The summer started off with my friend, Alyssa, coming all the way from Seattle to visit for a week. We've only seen each other 3 times since living together in Prague in 2002. Because the weather was seasonably hot, we spent most of the week inside-watching Wimbledon, playing Skipbo, watching the World Cup, cooking yummy dinners, and reminiscing about the past. She handmade an adorable quilt/blanket for Nolan and brought me some yummy tea. We didn't "do" much-we just enjoyed hanging out together. The most exciting thing was that Alyssa was the FIRST person to SEE the baby kick. Feeling it is on thing, but seeing the stomach move as a result of Nolan kicking was amazing. Unfortunately, Phil was a work, but I was glad that she was there to experience that "first" with me.
This picture is at 26 weeks pregnant-we were down at the beach seeing if we could spot any tar balls, which unfortunately, we did-but not too many. At this point in the pregnancy, it is so exciting to be able to feel Nolan kick every single day. Hardly an hour goes by without a reminder that he is in there. I'm in love with his kicks. As the 2nd trimester is shortly coming to an end, I have started to feel better, but I know it is only going to get rougher. Right now, I just want to cut off my feet. Every step I take is full of pain-totally worth it and would do it over and over again.
Towards the end of June I had my glucose test, in which I had to drink about 8 ounces of a concentrated sugary drink (imagine jolly ranchers in liquid form) to test for gestational diabetes. After an hour, my blood is taken to make sure that my sugar levels have gone back down. If I were to fail, I would be sent to the hospital for a 3 hour test. I'm still waiting on my results, but my doctor told me that no news was good news. They would only contact me if there was a problem or else they would tell me the results at my next appointment-which is next week.
Before heading out of town to see family in Georgia, Virginia, and North Carolina, I crammed in over 20 hours of tutoring in just 4 days. By the time we got in the car to head out of town on Thursday afternoon, I was ready to sleep. Thank goodness for our new car, in which I am able to sprawl out in the back seat to sleep. We spent 4th of July weekend in Atlanta visiting friends and family. One of the highlights of the weekend was going to the Avondale Estates annual 4th of July parade. Phil also loves to buy Tynan's homemade lemon icees. We ended up napping and resting a lot at my parents house since it was just too hot to be outside.
From Georgia, we left to go to Virginia to spend a few days with Fred, Heather, Will and Jackson. It was especially exciting since Heather and I have due dates only a month a part. Everyone in our family is so excited that she is having the first girl on the Heppding side. We can't wait to meet Ava when she is just a few months old at Christmas time. We spent a few days just hanging out-cooking, talking about parenting, rummaging through boxes of baby clothing-that Heather has so kindly given to Nolan, and playing with the kids. I think we would both agree that the best part was spending several hours shopping, eating at Panera, and getting pedicures-definitely the best part! It was sad to leave, but comforting to know we'll see each other again soon. From Virginia, we went to North Carolina to visit Fred and Gayle. We spent a couple of days with them just hanging out and enjoying the junk food in Gayle's pantry :)
After 10 days on the road, we arrived back home on Sunday July, 11th. I've never been happier to arrive get back home. We quickly unpacked, mowed the lawn, and ran back out to get Nolan's mattress for his crib and some organizing shelves.
So what's on tap for the rest of the summer? A few more doctor's appointments, a trip back to Atlanta for a baby shower, and more tutoring. But the best part will be finishing up the nursery-a lofty goal we have before going back to school in a few short weeks. We can only wish and hope that it will be done by August. Be on the lookout for nursery pictures. Once August hits, we start childbirth classes and I go back to school so I must save every ounce of energy I have for the 8 hours of teaching each day.
There are not many more things that I am more thankful for than for the opportunity to be pregnant. Wow, to think I have a human growing inside me. What an honor and privilege.
