We're 23 and a half weeks along so far, which means officially more than halfway to baby land - less than four months to go. This both excites and frightens the hell out of me. I can't wait to meet our little miss or mister, but there's still so much to do before he or she arrives in early November. We have done nothing to the nursery yet, other than purchasing a crib that the baby won't even sleep in until it's a few months old (priorities what?!) We finally picked out a stroller and car seat this weekend, but strollers are definitely right up there with life's great mysteries. (WHY OH WHY ARE THERE SO MANY STROLLERS?) Right now, other than the aforementioned items, we own four pairs of socks, one pair of booties, one 3-6 month sleeper, one Sophie the Giraffe, one Pooh Bear, and six books for the baby - so while it'll be mostly naked and wild, it'll at least be well-read and have warm feet.

I have been feeling good. Surprisingly good. Like, maybe better than before getting knocked up. I've been careful about getting lots of sleep, exercising every day and eating healthfully and I think it's paying off. These past few weeks I've had lots of energy and have just been feeling healthy. The weight gain is surprising to me. I'm up about 10 pounds total, but the only things that seem to be getting bigger are the bump and (people who know me IRL please stop reading now) zee boobinks. They may not look like much in this picture but oh, I can tell the difference. And it doesn't make sense - I'm not really eating extra, and I'm working out just as much, if not more with daily walks on top of gym visits - where is this coming from?! This kid is en route to weigh 25 pounds at birth.

Nesting is also a thing and right now I have a list of about 25 things I want to change about our house NOWNOWNOW - from replacing light fixtures to pretty much a whole new kitchen. I know it's unrealistic and not going to happen. We've picked out a few projects for over the summer, staining the doorstep, getting new outside lighting, obviously doing the baby's room over and maybe a couple other smallish things.

Feeling the baby kick puts the biggest smiles on my face these days. Over the past couple of weeks, they have gotten really active. The kicks are too little to hurt - it just kind of feels like being flicked from inside but it's the coolest, weirdest feeling and I love it. We've seen the baby move a bunch too, little pokes, which just does not get old. It's my absolute favourite thing. Before this, I always thought having a tiny human growing inside would be horrible, like some sort of alien parasite that takes over your body from within, but it's actually nice to have a little friend that goes everywhere with me. I talk to the baby when we're stuck in traffic, I sing to it in the car, I scratch it when it pokes me. I say "good morning" every day when we wake up and "good night" before we go to sleep.

We just got back from a week at the beach, and after not seeing myself in a full-length mirror for several days I was shocked at my reflection on coming home. My belly is popping for sure. I still haven't been fondled by any strangers at the grocery store but I feel like it's starting to look less like a beer belly and more like a bebe.

To sum up: it's weird and scary and overwhelming and probably the most amazing thing I have ever gotten to experience.