Is There An Alien In My Belly?

Ok, so I started a blog about four years ago, but never actually blogged.  However, I have felt the need to start blogging to share some more details about what is going on in our lives (mine and Charlie's) right now.  Forgive me, this may not turn out well since this is my first attempt. 

In the picture above, I am about 31 weeks pregnant.  I am now inching up on 33 weeks tomorrow.  As I write, I have a little boy kicking inside of me like a soccer player.  A lot of friends have told me that your baby's movements will start to feel bigger and more dramatic the further you move into your third trimester.  This has definitely been true for me.  Charlie tried to video tape my stomach the other night (yes, he did) because he couldn't get over the fact that you could literally see the left side of my stomach moving up and down.   I also swore that I felt a foot press up against my belly yesterday.  Crazy!  I now understand what people mean when they say it feels like there is an alien in your belly. Althought it can feel a little weird and totally catch you off guard, it is such a cool reminder of the miracle going on inside of you.  It is easy to take this feeling for granted when you feel it everyday.  Sometimes I have to stop myself and remind myself how rare and amazing this is!

We got our glider for the nursery in this weekend!  We have this beautiful glider thanks to my in-laws and we have a crib coming in this week thanks to my parents.  We are doing the nursery in gray, yellow and white.  We were a little nervous when we ordered the glider at "All About Baby" and the lady told us they had never had anyone order it in lemon before.  Fortunately, it turned out great!  We still have so much to do! I will post more pics as the nursery comes together.  We hope to paint and set up the crib this week.

I have been reading several pregnancy books since finding out we were expectings.  I have had some wonderful friends from church share some of their books with me too.  However, my favorite book so far is Baby Wise.  Charlie actually bought this at a book sale at his work.  He probably didn't know that he would soon regret buying this book for me.  He doesn't appreciate the fact that I like to read all the highlights and chapters out loud just to make sure he will be as great of a parent as I am going to be (lol).  I told my friend Lisa (who is expecting a boy too in October) about this book.  I just needed someone to share it with and discuss it with.  She said that her husband is just as equally annoyed since she started reading the book!  Now, if we could just get our husbands to read it too.  I know it is somewhat controversial, but I find all of the tips to be great practical advice.  I would recommend it to anyone expecting who is nervous about what to do when the baby actually gets here.  I do realize that I will probably forget most of the book by the time the baby comes, but as of right now, my intentions are really good!

Lastly, in the midst of all the baby craziness, I just started the Nehemiah study by Kelly Minter.  I have been in a Bible study on Monday nights for the past couple of years with an amazing group of friends.  Last summer we did the Ruth study by Kelly Minter.  To my knowledge, Kelly is an up and coming Bible study writer who lives in Nashville.  I love how her studies are so simple yet convicting.  I have only done the first week of Nehemiah, but I am already so excited about it.  I almost backed out of doing a study this summer with all the other things I have going on, but I am so glad I decided to go ahead  and do it.  God knows I desperatly need things like this to keep my mind in the right place.  It is totally worth whatever extra time it takes out of my week! The first week talks about having a heart of compassion like Nehemiah, and asks what we are doing to actually get out of our comfort zone.  If you are looking for a good study to do this summer, I would highly recommend it!

Lots of randomniss, but this is just a way to keep family and friends updated.  Have a great week!

~ Laura