Michael Dylan Ball

Last Tuesday Aaron and I found out peanut's gender















It's a boy!

We're naming him Michael Dylan Ball. Michael because both Aaron and I have always liked that name and Dylan after Bob Dylan




















because yes, we are that cool.

The ultrasound technician checked over and measured every part of Michael/peanut and said that everything looks good. She said that Michael is in the 65th percentile for babies his age, which is just right. I was worried that she was going to tell us Michael was smaller than average or that something was wrong, so I was quite relieved. When she measured Michael's legs she said they were pretty long and asked if either of us had anyone tall in our families. So I guess he's already taking after Aaron's side in one aspect.

Immediately after finding out the sex, Aaron and I went to the mall and bought a few clothes for peanut:


















And also this fuzzy brown pillow bear that we've been calling Baloo:




















I'll be honest, I kind of want to just keep Baloo for myself, he's so soft and cuddly, haha.

My mom also went out and bought a bunch of clothes at a garage sale a friend of the family's was having. Aaron and I joked last night that Michael has more wardrobe choices than his dad does.

I've definitely been feeling Michael move around a lot more, and on Sunday night as we were reading Where the Sidewalk Ends to him, Aaron was able to feel him for the first time too. I'm also showing more now--I've gained 20 pounds! Even though I know I'm not, I feel huge. This is honestly the most I've weighed since my sophomore year of high school, and this is the most my body has changed since I was around 17, so this is a bit to get used to for me. Today I went out and bought a few new tops that fit me a little better over the stomach. I'll have to have Aaron take a picture of me sometime with my baby bump so I can post it here.

I was feeling kind of down this weekend, because of a combination of things. I've been working a lot--basically everyday I'm at at least one of my two jobs, leaving for school at 7 every morning to go to school and not getting home until close to 11 every night from my retail job. Not ever having any time to just relax and feeling like I always have a mountain of things to do was really starting to get to me. I'm also going though somewhat of a questioning of my identity and wondering how how this new label of mother effects me as a person. Do I still get to be myself? Do I still get to like weird things and talk about politics and dress how I like and say what's on my mind etc etc. These are things I asked myself when I first found out I was pregnant and I don't know that I've figured it out, or really that I will . It will probably be a work in progress, as of course life itself is.

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to my dad--truly one of the coolest people I have ever known. Thanks for giving me my dark hair and dark eyes, having fantastic taste in music, teaching me how to count money and open a wine bottle, making me see both sides of an argument, taking me to the museum and on bike rides and reading poetry and stories to me every night when I was little.

On Tuesday we find out peanut's gender. That night Aaron and I are having our parents over for dinner to tell them whether it's a boy or girl. Unfortunately, my dad will be out of town for business and won't be able to come. I know he feels terrible about this, but he has to be in D.C., so I'm going to text him (new thing I learned this week--apparently my dad texts all the time on his blackberry, who knew?) right after the midwife appointment, so he'll actually be the first one to know.

love my baby (and my baby daddy)

Three things I want right now:
1. sushi
2. a california kid sandwich without sprouts from bisonwiches
3. a heineken













<3love.

This week I started teaching summer school. I teach two sections of creative writing to about a total of 60 kids from all the different high schools in Lincoln. The kids are all pretty funny. On the first day of class I told them that even though I'm going to really try not to, I might have to break the school's "no food" rule because I'm pregnant and I really just can't handle being hungry. My students then started asking me when I was due and who my "baby daddy" is, which made me laugh. Yesterday marked the start of my 19th week--Aaron and I have both remarked how quickly the time has gone by. We've registered for some baby classes at the local hospital and I also signed up for an exercise class that will start in a couple weeks. I'm excited to meet some other moms to be.



















I've gotten a bit more of a baby bump, though the debate is still on as to whether or not I look obviously pregnant. The general consensus seems to be that for me, I definitely look pregnant, but if you didn't know what I normally look like, you would never think that I am. Either way, I finally bought some maternity pants as my jeans were just getting way too uncomfortable.




Peanut also got some new clothes this week--Aaron's parents were in Nevada and California and brought back this shirt from a coffee house they visited:















I can't wait to dress peanut in this!

My parents were also out of town this past week, on a trip to New Mexico. My mom brought me back some fudge from Garden of the Gods (yumyum) and also this doll:




















She said she thought it looked like me--and I'm even holding my little peanut.

I have definitely started to feel the baby move more, and Aaron and I have been reading to him or her every night. We'll find out the gender in a little over a week and I really can't wait. We'll let our parents know first of course, then I'll make the super classy electronic announcement via facebook and this blog. So go ahead and cast your votes/guesses/whathaveyou.

"you wear peanut well"

Well, it's been almost two weeks that we've been in our new place and we're pretty much all moved in. We bought some new furniture, dug up some hand-me-downs and just about have everything hung up and put away (I accidentally broke the glass in one of our picture frames and then Aaron tripped over it and accidentally broke it further--oops!). Sometime soon we're going to go shopping for a little bistro set to have on our front porch and then we have a list of little update jobs to do around the place--including starting on peanut's room!

Aaron and I decided that we're going to paint peanut's room a really light yellow, since that would be cheery but not too loud and it will go with either of the bedding sets I've picked out. We also got the baby crib yesterday--my co-operating teacher from student teaching sold us the baby crib her youngest just outgrew, so now Aaron just needs to put it together. Once we know the gender (in a little over two weeks!) I'll be able to decorate more and really start registering for things. My sister is planning on throwing a baby shower for me with our side of the family in late July, so I should start adding things to my registries pretty soon.

So Aaron thinks I'm starting to get a little bump and told me today that I actually looked a little bit pregnant, though still not very much. Last weekend my mom told me that she doesn't think I look pregnant yet but that she could tell that I'm definitely "thickening out", which I have decided to take as a compliment...I guess. I don't like being at this in-between area of noticeably having gained weight, yet not obviously being pregnant yet.

However, I do think that I might have felt peanut move for the first time (well, I'm sure it's not the first time they've moved, just the first time I've felt it). Though I'm not for sure, as I don't know exactly how it's supposed to feel, but I don't know what else it would be. Exciting!

Otherwise not much else going on, other than that I've kind of become addicted to fla-vor-ice popsicles. And naps.