29 weeks today!

Today marks my 29th week of pregnancy! Whoa! 29 weeks! It is going by so fast! (I know, I know! I keep saying that, but its so true!) It's a little surreal for me to think that in 13 short days with Luke's pregnancy, he was here! THIRTEEN days from now?! Crazy! I, in no way, feel that this baby will be here in 13 days! HORRAY! Physically, I feel pretty good..keeping in mind that most women at this stage are all experiencing some level of discomfort. I am no different. I am sleeping very poorly at night due to my alternating crushing rib pain or insomnia. They seem to like to take turns. For the last week or so, I think I've probably only netted about 4 nonconsecutive hours of sleep each night. :( Blegh. But last night, I went to bed a little early (I was actually asleep by 10:10) and when I woke for my nightly pitstop around 1:30am and the rib pain was intensifying, I opted to arrange my pillows for a night of sleeping sitting up. That probably doesn't sound like much fun to you, and if I had the choice, I wouldn't prefer it either, but I was SOOOOO thankful that it took away my pain!! I actually slept on through until Luke came in at 5:45! YIPPEEE! SLEEP! :) Oh! The mental difference between sleep and no sleep! I feel like I can conquer the world this morning! Praise God! Along with my sleeping woes, this little girl has brought me the dreaded pregnancy heartburn (which I never experienced with Luke....not even once!) and lots of other small ales. Varicose veins, lots and lots of Braxton-Hicks, and a few unmentionables. :P BUT.......in the scheme of things, I care not one bit about those things if it means I can get closer to term with her! In fact, when I was talking to Ty about them the other day I even said, "I hope I don't sound like I'm complaining too much. Yes, I am uncomfortable at times, but at-least I'm getting the opportunity to experience the things I didn't with Luke." That is truly how I feel. Hopefully, I don't sound like TOO much of a whiner!

Okay......enough about pregnancy.....almost. Before I end that topic for the day, here is a picture of my Luke-belly at 29 weeks.....just for comparison sake. Do you think I look the same, smaller or bigger????


Speaking of Luke....the cold that threatened him earlier in the week turned out to be not-so-bad! He still has a little bit of a runny nose, but it never really progressed past that! Yay! And so far, I've managed to avoid it. Yay again!!!

He did the sweetest, most compassionate little gesture last night that I have to share with you because it just melted my heart. We work a lot on compassion, kindness and concern for others around here, since most toddlers are naturally very self-oriented at this age. We want to teach him, (over time of-course) that he is not the center of the universe....that other people and their feelings are just as, if not sometimes more, important than himself. And we're working on the whole 'sharing' thing too. But anyway......back to last night. Ty was at bible study late, so Luke and I were flying solo for dinner, bath and bedtime. After our dinner of yogurt, salad (for me) and fruit (that's what he wanted, so I obliged!) we headed out front to ride his bike to the mailbox and to play for awhile. We've been taking short walks as a family after dinner lately, or just spending time outside once the weather has cooled off, and we typically include Tess too. Well....last night, I didn't feel like bringing Tess along, but she got super excited as we headed outside...thinking that she was going to go too! Well....apparently she got TOO excited and when we climbed the stairs to head for the bathtub after our little play time, I discovered that she had piddled on the carpet at the top of the stairs. A VERY BIG NO-NO and something that sparks instant anger in me! She knows better, but when she gets excited like that and hasn't gone outside for awhile, she has been known to piddle. Grrrrr!!!!!

So, as rage against her engulfed my heart, I tried really hard to not loose my cool in front of Luke. Instead, I sternly scolded Tess, placed her in her crate and gathered the rags and cleaners for the cleanup. As I'm sitting at the top of the stair, grunting as I scrubbed the carpet (the belly is definitely in the way now!) Luke says: "Bad dirl, Tessy. Pee'd on the tarpet. Bad dirl!" "Yes," I said. "Tess was naughty and pottied on the carpet instead of outside. That made mommy feel very angry at Tess. Mommy doesn't like it when Tess does that!" And that's when Luke, who was sitting to my left at the top of the stairs, wrapped his little arm over me, rubbed my back in a circular motion and said "Mommy feels angry....its otay, Mommy." And then he leaned over and kissed my side. Awwwwww! My sweet, sweet child. I felt such a mix of pride at his behavior and guilt for the level of anger and frustration I was feeling inside. I rally had wanted to throw a tantrum! I was so mad! But his little reaction was so humbling and comforting. I stopped what I was doing and gathered him into my arms for a hug....thanking him for being so kind and telling him how much better he had made me feel. I don't think I'll forget that moment for a long time. It was just one of those that sticks with you....a teaching, humbling moment from such a tiny child. He had a heart of gold just then! Well...he has a heart of gold always......it just shows through sometimes more than others.

I think I will end my post with that today. Its breakfast time and the natives are restless. :) As I look forward to the weekend ahead, I hope that yours is wonderful!