18 weeks

Starting to slack on my posts, but it hasn't been too long. Quite a bit has happened, but at the same time not too much :)

Alex is doing well at FedEx working 5pm-8or9pm. At this part time job he put in 12 hours a day around Christmas since he was out of school & they were busy, which is a good stack of savings for us (aka baby spending). He recently just finished his Driving Classes, so he'll most likely be parking the trucks at the end of his shift.. and maybe do some small pick ups. He's done really well with getting his face out there, impressing some of his superiors & making some friends. Those can always make work a bit more enjoyable. So far, with what grades have been posted, Alex got more than a 3.5 GPA last semester.. & GRADUATED with his Associates from SLCC!! WOot WOooot! He's a full University boy now! This will help with his days not being so complicated driving back & forth between each school.. which definitely can be a drag, and was on him. He's going to take a full load this semester again, and hopefully not too large during Summer for the baby. But he's very stoked because they released a Masters program for his degree at the U now too. So we're tacking on an additional 2 years onto his 3 1/2, which really isn't too bad! He's excited, & I'm very proud of my smarty!

I got a promotion at eBay around the 20th of December, and I am now an Operations System Specialist. I felt very honored, and a bit nervous cuz it's a new department and total opposite of my previous 630am-3pm shift. I now work 230-11pm, and to be honest I really enjoy it! I have a great team to work with, great new Supervisor, and these hours are really working out Awesome for me. Towards the last few days of my old shift I really hated being there because I was nauseous right as I got to work and started coming in an hour later to adjust. Now I wake up around 930 am to eat breakfast & shower, then go back to bed for a couple hours, & then get ready for work. I know it makes me sound terribly lazy, but HEY... I was crawling into bed right after work at 3pm anyway, so it's definitely helping me get adjusted :). This way I have been able to see Alex a LOT more!! and I'M LOVING IT! I really enjoy sleeping in with him & staying up late with him. It's perfect, we're loving it. My new position really keeps me busy for the most part, and days/weeks whiz on by!! Half way til my Sabbatical, which is at my 5 year mark at eBay I get a Month off.. PAID! (that was our original plan for starting a baby for maternity leave.. but ya know how that plan went)

...Now about the Baby!...

We are now 18 weeks & 1 day along, which leaves us almost 22 weeks left. My belly finally stopped looking so 'chunky' and started popping a few days before Christmas, and it's just progressed from there. Being in the 2nd Trimester, the lil' tyke is now the size of a Mango (6 in, .5 lbs). Awesomely enough I still weight about 10 lbs lighter than I did before pregnancy.. hey I'm enjoying it while I can lol. I find it ironic that I have been craving Mango slushies to find that it's the measurement of my lil bun muahaha.

We have decided to name the lil Mango 'Jamal' until we find out what the gender is... which will still be in the Delivery Room. January 20th (2 weeks!!) we have our first Ultra Sound!!! I'm so excited to see the lil bean in my belly!!! It's going to be soo magical! I am super nervous for the nurse to slip, but I can't wait to see it!!!

We have a few pictures from Christmas Eve that shows my little pop. I could see & feel it expanding I thought it was crazy then to see how much the belly has grown from just the prior week. Pictures had to be taken to prove that it's actually happening! lol. Alex and I got home from his parent's house on New Years & I felt pretty big. We took pictures that night & you can definitely see the difference. I know it's only the beginning, and I'm still pretty excited.

I just hope I only gain it in my belly, but we'll have to wait & see. I still only really eat cereal, accept when I'm working at night. So maybe I won't gain too much, but we'll have to see. I keep telling myself that I need to workout, but man I never have the energy lol. There will be days where I only plan on laying down for about 45 minutes, and it turns into 3 hours. But just last weekend I only took an hour and a half nap, and stayed up til 6am with friends. I was very impressed with myself, it was definitely worth it!

For the longest time I could not determine if what I thought I was feeling was lil Stouticus or just my tummy. Since I couldn't tell I wouldn't get myself too excited. Now I can definitely feel distinct flutters/quakes that I now know are the baby. You know when you stick your finger in your bellybutton, wiggle it & it tingles? (if not do it now..do it!) That's what it feels like, right below my belly button. It's crazy because some days it's a lot & others it's pretty mild. What I've noticed is that I now hate sitting for long periods of time. I can no longer slouch as much as I do. It's a good thing to help my posture, but man my ribs definitely get the aches of sitting.. my guess is the uterus is very territorial!! My right ribs are even sore to the touch! Alex is the cutest because I get moments where I feel Jamal like crazy, and when I mention it, he immediately puts his hands on my tummy determined to feel it. He's adorable and really wants to feel it, which makes me sad to remind him he probably won't feel it for a few weeks, or even a month..ish.

Ya'll should know this by now.. but man Alex is such a great man!! He's thEE perfect man for me!! I have NO idea what I did to trick him into falling in love with me, but I am enjoying the spell I've casted. He's such a blast to be around & makes me giggle every day! He's going to be such a great Daddy. Alex is such a sweet & understanding person, everyone I introduce him to thinks he's such a great guy & tells me good job.

My family absolutely adores him, which i Love watching him with my Dad most of all. My Dad really enjoys having him around the house to help lift things, get his opinion, watch sports with, & mostly just to talk to. Sometimes Alex kind of has to hide himself because Dad will distract him from his homework lol. It makes me soooo excited to be able to give my (almost) 60 year old parents their first grandkid, & my in-laws their first grandBaby for a few years now.

I could not imagine a better man to enter into parenthood than Alex... I'm very nervous to be a mom & hope I'll be a good one. My biggest worry is to have 2 individuals that I'm head over heels with.. I dunno if I am capable of keeping in that much Love!! :) I'm going to go crazy with all my happiness!!! :) It'll be interesting to see if I can actually love someone as much as my Alex.

That's all my rambles for now.. But I will definitely post some pictures in 2 weeks from the Ultrasound. Cross your fingers that the nurse won't slip the gender to us.. that would be very sad. But I have to admit it's going to get tougher and tougher since we're reaching that point.

We Will Stay Strong! *Flex*