Thanksgiving with the Shackelfords (and some belly shots)

Here are some belly photos first. These are two weeks old (at 23 + weeks), so I'll try to get some updated ones up soon. Shawn's flash is in the shop so he wants to wait for another photo shoot until his camera can do what he wants it to. He has a reputation to maintain :)









Yesterday we went to Brampton to celebrate Thanksgiving with Katrina and Randolph, his parent's Jane and Shack, and his grandmother Josephine. It was very pleasant. I made apple and pumpkin pies on Tuesday and we drove down to Orange, VA at 8am. We spent the day cooking and and talking. Since Katrina is in Minneapolis now, it was great to spend so much time together. One always has the best conversations in the kitchen! Dinner was fabulous starting with butternut squash soup and salad, then on to turkey brined overnight in many herbs and spices, mashed potatoes, stuffing (not stuffed in the bird so no salmonella,) gravy, acorn squash, spinach casserole, cranberry sauce and rolls.

Although I miss my own family, it was nice to be so welcomed at the Shackelfords. Unfortunately, Shawn has to work today so we were unable to stay the night at Brampton and hike. Hopefully it will be a slow day and he'll get to come home early.

Apparently, my ass is getting bigger...

Tomorrow is 24 weeks and I have been doing pretty well with my weight gain, about 10 pounds total.  Over the last 2 weeks though, co-workers have been commenting on the size of my butt.  Today's quote was, "I thought the belly was supposed to get bigger, not the backside."  I have noticed that my clothes are fitting a little differently and I haven't been climbing as much as before, and we did take 2 vacations in 1 month, but seriously.  Do people think that just because I am pregnant they have the liberty to say whatever they want about my body?  I'm sure no one means for it to be malicious, but I can't help being a little offended.

Disney World

Last week Shawn and I went to Disney World with Leah, Mark, Olivia and Andrew. Let's just say it was a interesting. It was the third time Shawn and I went, but being there with kids was a whole new experience. On one hand, it was fantastic to see things through the eyes of a four year old. Olivia was so excited to see the characters and reassured me that the Lilo we had breakfast with was the real Lilo, "for real Aunt Anne." On the other hand, she vacillated between frenzied joy and utter meltdown. While totally normal for a four year old, it was a little over whelming for a pregnant lady. It made me seriously doubt our ability to be good parents. Mark and Leah did a great job with her, but holy smokes it took a lot of energy just to witness it! Shawn will post pictures soon.

Shawn went on a quick climbing trip to Hueco Tanks this weekend and will be back on Sunday night. It's nice to have a little bit of time to regroup and get my home back together after being so busy. Work is still crazy and I am doing way more than 20 hours a week. I will definitely be more insistent about only working my 20 after the baby is born.

This baby is moving around like crazy now and I am 23 weeks. One more week and we reach viability if my little one makes an early appearance. I hope not, but it will be comforting to know. We are still so not ready, we are going to need the full 40 weeks. We are no closer to childcare than the last post, and the nursery is still a mostly empty room. I think it is also time to start thinking about childbirth classes. I'm considering hypnobirthing. I saw a lot of clients do well with it when I was at the birth center. We'll see. We are also no closer to naming this baby either. So much to do!!!