26 weeks!

Well, I got the bedding all together and we got our mobile the other day from our friends, so the crib is looking better and better!

I am 26 weeks today!  According to babycenter, the baby is growing:  the network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel. If you're having a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take two to three days.

Pretty exciting!  My back is definitely starting to ache a lot more, but Travis has been really good about rubbing it and when we go swimming it really helps.  I went to the gym yesterday and did the elliptical and lifted, not even anything heavy, and I definitely got a lot more tired/sore than I do with swimming.  I created a bunch of swim workouts for Trav, a lot of them from what I can remember from college or high school, so he's been having "fun" with some of them, lol.  I can't keep up anymore, so I just swim pretty easily and take breaks to drink water :)

I need to take another picture of the ever-growing belly.  Travis thought it would be funny to see if his plate would stand up on its own by putting it on my stomach and it almost worked, the plate was too big... I think I've still got plenty of growing left to do in the next 14 weeks, give or take.  Almost to the 3rd trimester, just one more week left in the 2nd!

We are leaving for Des Moines today at 3 pm, so we'll get in before 11 pm.  A 2 hour time change is a big difference in terms of eating and sleeping schedules.  We're excited to see friends and family and I am excited to get most of the Christmas presents organized (yes, true, I bought most of them in Peru) and leave them there.  Thanksgiving is with the Rileys this year and Christmas is with the Byrams, but with baby on the way, I'm sure dates of visits will change.  And I have my first official baby shower this weekend, so that will be really nice too - we've already gotten quite a few gifts here as people were nice to ship them down here beforehand.  We are very thankful, grateful and appreciative - babies have quite a lot of gear.  I would love to go back in time and see what I had as a baby.  I don't really remember anything before I was 6/7 and even then, those are pretty scattered/selective memories :)

Have an awesome weekend, I'll get a stomach picture up soon!