HALF-BAKED Y'ALL.

**This is a pregnancy-related post, so please feel free to skip this post if you're not up for it. God bless.**

An ode to my half-baked peanut…

Sweet baby, I am 20-weeks pregnant. That means that YOU are half-way grown into my amazing babe! How is it possible that we are already half-way through this journey? Time is such a funny thing…it passes so slowly, but in hindsight, it is hard to remember where the days have gone.

Your dad and I got to see you on the ultrasound yesterday. My goodness, you are so much bigger than last time we saw you! The doctor pointed out your flickering heart with four beautiful chambers, your amazing brain, your long spine (maybe you’ll take after your dad and be tall?!), your kidneys, your arms and legs, and so much more! He even said that he saw you “breathing”…practicing for life outside my stomach! I asked him whether he knew if you were a boy or girl, and he said that even HE did not want to know—he wants to be surprised with your dad and me! We don’t care either way—we just want you to be healthy, safe, and here with us.

So as your mom, I am going to really try my hardest to stop worrying so much. I know, I know, I’ve said this before! But really, I am going to make more of an effort to focus on the positive—that you are our sweet baby!—and less on the hypothetical negatives. I want the rest of your time in my belly to be as peaceful and lovely as possible. Feel free to kick me in the gut if I go back on my word!

I can’t wait to meet you, peanut. January still seems so far away, but just like today, I am sure I will look back on your birthday and realize that time has flown by. You are the light of my life, my little miracle. I love you so very much.

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Okay okay, I’ll stop mushing all over the place. I am just SO GLAD to be half-way…actually, today I am officially MORE than half-way! What an amazing gift. I know that I am truly unworthy of this blessing, but I am so, so, so grateful.

We have certainly had a busy week in the Holi household, and things are about to get much busier!

We kicked off last weekend with a SURPRISE date night at an awesome restaurant that we had never been to before. Because it has been awhile since we’ve actually been on a DATE DATE (T hates when I say this, because “isn’t every time we go out together a ‘date date’?!” No, there is a difference! Am I right ladies?!), I forced the bartender to snap our pic. Strategically it only includes us from the waist up…which is great, because that night I was wearing a pair of pants that I left casually unzipped/unbuckled all night. YOLO. The food was amazing, we had an appetizer of crab & cheese fondue along with the best cheese curds we’ve ever had, and then I got an awesome wedge salad while T had a big juicy brisket sandwich. MMMMM I am hungry just thinking about it! T also had a few really interesting-sounding beers that I was super jealous of…a tangerine beer, and a bourbon-infused beer! Yowza. Already day-dreaming about my first adult-bev post-babe! Towards the end of our dinner, something happened that has NEVER happened to us at a restaurant before…it started POURING outside, and we were seated on the patio! So we had to make a mad dash with our food to the inside seating area, where they promptly sat us at an available booth (I think the belly garnered some sympathy points). But there were a handful of diners that they didn’t have room for, who ended up just standing towards the back of the restaurant picking at their plates until the rain died down! Got me thinking, what do restaurants usually do when that happens? There didn’t seem to be a Plan B, really. Needless to say, I was glad that we were among the lucky few that got a table. An adventure of a date, for sure!

The next morning, T and I hit the road bright and early for his dear friend Brad’s wedding to the lovely Bernadette! 

We ate delicious food, enjoyed great company, and generally had an awesome time. We did have a little chuckle over the misspelling of our last name, which, granted, is a doozy…but the newlywed couple is even MORE Polish than T, if you can imagine!

Funny, and worth a picture.

The next day was my wonderful MIL’s birthday, so we spent the day lounging around outside, playing badminton, eating delicious food cooked by the birthday girl, and enjoying one of the last summer days! I was able to spend some QT with my nephew Ike, and of course we had to take a few obligatory pictures…

Love that boy. He is so much fun!

On Monday we finally returned to the great state of IL, and got in a bit of relaxing…

…yes, that is me using my belly as a shelf, so handy!...

…before heading to MY parents’ house for our weekly “Sunday” dinner date. Had to include this pose of T on the back porch, because he looked so “Fabio” to me. No pictures, please. We were also able to take a pic of our brand new souvenirs, courtesy of my brother Joe and his recent trip to Thailand! Super flattering, right?! (Just lie to me, okay?!)

Now, onto the GREAT updates!

How far along?  20 WEEKS, half-baked, and absolutely ecstatic!

Clothing? Maternity on the bottom, MOSTLY pre-preg on top. But definitely pushing it in some of those tops…

Stretch marks? Nothing new, but have developed two little blood blisters on my tummy (sorry if that’s gross). They just look like little raspberry birthmarks, and the Dr. says they are from stretching…pregnancy is so weird!

Sleep? Not terrible, but still making multiple bathroom trips/fending off those midnight Charlie horses!

Best moment of this week? SEEING THE BABE ON THE BIG SCREEN! My heart fills with such joy whenever I am able to see that tiny little profile and little beating heart…sigh.

Worst moment of this week? Had another impromptu visit with the doc BEFORE yesterday’s appt., because I had a slight concern about leaking amniotic fluid. Turns out it was just another lovely pregnancy symptom but nothing out of the ordinary. I mean it peanut, I am going to try to cut back on worrying!!!

Miss anything? My glasses of wine, especially since it is WEDDING SEASON in the Holi household. But I will gladly swap the wine for an extra piece of wedding cake to keep peanut happy.

Movement? Yes, am definitely feeling it! Sometimes it’s pops/nudges, other times it is just general “swishing” feelings…either way, I would still love to feel it EVEN MORE! I know I know, I’m greedy!

Symptoms? Some fatigue (especially when I’ve been out late the night before), rapid HB/dizziness when I walk or get up too fast, LOTS of rib pain, very sore back/achy crampy tummy randomly throughout the day (I think babe is going through a growth spurt right now), a BIG growing belly, achy joints, becoming full really easily, terrible sinuses, and my (crooked) linea nigra!

Food cravings? I’ve come to realize that my stand-by cravings are always ice cream and French fries—I want them no matter what. I even made T leave his mama’s party for 10 minutes to drive with me to the grocery store for ice cream on Sunday! I know that sounds crazy, but it was the first time I 100% HAD to have something right that second. Maybe my first “real” craving?!

Gender? Still feeling girl.

Labor Signs? No siree.

Belly button in or out? Still the half-in/half-out phase…

Wedding rings on or off? On, but fingers do swell occasionally (mostly after walking outside)!

Mood? I am SO SO SO SO HAPPY about this pregnancy and my sweet baby, but I have to admit that my mood has been a bit crabby lately. IDK if it’s my general achiness or what, but I’ve been a bit more irritable than usual. Sorry, world. I’ve also been super clingy with T…like, I don’t want him to leave me, even for 5 minutes! He is taking a week-long fishing trip with his dad soon and I don’t know how I will say goodbye to him, ahhhh!

Rituals? Nighttime lullaby, holy water on the belly in the morning, holy oil on the belly at night. And staring at my ultrasound pictures/watching the videos as often as I can!!!!! Along with routine bedtime chats.

Milestones? HALF-BAKED. Can I get a WHAT WHAT!?!??!?!

Looking forward to? MY FIRST REAL STRONG "OW THAT KINDA HURT" BABY KICK, heading to Washington D.C. for a dear friend’s wedding this weekend and soooo excited for that, along with my 24-week appointment on Oct. 1 (yes, the countdown has already started)!!!!

This week's pregnancy-small-talk-gems (aka things other people say to pregnant ladies without thinking): Nothing but compliments this week, which were SO sweet and greatly appreciated! Maybe the universe is giving me a break?!

And of course, a little bit of Magnificat inspiration…

Have a lovely week, all.