January sweetness

Life isn't incredibly eventful these last few weeks, but at the same time, uneventful, doesn't mean it hasn't been sweet. We're going about the daily business of living life, with little fun things sprinkled in, lots of sleeping, work days, coffee shop trips, and the like. And we're preparing for my sister-in-law to come visit us!

The weather has been mostly winter-like, and colder than most Austin winters that I can remember. My knitwear and jackets and sweaters are getting a nice amount of wear, which I love.

Life feels very normal, but also oddly exciting, especially when I wake up and remember that there's a baby growing inside of me!

Apart from all of that, life looks like:

• calling my mom on her birthday today! Happy birthday, mom! I love you so much. Talking about her pregnancies and her upcoming sewing plans, texting her pictures of the garden beds outside our apartment complex's leasing office. And the picture in this post is of my parents out for an early birthday meal this past weekend. I wish we could have been there!
• still feeling some fatigue and the need for way more sleep; falling asleep on the couch early in the evenings. One day, I took a break halfway through dinner for a 15-minute nap, before waking up and finishing my meal (I can't say that it was a good idea!)
• hearing baby's heartbeat and lots of kicks at our last appointment two weeks ago! Those kicks are extra sweet and made me tear up
• curling up in blankets and quilts on the couch
• snacking on applesauce
• craving hamburgers (even more than usual), glasses of milk, most any carbs, and any combo of fruit and cheese
• making smoothies for meals when I've overdone it with carbs ;)
• eating gluten-free english muffins with peanut butter for breakfast nearly every day (that's what sounds good when few things do in the morning)
• knitting on an extra fuzzy Ryg hat
• Friday night celebratory meals with my friend Clara, and her now-fiancé, Jacob! Congratulations, guys! (Aka, taking the baby out for our favorite pizza at The Backspace, wearing my original Metamorphic Dress, which works rather well with the bump).
• Saturday morning coffee date with Nicholas (two weeks in a row!), followed by window shopping for strollers at BuyBuyBaby. So many friends and coworkers recommended going and trying out all their floor models and it was so fun and informative.
• making lists of baby things & trying to keep it sensible/minimal/practical for us, at this time
• a Tuesday coffee date and baby snuggles with my friend Molly and her little girl, Vesper
• a walk and coffee with my friend Jessica and her little boy, Sawyer
• writing a little blurb about my thoughts on motherhood (in anticipation), and how my view of children has changed and grown the more time I spend with them
• lunch and Marshall's browsing with my friend Katie
• a trip to the dentist for a cleaning
• browsing and coffee at the mall with my friend Rori and her two kiddos
• making multiple mistakes on my colorwork sweater, ripping back and re-knitting, and realizing that it's okay to redo things
• making this yummy soup for dinner and roasting the squash seeds
• burning this candle that Molly gave me for Christmas
• diffusing an orange/clove blend of essential oils
• keeping up with reading week-by-week about pregnancy, both with baby and me in this wonderful book. I had been serially checking it out from my local library when I received a copy in the mail from a sweet friend I met at Purdue (and a mama of two). She sent it to me since she loved it as a resource, not knowing it was a book I adored. Thank you so much, Annie!
• ordering an organic belly balm
• melting when Nicholas kisses my belly and says, "Hi baby, it's your dad. I love you." I love that man so, so much.
• jumping back into 1 Corinthians, where I left off awhile back. Even if I don't always feel up for journaling through a whole passage, I want to be reading and at least writing out my prayers. I notice my prayer life is a lot richer when I'm writing them out. Plus, I love that's it's a record of God's faithfulness (past and future)

P.S.— I'm 18 weeks today. Feeling little flutter kicks sometimes when I concentrate. Wearing a mixture of maternity and non-maternity items, trying to figure out how to dress so I feel like myself, while also accommodating the bump. Strangers are beginning to notice and smile, depending on how I'm standing or what I'm wearing. Talking to the baby, enjoying long, hot showers, and learning to sleep on my left side (so far, so good).