Ahh, to relax...

Kyle and I had a relaxing weekend, which are really rare for us during the summer! We actually got a chance to catch up with old friends, and catch up on sleep, laundry... all that good stuff. :) Friday night after work a bunch of my co-workers and I went out for drinks (well, a sprite for me) for our friend Kelly who's getting married next weekend.

My friends Ally and Kelly... the bride is on the right!

A couple of college friends were also in town for the weekend, and so we had lunch together on Saturday and caught up on life... it was so good to see them, we hadn't seen some of them since Halloween!



It was like a Klamath reunion! :)

Today I've pretty much just been running errands and hanging out. I needed a few new pregnnacy essentials... for example, I've officially moved up a bra size already and although I don't really have a bump yet, I can tell my waist is starting to get thicker so I got what's called a Bella Band, which is this stretchy thing you put over your pants so I can still wear my regular jeans but wear them unbottoned if I need to. I'm not quite there yet, but I have a feeling I will be soon and I don't want to be caught unprepared! I also had to get some Benefiber, although I definitely wouldn't trade that problem for morning sickness, which has finally started to go away! I've been feeling better lately, and I'm about to reach a big milestone... my first trimester is officially coming to a close! This is a day that I feel like has taken forever to come, but I only have about a week and a half before I start the second trimester. I don't know why I feel like this is such an accomplishment, but your chance of miscarriage drops significantly, and I'm so excited to start physically seeing the evidence that I've been growing this little person for the last three months! :)

Here's what's going on in week 12, which I will start on Wednesday:

The baby has more than doubled in size during the past three weeks, weighing in now at 1/2 ounce and measuring about 2.5 inches. It is about the size of a large plum! Though most of his or her systems are fully formed, there's still plenty of maturing to do. The digestive system is beginning to practice contraction movements (so the baby will be able to eat), the bone marrow is making white blood cells, and the pituitary gland at the base of the brain has started producing hormones (so the baby will one day be able to make babies of his or her own). One of the most dramatic developments this week are reflexes: the baby's fingers will soon be able to open and close, the toes will curl, and the mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if I poke my belly the baby will squirm in response, even though I won't be able to feel it! The kidneys will also start secreting urine into the bladder. My uterus has now grown to the point where my doctor would be able to palpate it in my abdomen!

I had a really great birthday, and wanted to thank all of you for all the birthday wishes and cards! Kyle got me several gifts, and I have a picture of one of my favorite ones below:

It's a frame that says Mom + Dad = Me, it was so sweet... and he put the goofiest picture of himself in there of course!

He also got me a baby naming book, but that has been really overwhelming to look through... there's seriously a million names in there! The best part was he got me a foot rub and an hour long massage at a really nice spa in the Pearl District downtown, which I can't wait to use! :)

Kyle starts grad school on Tuesday already! He's not looking forward to going back to school, but is really excited to be able to apply his degree towards his profession and can't wait to start this next phase in his life. I'm excited to see him passionate about teaching and knowing that he will be so great in this career. Think good thoughts for him this week as he starts his new adventure! :)