Belly Shots

The moment that you've all been waiting for is finally here. I'm posting pictures of my pregnant belly. I already posted them on facebook, but figured that I'd post them here as well.

This is my belly at 13 weeks. You can't really see it because of the shirt that I'm wearing, but trust me it's there.

16 weeks

The Thrill of the Hunt

Things haven't been too exciting here. I'm showing more and more, which is kind of exciting until I looked down yesterday and realized that my feet are starting to disappear from view. I'm comforted by the fact that, as Ashton puts it, I have "little Zarah feet." So, I guess it's not too hard to lose them. I'm mostly excited that, although I still have some moments of queasiness, my nausea is gone! I'm also mostly over all the food aversions that I had developed.

In funnier news, my dog is quite the hunter I discovered. I knew that she'd chase rabbits, cats, squirrels, and the occasional bird if it hopped on the ground long enough, but I had no idea that she'd go after bugs. That's right, bugs. I was sitting on the couch yesterday and I saw some bug on the carpet. Not knowing what it was, I started to call to Ashton to come get it when I saw Dusty staring at it. So, I told Dusty, "Go get the buggy!" To my surprise, and entertainment, she tried to get it.

It turns out the bug was a fly so it was pretty impossible for her to get, but that didn't stop her from trying and me from encouraging her. It made for a fun filled 10 minutes or so of me pointing where the fly had landed, it kept landing on the carpet, and then telling Dusty to go get it. She attempted to pounce on it, she's not as spry as she used to be, and if it flew near her face, she'd snap at it. The best part was that after the fly flew away, Dusty would start sniffing around in search for her missing quarry. She never did actually get the fly, but the fact that she tried amuses me. Now I know who to call on to kill bugs for me while Ashton's at work.

Video

I came across this video on Facebook and I just had to share. So, for all those who want a laugh, particularly if you are a wife, enjoy! (Oh, and thanks for all the congratulations, well-wishes, and support! We appreciate it!)

Happenings Around These Parts

Big things are happening in our house. We're having a baby! The due date is February 19, but I tend to just say that the due date is in February so as not to get attached to a certain date that the baby is coming on. As everyone knows, babies come when babies come. For those who are curious, we both would be happy with either a boy or a girl (since I'm 12 weeks along, it'll be a little while before we find out the gender), but Ashton thinks (not to be confused with "hopes") it's a girl, and I think it's a boy. No real rhyme or reason to our thinking.

We're very excited about having a baby, although, I was less thrilled about the morning sickness part. The sickness has been subsiding though and I got to enjoy sick free days for the most part this week. Hallelujah! I'm still expecting to have a few days where I feel horrible, the whole "it gets worse before it's better" thing.

So yesterday, I had my first appointment with the midwife. Ashton came along with me, which was nice. Most of the appointment was spent filling out paperwork and talking, but then we got to do the more fun things. The most exciting part was that we heard the baby's heartbeat! It definitely brought a smile to our faces. It took a minute to find the little guy and when the midwife found him/her, baby decided to disappear for a few seconds. Not to worry, we found baby again and got to listen to the heartbeat. There's nothing like hearing that your baby's heartbeat is strong and fast. Of course, I did enjoy hearing the midwife comment on how good my ab muscles were.

Book Recommendation

So a few posts ago, I mentioned that I was working on reading a couple of books. Well, I finally finished one of them, I had gotten a bit distracted by the World Cup. Yesterday, I finished Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself by Melody Beattie.

It was one of those books that I had thought to read for a long time, but had just never gotten around to it. I'm actually really glad that I waited, because when I bought it and received it, I was really excited and ready to read it. It was no longer a book that people had been merely recommending, it was a book that I wanted to read. I needed it.

People always say that a certain book changed their life, and they say it for a variety of reasons. Perhaps that book opened their eyes to reading, a certain style of writing or genre, to politics, or to how they saw the world. This book changed how I, not only see the world, but how I see myself. There are finally reasons for the way I do certain things and even reasons for why I think the way I do. Those reasons aren't necessarily pretty; I admit I got a little depressed when I read the characteristics of a codependent and realized how many applied to me. What is pretty about those reasons that I do certain things, and the book itself, is that there are practical solutions. I have a lot to work on, but who doesn't?

I would highly recommend this book to everyone. Even if you don't think you have a problem with codependency, you should still read it. I think we all have at least a touch of codependency in us.

Concert

Last night, Ashton and I had the opportunity to go to a James Taylor and Carole King concert with his company. We ate dinner with his company. I got to meet a lot of the people that he works with, obviously, and talks about. It's nice to put names to faces. After dinner, which was in the Pepsi Center, the same place as the concert, we went into the concert.

I can't say that I knew who James Taylor or Carole King were before this concert. Ashton didn't either, so that made me feel better. We had gotten a CD of some of their songs with the invite to attend the concert from his company, but we didn't listen to it. I figured that if I didn't like the music, I didn't want to know until I got there. So, I was surprised when I started hearing their songs how many I recognized and could sing along to. Ashton knew a few as well. That made the experience all the better.

The performance was also amazing. For being as old as they are, they were doing a whole lot of jumping, kicking, and dancing. It was entertaining to watch to say the least. It was also fun to watch other people really get into the songs.

So although we stayed up way late and today we're suffering from that, we had a good time!

Why Can't We All Get Along?

If there's one thing that bothers me, and there are plenty of things that bother me, it's people demanding tolerance while showing intolerance. What I mean by this is that there are people out there who want, even demand, that people accept them and their beliefs. There is nothing wrong with that, except for maybe the demanding part. There's no sense in demanding that people accept you because you can't control what other people think or do.

What is wrong with this is these same people who want to be accepted, immediately point a finger and announce "racist" or "discrimination" to those who disagree. Certainly, not everyone is like that. There are plenty of people who will be respectful of others' beliefs no matter how different those beliefs are from their own. It seems to be a growing trend though to point fingers and react violently toward people who aren't "forward thinking" enough.

What's wrong about this way of thinking and action should be obvious, but apparently it isn't. The best way of describing why pointing fingers and being intolerant of others while demanding tolerance from them is by asking this question, "Why would you expect people to respect you and your beliefs if you don't respect what other people believe?" We each have the right to express our views, especially when they differ. No one has the right to force their opinions on someone else or rather no one has the right to make someone else believe the same thing as another.