It's a Girl!

Ok, so I realize I've been away for a loooooong time, but we have been traveling to Oklahoma, Texas, and Georgia and have had family in from Oklahoma and Kansas since my last post. I've been a little busy - give me a break.

Between trips we had our ultrasound and it looks pretty certain that our next little peanut definitely is without nuts. :) The baby name adventure has begun. If you have any great ideas for little girl names, please let me know. We need all the help we can get.

LRM is doing great these days. She's walking all over the place and FINALLY started saying Mama, though it comes out MomMoma, which I think is soooo cute. She's learning how to use her temper and is being very clingy (actually very sweet when she just wants to cuddle). I can't WAIT to have another one! :) She loves swimming in the pool and she kicks all over the place. She doesn't mind going under so we're practicing staying under for longer periods of time. This morning she ate her oatmeal with a spoon all by herself. What a big girl! Now if she can only master the stairs I'll have it made.

As for our trips, we visited my family in Oklahoma - we stayed a week with Grannie and I left LRM with my mom while I drove to Dallas for Memorial Day weekend for a wedding. I must say it was a fantastic weekend with the girls I hardly knew. Mostly it was just nice to not have mommy duty for a few days. The next week my mom and sister and P's sister came for a visit to Arizona. We did some swimming, watched some TV, visited the Desert Botanical Gardens (very cool), and ate a lot. It was a nice visit. The next week we were off to Atlanta where P was in a wedding. We were busy with wedding stuff but had a great time. Also, my sister and her family were in town so we all visited the Georgia Aquarium (also very cool). Hopefully, I'll soon get some pictures posted to Shutterfly with our trips. We stayed with Sarah, who is a fantastic host and wonderful mommy to her precious dog. We love Piper!

Pregnancy Update
By now I'm about 21 weeks gestation. I feel lots of movement from baby but nothing too extreme yet. I forgot to note my weight last doctor visit (funny how that happens) so I'll have to update my fatty chart next month. I am eating healthier now so I don't think I'm porking out too much, though my boobs continue to overpower my appearance and my baby bump. God bless cosmetic surgery when this baby stuff is over!!

Anyway, so here is what baby is up to this week...

This week nerve endings become functional enough so that Baby can feel! She may experiment with this new sense of touch by stroking her face or feeling other body parts to see how they move. You may feel Baby stretching her muscles by pushing against the muscular wall of your uterus with her feet or head. In addition, Baby's liver is busy breaking down bilirubin, a substance formed by the breakdown of hemoglobin in blood cells. Because a baby's liver can only break down a limited amount of bilirubin, the excess is passed on to you through the placenta to filter from your liver. Baby weighs almost a pound now, and is seven to eight inches long. Although she's filling out, her body still appears wrinkled because she lacks a significant layer of fat beneath her skin.

Other developments taking place this week include:
• Baby will form distinct lips.
• If Baby is a boy, testes, which have been tucked up inside the pelvis, will begin to descend into the scrotum this week and immature sperm will form in the seminal vesicles.
• Baby's eyes will complete formation, although the iris (the colored part of the eye) will still lack pigment.
• The pancreas, essential to hormone production, will continue to develop steadily.