In the spirit of Valentine's Day...

I thought I would pause for a minute to mention how grateful I am for Joe's presence in my life. I love him so much more than I did when we were dating, engaged, or when we were first married. He has earned my whole-hearted respect (something that he says I don't give away very easily to people).

When I was 20, I didn't picture getting married until I was at least 30. Truly. Girls I knew all around me were all abuzz in talking about getting married, dating, having boyfriends, having babies, etc. Looking back, I think I was too scared to entertain those notions with them as I considered it a pipedream and something too lofty for someone like me to think about. I met my husband Joe a few months after I graduated college and, as they say, the rest is history. (Join me for a cup of coffee sometime and I'll tell you our story.) I believe security and trust within a relationship means something very different for a woman that it does for a man. Joe has wondered over the 6 1/2 years we've been together why it is so hard to get through to me and to communicate with me. And I've had a hard time explaining WHY the trust and security he provides for me is so important and why it is so devastating when it is eroded somehow. I really do marvel at the hand of God in our relationship and there were so many times when I have no human explanation but that He carried through those difficult times. He still does, everyday. Some unmarried people I talk to about our marriage wonder about all those milestones that are earmarked throughout the course of a relationship. (The cursory list being the initial attraction, dating, engagement, marriage, and babies...but not always in that order for all couples.) For me it is hard to clearly define those aha! moments or when we clearly defined one chapter from another. My life's path met up with my husband's almost 7 years ago now, and we fell in love, decided to get married along the way, and now have a baby. I don't feel like I've achieved the holy grail of marriage and being pregnant, mainly because I didn't idolize them growing up and before I met my husband. If it happened, great. If it didn't happen, great. (Not that I never had my cynical days of singlehood.)

Please don't misunderstand me. I really do LOVE my husband for dismantling my preconceived ideas about what my life what to be like in my 20's. I believe God gives us who and what we need when He deems most fit. And as I learn more about my husband, I realize God's worked through him to provide me with what I need when I've needed it. (And my prayer is that He'll use me to do the same for Joe.) I tell people who I know long to be married that marriage is not "when your life begins" or a feather in your cap. It's the most selfless commitment I've ever been apart of (we'll see bout parenting- ha!) Nowadays, my husband displays his selflessness by getting up and going to work 5 days a week and spending much time on the weekend planning for his classes (ah, the life of a music teacher). He is tired much of the time and worn out from winter blues. He's had to take on a few more private lessons due to the fact that I am not working right now. He's done a magnificent job with the time, energy, and resources he has and for that I am proud. I love my husband Joe very much and I am proud to be his wife. In my Valentine's card I wrote to him, I indicated that he's the one who has taught me to be a wife, more than my own revelations have.

Happy Valentine's Day, sweetie.

27 weeks pics

27 weeks

I find that when I talk to people about my pregnancy, they always ask how far along I am. I tell them in weeks how far along I am. If they have had a baby, they will nod understandingly and I can see in their eyes how they flashback to when they were at the same point in their (or their wife's) pregnancy. If they have never been pregnant or had a baby, they tend to only know how to contemplate a pregnancy in terms of months. I have learned my baby grows about 1/2 an inch a week! That is why each is celebrated and why I don't seem to post about anything else on my blog or facebook page. Each DAY is a milemarker. If our baby were to be delivered now, he/she would have a 90% chance of surviving, but would have to stay in NICU for a bit because they wouldn't have enough fat on their body to keep warm and their lungs would be underdeveloped (among other things, I'm sure). This is why I am grateful for everyday that I am able to carry our child to term (knock on wood). At the beginning of my pregnancy, I would honestly forget some days that I was carrying a growing life inside of me (I was barely showing and felt no movement). Now, as I enjoy this last week before entering the 3rd trimester (!), I am able to rest my hands on top of my belly and I frequently have to focus harder in class and lab because our little buddy is turning sommersaults. The next few photos are some of my favorites we have taken of my weekly growth. Joe made me laugh, and as silly as I think I look when laughing, I have to smile when looking at these.

26 week ultasound

Yesterday I went in for my last ultrasound. When they did my sonogram at 18 weeks, the ultrasound tech was unable to get good views at the low lumbar area of the spine and an anterior view of the face to discern if baby has cleft palette. Once again, we saw the beating heart, and this time, the ultrasound tech said it was a perfect study of a fetal heart. Beating 147 BPM, it was very strong. She zoomed in on the heart and I could see all 4 chambers: right and left atriums and right and left ventricles, complete with the tricuspid and bicuspid valves allowing blood to pump through them between the atriums and ventricles. On my last test for A & P, I had to describe in an essay the heart cycle, complete with knowledge of anatomy of the heart. It was so neat to have my hard work gratified when I saw our baby's heart beating in real time.

This one is the classic ultrasound profile of baby's head.



Save the best for last. This one is a 3/4 perspective of the face, so baby is not quite looking straight at you. In real time, we could see baby stick out its tongue of the mouth a few times. You can see the thoracic area of the spine and the two clavicles. I think baby has daddy's long nose. :)

25 weeks