Countdown to the newest addition

I don't have a scanner, so I can't share the ultrasound photos with all of you, but I can share a photo of me. This photo was taken this week (at 29 weeks along). I feel like I'm a lot bigger than I was the first time around, but I've gained less weight so I'm not going to complain. The 'bigger feeling' probably has a lot to do with the fact that all these stomach muscles are pre-stressed and know that they can just relax again for nine months!

Things are going well around here. I'm still feeling well and am active. (I have to be if I'm chasing an almost two year old around the house all the time!) But I am starting to feel like I'm slowing down a bit -- I walk slower than I used to, I have that telltale waddle going, and I tire out a lot easier. But it all comes with the territory, I guess. It's funny how, although it's only been two years since the last pregnancy, you really do forget all the 'unpleasant' factors of it. More than once, I've caught myself saying, "I don't remember this happening (or this happening so soon) when I was pregnant with Austin".

Austin has truly turned into a toddler lately and is definitely no longer a baby. He's very active and very strong-willed. He knows what he wants and gets upset if we don't understand what it is he's trying to tell us. Sometimes it really is a guessing game -- but most of the time, he's pretty clear on expressing himself, even without a huge vocabulary.

But on the subject of vocabulary, he does have quite a lot of words now -- and he can string some basic ones together. For example, he's very clear at saying things like hi mama or bye bye dada.

His ability to comprehend language far outweighs his ability to speak it. He may not be able to say things like 'bath', but if you ask him if he wants to take a bath, he'll run straight for the bathroom and start to put his toys in the tub.

We're still trying to teach him about the arrival of the new baby, but so far, he either doesn't get it or doesn't care to get it. But we keep reading him books about being a big brother, and talking to him about the baby. Somehow though, I think he'll still be surprised when we bring the baby home.

In the meantime, we're working on getting the second bedroom ready at home. It used to be our office so it took some work to sort through everything, clean it out and move the necessary items to the basement. Austin is going to be moving into the 'big boy room' and a 'big boy bed' so that the baby can move into the nursery. We bought the bedding and everything already, we just have to paint. I'll keep you updated on how it goes.