow teeth in the womb - think how much more sleep new parents would get if they didn't have to go through the teething stage.  I'm sure the whole biting while nursing thing would work itself out.]  Her eyes are formed, but there is still no pigment in the iris - so in our case, no way to tell if Carmen's idea that out kid could have blue eyes will come true.  As an aside, based on my high school biology class, there is actually no way for our kids to have blue eyes.  It's a recessive gene, which means both parents have to carry it and there are no blue eyes in Carmen's family so it's just not genetically possible.  I promise.

The baby is covered in lanugo, the fine hair covering her body, and she is developing the deep wrinkles that will be filled in with fat before she's born (or sort of filled in, if Jayden is any indication - he never had the chubby legs that other babies have).  Her pancreas is developing, which is essential for producing important hormones.  Her fingernails are also almost fully grown, which is actually kind of creepy to me - what if she claws at me inside?!?  Another weird fact: blood is traveling through the umbilical cord at four miles an hour, which fuels the little girl's growth with oxygen and nutrients.

I have been a little more lightheaded recently, and I've decided, based on little to no medical training or evidence, that I am not drinking enough water.  Apparently my blood volume has increased quite a bit over the past few months, which means I need more water.  I've been trying to drink 90 oz of water every 24 hours.  I don't always make it, but I usually get at least 60-70, which isn't too bad.

I actually managed to get out for a run/walk yesterday.  I was so incredibly slow, but it felt so good to get out in the fresh air to clear my head and to get my legs moving again.  I am going to be careful and slow, but in order to stay mentally healthy (not to mention physically healthy), I have to find ways to incorporate running and yoga back into my life, and more than just once every week.  I will make it happen!

Not a good picture of me, a little blurry, but you can see the bump.  Practically the minute I stopped running she started moving around again.  Seriously if she's as active on the outside as she is on the inside, we are in for a world of trouble.  

And now it's time to pass out before 10 pm.  Woo hoooo!  Happy Valentines Day to everyone!