Ok, gang so I have not been doing as many “chick chat” posts as I have wanted. Man, this pregnancy is flying by and I”ve been busy, busy, busy working a lot these days. I suppose it just seems that way because I”m fitting in all the same work I had last year, but I’m also squeezing in naps and OBGYN appointments. Oh, and less naps from Miles now that he’s in his big boy bed. So excuses, excuses. But here I am now! Well, I’m actually only half here, I suppose. I was supposed to be shooting tonight, but I have a yucky head cold so I stayed home. (Which will only make my schedule even more cramped. Thanks head cold, you big jerk!) Before I head to bed, I thought I would share some belly shots, thoughts and other happenings.

I’m in maternity clothes now, which I have always hated, but here I am hiding a maternity top under a huge belt and scarf. Make it work, right Tim Gunn? Though truth be told, I wear this with stretch leggings, which are crazy comfy, but the top isn’t as long as I would like so my booty shows. Everybody loves a pregnant belly, but I can’t say the same for prego booties. I actually tried to tie a long sleeved shirt around my waist to hide my butt and it looked like I was trying to play flag football. So I have embraced the “butt showing” fashion when needed and just trying to avoid 3-way mirrors.

Here’s me, shopping (always so classy to shop at a place that has shopping carts) and I would have LOVED to have gotten this dress, but the minute I step on the hem of that dress, I would be giving a peep show that could rival Pamela Anderson these days. (Crap, my father in law reads this blog and I just mentioned boobs. Let’s just hope he skims the chick chats at least. Sorry Tom!) This dress so makes me want to hop on a plane to Hawaii. I remember being in Hawaii and staying at this amazing resort and there seemed to be pregnant women everywhere. It was like this fertile utopia. I told myself that one day that would be me. Yea, not so much this time around or the last time. Man, I should have worked harder on manifesting that fantasy. But I sure can stand in an Old Navy dressing room and dream. So I do.

The dreaded “fat in the face” baby weight has happened, but I’m hoping this has more to do with camera angle, than anything. (That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.) Eh, this is the one time in my life I don’t have to suck it in. So I’m embracing it. One thing that’s for sure in this photo is I am letting my back totally sway out here, something my physical therapist is having me work on. Straighten it up Bets! Oh and see, there’s me embracing the booty showing stretch pants. I’m living dangerously.

I’m having a hard time not knowing the sex of the baby this time. (Remember, we aren’t finding out this go around.) This is especially true when it comes to cruising for baby clothes. However, I did get excited when I found some unisex outfits I could pick up to get a kickstart on some nesting. The hooded outfits are ones that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVED to have for Miles. (Those are monkeys on the one brown outfit. So cute!) Granted, they only had 0-3 for two of them and I will be kicking myself when I wished I had it in 3-6, but oh well, I’ll deal with that when it comes. The blue and green one (that could totally work for a girl, if needed, right?) is 3-6, so I will be thrilled with that, I’m sure. (Baby is due August 2nd.)

These are the first things I have bought for the baby. AHHHH! I can’t wait to get the nursery finished so I can start pulling out Miles’ old things and seeing what treasures I can find for this go round.

It’s been hard for me to really comprehend I have a real, live baby in my belly that will be a part of our family. It’s still so unreal to me. We have our first ultrasound on my birthday, April first (Are you noting your calendar?) so I’m hoping that even though we aren’t finding out the sex, seeing our little baby will help get it in my head there’s a little soul growing in me.

In other news, we are always trying to make more space in our house, especially our kitchen. (There will be a highchair in there again before we know it.) So here’s a little space saver we added from our latest Ikea run. Having our pots and pans out in the open isn’t ideal, but it has given us a lot of extra cabinet space and keeps me from just throwing them in a cabinet and hoping the door will close. I’ll probably add some baskets to try to fit some art supplies of Miles’ too. We’ll see. Keeping it just pots and pans ensures that I don’t trash it.

Here you can see the same area in action, with Miles playing with some left over split peas I had from Monday night’s soup.

Ok, my sinuses say it’s time for bed. Or at least time to go to bed and for me to lay there and think about how I can’t breathe.

Nighty night!

PS Raise your hand if you think I need a cuter iphone case since it’s in every one of my self portraits? BTW, I only have hot pink because I could never find the black one. It blended in to everything, especially the dark recesses of my car and purse.