22 weeks: big and healthy

Chris and I (along with our parents) went for the 22-week ultrasound on Wednesday to see our beautiful baby one last time before birth and, as I expected, it was pure magic and loads of happy tears.  We discovered that our baby is growing a little bigger than average, weighing in at 1 pound 3 ounces, or 538 grams (the average weight being 1 pound, or 478 grams), and we I managed to muster up enough willpower to keep my head turned while the ultrasound tech was measuring the legs so the gender would remain a mystery.

Current cravings: candy, donuts, cookies, pretty much anything sweet (which is strange considering I didn't have a big sweet tooth pre-pregnancy).
Current weight gain: 12 pounds!  WOW!  My weight gain was very slow at first, and this time I thought that I'd step on the scale and it would read 107 pounds, but when I saw 109.4 pounds, I think it was a cartoon moment where my eyes got really huge and temporarily popped out of my head!  I'm happy though because it means things are progressing just as they should.
Current projects: I cleaned A LOT of stuff out of the closet in the bedroom that will be the nursery (and it's a good thing considering Chris and I found an amazing deal on a stroller/carseat travel system the next day; there's now plenty of room for it in the newly-organized closet), settling on a wall color for the nursery (which will be a super pale shade of grey), making the baby's bird mobile to hang above the crib!
Current favorite thing: still, it's feeling the baby's movements and watching my stomach pop out and contort with each movement.
Current annoying thing: when people give me "helpful" advice even though I've already decided things (for example, telling me that I can do the nursery in green or yellow even though the color scheme has already been decided; or telling me that I can add pink or blue to the nursery once baby is born, even though it will work just fine for either gender without the addition of pink or blue).  To be honest, I think most people just don't understand not finding out the sex, or doing things gender neutral.

Last, Chris and I were waiting in line at the pharmacy today when I was giving him a list of all the candy and sweets I wouldn't mind be surprised with on Easter morning (I'm telling you, I'm a sugar fiend these days, and the fact that Easter candy is EVERYWHERE doesn't help).  I got down the list to "box of donuts" and he said, a little loudly, "A BOX OF NEWPORTS?!"  Hopefully no one heard it as he did, noticed I was pregnant, and immediately cursed me.

Pinks

I don't know if there will ever be enough time for me to paint as much as I'd like (because painting is, essentially, a black hole of time in that I plan to spend an hour or two doing it, then reemerge, paint-covered, five hours later wondering where all the time went), but I have been sneaking in a couple hours here and there to work on a few things.  It seems I'm drawn to pinks lately, and although I don't really plan it, that just seems to be the predominant color.  I'm okay with it.

'Over It' - Acrylic on Stretched Canvas

'21 and 22' - Acrylic Palette Knife Painting on Watercolor Paper

These prints will be listed in my art shop in the coming days, and in the meantime, I have another painting in the works, and several other ideas I hope to get down soon (before I lose them).

*Interior design images from Pinterest.

21 Weeks: Belly Ripples

In the last few weeks, I've gone from feeling what felt like popcorn gently popping in my stomach, to feeling full-fledged kicks, and even seeing more defined, ripple-like movements; this is by far my favorite part of pregnancy.  This evening I laid on the sofa until it was dark just because I didn't want to get up, turn a light on, and possibly make baby stop moving!

I'm wearing | jacket: American Eagle (like, 10 years old) // sweater: I don't remember, but that baby is COMFY // dress: ASOS (not maternity, but it's got enough stretch for another month... I hope) // clogs: Lotta From Stockholm // sunglasses: c/o Oasap

Current cravings: still donuts, but I wouldn't mind a side or four of cheese and veggie pizza.
Current weight gain: 8.5 pounds (although my scale isn't 100% accurate, so I'm curious to see at my OB appointment next week).
Current aches and pains: my back hurts after too much standing or walking without sitting breaks, and my hips are sore at night which makes it difficult to sleep at times.  BUT, if these aches and pains are what it takes to grow a baby, I don't mind them a bit!
Maternity clothes: I have a few maternity shirts (only two have the ruching to make them look like actual maternity shirts), one maternity dress that's a little too big at the moment, and a pair of black maternity ponte pants.  Because I'm still so petite, most maternity clothes are far too big, but I've outgrown most of my regular clothes which makes getting dressed a real challenge!  I was lucky enough to find a new, unused Belly Belt on ebay for $6, so that should allow me to continue wearing my regular jeans for another month or two (and by that time it'll be so warm I won't have any interest in jeans).

20 weeks: I pity the fool who steals my donuts!

I cannot believe I'm at the halfway point in my pregnancy.  WHERE DID THE TIME GO?!  I've been enjoying every single minute of it (I imagine the absence of morning sickness, bleeding gums, stretch marks and the other typical pregnancy afflictions play a part in the enjoyment), and I want to try living in each and every moment as best I can so as not to let this precious time pass too quickly!

I thought it would be fun to do a weekly update to look back on once the due date is near, or once baby is here so I can relive the excitement of pregnancy!  So...

My current craving is: DONUTS! GIMME ALL THE DONUTS.  If Chris keeps eating my donuts though, my inner Hulk might come out.
My current weight gain is: 7.5 pounds, and trust me, I'm eating everything in sight...constantly.
Weird thing: I really like apples now.  I hated them before pregnancy, but now I eat one almost daily.
Baby's size: According to the app I use and a book I have, about 6.5" crown to rump and 10.5 ounces, but I have a feeling baby might be a bit bigger since he or she measured at 1.5 weeks larger size at the first ultrasound (Chris is 6'2", so I think we know who baby takes after in length).
My current belly measurement: 31", up from 23" pre- and early-pregnancy.
Favorite part: seeing my belly move when baby is kicking!  I could watch that all day, everyday, and never get tired!
Gender prediction: Boy.  We're not finding out baby Lucy or James' gender because we like the idea of a surprise, but for some reason, I just feel like this baby is a boy.

National Portrait Gallery

One of the perks of having friends in a large city is avoiding touristy places and being introduced to new and interesting things you may not discover on your own; still, every now and then it's fun to just be a tourist and visit the popular attractions!  On a recent trip to DC for our good friends' wedding, we all decided to visit the National Portrait Gallery to see the Mingering Mike exhibit (very amusing), and we ended up staying for several hours.  I took about a billion pictures, but it's impossible not to when you're surrounded by such beautiful art.

If you find yourself in Washington, D.C. with several hours to kill, I strongly recommend a visit!  DC is only about 3 hours from me, which is perfect for a weekend trip, but a little bit of a drive just to visit a gallery for an evening, so when I just now discovered that an Elaine de Kooning exhibit was opening this Friday, I just about cried thinking I would miss it.  Although, in my defense, the near-cry could just be a by-product of these pregnancy hormones.