Raisin' Bran and Amelia: 16 Weeks

Baby is the Size of a Dill Pickle

New for baby this week? 4.5 inches long, weighs 4 oz. baby can detect light through my belly, can straighten head and neck more, making first facial expressions, heart is pumping 25 quarts of blood per day

Total weight gain/loss? 2 lbs.

Maternity clothes? I have worn a few maternity shirts, mostly because they are comfortable because they are longer. But they aren't completely necessary quite yet. I am still fitting surprisingly well into my regular jeans.

Stretch marks? No

Sleep? Sleeping great, not waking up quite as frequently to pee in the middle of the night. This is a welcome break (for now!).

Best moment this week? Our visit to Asheville.

Miss Anything? Not really.

Movement? When I sit still for long periods of time I swear I feel tiny movements, but it could be wishful thinking?

Food cravings? Not really.

Anything making you queasy or sick? No. Still dislike coffee and anything too spicy.

Have you started to show yet? Yes. My neighbor's daughter was the first one to comment and say "is that a baby bump I see?!"

Gender? Unknown.

Labor Signs? Crazy to think it will only be about 24 more weeks, yikes!

Belly Button in or out? In but looks kind of more like a button.

Wedding rings on or off? On, swelling has minimized now that the weather is cooling down.

How is mama feeling? I have been fighting off a cold which has had me feeling lousy and a little run down. But I am finally on the upswing.

Looking forward to? Penn State game, Halloween

Fall is in full swing at our house. We got all of our decorations out (Bran really loves the skeletons) and we have been enjoying the cooler nights. I am so excited for Halloween!

Joe, Bran, and I went to Asheville for a long weekend. It was our first big road trip since the beach. Bran did amazing riding in the car! We took a bin of toys and books and he just played the whole way. Riding in the car was pretty easy on me at this point, although my belly did get a little sore when I had been driving for a few hours and couldn't move around much.

Unfortunately I spent a good part of the weekend not feeling very great because I was getting a cold. Between Joe going to the meeting and Bran's early bed time we just didn't have time to do much or see many people. Traveling with a toddler is just so different. We stayed with the Ruscoes, and Peg was a regular visitor for dinner each night. Bran loved chasing around their dogs, Chip and Nola. He was a little unsure of their cat, Dabo, at first but he loved him by the end of our visit. Much like his last visit, Bran was obsessed with the dog crates. Bran is always a riot to share a room with. He slept until his normal bedtime 2 out of the 4 mornings, so I will take that as a win. He is so chatty as soon as he wakes up. He could also hear Dabo downstairs and would start yelling "Meow! Kitty Cat!". The funniest was the morning he woke up sneezing. *Sneeze* "Bless you!" *Sneeze* "Bless you!" "Thank you!". Having a complete conversation with himself.

Hiding from Dabo

When Daddy went to the meeting Bran and I would go for walks around the neighborhood which is still under constructions. Who needs a playground when there are big trucks, tractors, rocks, and dirt to play with?

We had dinner at Wicked Weed with Dr. Johnson. I was a little nervous because when we got there it was super busy. Bran was not being very patient waiting and was trying to run around like a wild man. Luckily I had a sucker on hand, and once we sat down to eat Bran settled in. We had a nice dinner and Bran got a kick out of entertaining everyone. Dr. Johnson said he was a "delight".

It wasn't Yosemite but Baby L 2.0 went on their first hike to High Falls in Dupont. It was also Bran's first hike not riding in a hiking backpack. He really enjoyed all of the rocks, sticks, and dirt. He did great running around on the trails, but Daddy may have had to carry him on a lot of the steeper uphills. There were also a lot of horses, and he would yell "neigh!". But he had no interest in petting them once they came closer.