Where did that belly come from?

I thought I was probably about the same or smaller than last time. But I gues I do have more belly than at this point with Elyse. Sorry for the picture quality, but I am not going to fight with this thing anymore.
10/20/05 23 weeks 6/24/03 22 weeks

Ok, I won't try to put two pictures next to each other for a while! Life is getting back to normal after Ron's surgery. Last week was a hectic week, with Ron in and out of the hospital. He has been much more himself the last few days, and is getting back to his normal eating habits and being able to lift Elyse. We had a great weekend and got to spend time together as a family, getting a lot of small projects done around the house.

Besides surgery, this fall feels extra busy. My class is pretty intense, and I want to try to steal a little time to do some crafts for the holdiays, but that may not happen! Elyse does a great job of playing by herself, but it is fun to play with her too. So the time for me to do things that are just fun for me is really limited. Ah well, looking forward to my standard week off at the end of the year.

Elyse is about the same with the potty. She gets a kick out of going, but only feels the need to run if she happens to already be naked. We've had fewer dinner time tantrums (yes!), but she does have to climb everything herself - up to the booster seat for dinner, up to the potty, in and out of the crib if things are set up just right. She did very well spending some extra days in childcare over the last few weeks, but still hardly talks while she is there. We warn her to be careful of mommy's belly when she is climbing or snuggling. This week she had to be careful of daddy's belly too, so she asked him if there was a baby there. We are excited for halloween, birthday and holiday time to do some fun activities with her. She and daddy will also be going to swimming lessons next month.

I am 23 weeks. The baby already weighs about a pound and is already over a foot long (if it were stretched out straight). I have another dr's appt this coming week, but they have been so uneventful. Measurements? good, Weight gain? good, nothing bothering you? nope, OK see you next month. So I probably won't have anything new to report! I'm not complaining! If anyone doesn't know, we are not having an ultrasound, so we are not finding out what we are having. I don't think I was quite emotional enough in the delivery room last time, I needed to add a new level of excitement! :) One last picture - Elyse put those blocks in by herself, matching them up by color and shape.