Right now Alyssa Belle weighs about one pound. My pregnancy journal says to hold a pound of butter (four sticks) in your hand to get an idea of how much the baby weighs. So I did that the other day and even though it's not much, it is cool to think that she weighs that much already.
Haven't been writing in my blog as often as usual lately....I think it's cuz I'm in that blessed state of pregnancy where not much is changing from day to day. I'm still feeling her move a LOT!! I think she likes it when I lay really still on the bed, cuz that's when she tends to kick the most. And she almost always boogies around in there for about an hour or so after I first wake up in the morning. Sometimes I talk to her, call her by her name, etc. - and she often responds by moving even more! Can I just say - that is AMMMMAZING!!! I honestly have to say that feeling this little growing person inside me is THE most awesome thing I have experienced in my entire life. In a way, I'm actually very much looking forward to the next four months because I know the kicking and rolling will just increase and get easier and easier to feel....and eventually we'll be able to see those kicks and jabs too! I can't wait!!
I also love the fact that you can clearly tell I'm pregnant now. People in stores and stuff look at my belly and smile. It is so fun!
I got a CD yesterday that has lullabies on it, and it's a personalized CD so all of the songs have the name "Alyssa" in them! I love it so much - I listened to it last night in bed before I fell asleep. The songs are sung by two sisters and their voices are so pretty. The songs definitely make ME sleepy, so hopefully they'll make my baby sleepy too, when the time comes! My favorite song on the CD goes, "Sleep, my sweet Alyssa...." It is sooooo neat hearing her name in the songs!! And things like that make me glad we chose a non-bizarre name for her cuz finding personalized things probably won't be too difficult. As a little girl, I *loved* getting things that had my name on them - pencils, notepads, keychains, buttons.....
I'm getting serious stretch marks on my upper legs, dude. None on my belly yet, but the hip area - yikes! But ya know what? I don't mind one little teeny-tiny bit!!

Here's what my little Alyssa-bump is looking like these days! : )

.....Okay, coming back to this entry to write a little more. Lol
I am really liking this stage of my pregnancy! Very seldom now do I have a day where I just want to lay around and do absolutely nothing. This week I've been straightening up the house, shopping, and I'm even baking an apple cake today! I'm tellin' ya - even as recently as a month ago, I truly thought I wouldn't be able to live like a normal person until I popped this little girlie out! It is SO refreshing and such a relief to have a little more energy back and to be able to do "normal" things like I used to again! Plus, I totally love watching my belly grow!! People in the grocery store and restaurants, etc., look at me and my belly a lot now - it cracks me up! I'm proud of my baby bump! : )

It's amazing how much our little girl has grown in the past few months - this picture puts it in really good perspective!
My appetite is so crazy right now! I'm usually REALLY hungry for breakfast, kinda hungry for lunch, and not real hungry at all for dinner. I guess that's okay -- they say one of the keys of weight maintenance is "Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a queen, and dinner like a pauper." LoL!
This morning I went to Dunkin' Donuts and had myself quite the little feast: A lemon-filled donut, a ham/egg/cheese bagel sandwich and apple juice. But was that enough? Oh no. After that I went to Panera to get an iced coffee. It was SO good! *OINK*
Still feeling this little peanut tumbling and wiggling around; I SO love it! Last week, I could only feel her first thing in the morning, right after I woke up. But now it's any time of the day or night!
I have my monthly check-up tomorrow morning. I always look very forward to those - it's fun hearing the heartbeat and stuff!
Today I bought Alyssa a little book at Kohl's. It's about colors and it's so cute. And we're getting quite the collection of adorable baby clothes already - it is SO much fun!! Only about four months til she makes her arrival - I can't believe it. I hope the next four months go really fast!!

This kid is a MOVER!! Just this past week, I have been able to really feel her kicking and punching and doing summersaults and cartwheels! LoL! She IS an active one!
I absolutely LOVE feeling her move around in there. I know that as she grows, she'll start kicking harder and it will get annoying - but for now, I totally love it!!! : )

Okay, so I decided this nasty "anonymous" person can bite me. I changed the settings here so she won't be able to post anymore.
So without further ado......Thought I'd log in to make a quick entry. We just got back from a long weekend trip to Green Bay to visit with Scotty's family and to see some good friends we hadn't seen in far too long. We had the FUNNEST weekend!! Before the trip, I was very nervous about whether or not I would feel good enough to do everything we were planning to do. But God gave me four days in a row of feeling fine and having plenty of energy! It was GREAT!! I drove Scott's mom's new convertible Volkswagon Beetle, we had nachos at Max & Erma's, dinner at Ross and Koreena's on Friday, a BBQ at Jennifer's on Saturday with Brent and Melissa and their two precious little boys, visited Scott's grandparents, had dinner at Old Chicago Pizza last night and then went to part of our niece, Jensen's, soccer game! PHEW! Got home late last night and slept sooo well in my own bed!
I got lots of really cute summer maternity clothes from Melissa! I think that between all that, and the clothes I'm getting from the ebay auction, I'll be set! And Kathy taught me how to do those Sudoku puzzles - http://websudoku.com/ - and I am so addicted. They're so fun!
Also got a glider chair for Alyssa's room from Kathy. Now I need to take that off my registry!
During the trip, I felt her kick a couple times! And this morning - wow! I think she was playing soccer in there! : ) I looooove feeling her moving around in there!!
I could go on and on today, but I must go.
Long live my baby blog!!

Well, to the "anonymous" person who's been causing trouble on here, thanks a ton. Because of you, I'm probably gonna be taking my blog offline very soon. It's people like you who make this world a sad, sad place.
I have not given that much "personal information" on my blog. I talk about pregnancy stuff and my feelings about it, etc. Big deal. Isn't that what blogs are for?
Anyway, thanks loads, whoever you are. And I hope I never hear from you again.
And to my dear friends who have been reading my blog and commenting and all that fun stuff - I love you! And I'll miss this place. A lot.

I love baby girl clothes!!
LOOK at this stuff! Those are newborn slippers - sooo tiny and about the cutest things I've ever laid eyes on! This all came in a package today from my online friend, Becky. Thank you again, Becky!!! I can't wait to put her in this adorable stuff!!!!

I really wish I could figure out why some days I feel okay, and some days I feel really lousy.
Yesterday I felt pretty good all day. Today I feel icky. I'm kinda struggling with this, because I really thought that by 20 weeks I'd be feeling consistently good. I hate to sound like such a constant whiner, but I have to say - it is really frustrating.

God actually gave me a little bit o' energy this morning. :)
Scotty has a couple weeks off of work (vacation time that he has accrued), which is so great - I love having him home! So this morning we went out to Gurnee to Home Depot, Target, the grocery store, and even TGI Friday's for lunch (it was soooo good)! Only bad thing is that I got another bloody nose at the restaurant! :( But other than that, it was so nice to be out getting stuff done with my hubby!
Had Diet Coke with lunch and then a 100 Grand candy bar, so Alyssa's probably doin' the Macarena in there! ;)