It's been a while since I've posted, so I thought I'd update everyone on how things are going lately! I'm finally starting to have a lot of fun being pregnant (for the most part anyway) and Matt and I have been enjoying some of the newer pregnancy symptoms and experiences we've had the past couple of weeks.

We're 22 weeks and 2 days into the pregnancy now, and it seems like time is just flying by! Our little girl is growing so fast, and she gets stronger every day! She is so active, and I've noticed that she has started reacting to loud noises, which is really neat! Matt and I went to the movies today, and during every loud scene, she started kicking away. The same thing happened when I had the hand mixer going while making mashed potatoes tonight! It's so exciting to know that she's listening to us in there! Speaking of listening, Matt talks to her almost every day, which I absolutely love! Most of the time he's telling her jokes about how silly or crazy her mommy is, but I don't mind, I love that he talks to her. She'll recognize Daddy's voice as soon as she's born! Her kicks have also gotten strong enough to bounce the TV remote off my belly! It's so much fun! I'm not sure if it's in my head or not, but I feel like she knows when I'm thinking or talking about her too! Without fail, every time I think to myself "Hm, I haven't felt the baby kick in a little while" she will start wiggling or kicking within a minute or two. It may just be that my body feels her starting to wake up before she really gets going, which makes me think about the last time she was moving around, but I like to think that she's letting me know she's in there and doing well!

I seem to have gotten past a lot of my older symptoms (thankfully) and developed a few new ones in their place over the last couple of weeks. At my last appointment, the midwife told me that most of my problems (rapid heart rate while resting, shortness of breath, dizziness, etc) were most likely due to mild dehydration. Nothing that would require IV fluids or anything, just not getting quite enough water (she says 3 liters a day). I had also been pretty bad about taking my iron pills every day. So since then, Matt has been making sure I always have water with me to drink, and he reminds me every day to take my vitamin and iron pill. I honestly don't know if I've ever been well hydrated. Ever. I am amazed at how much better I've felt since we started really paying attention to this. I'm not sick when I wake up, unless I wait a really long time to eat breakfast, I very rarely get worn out anymore, and my headaches and dizziness are gone for the most part. This is such great news, because it means that Matt and I can make plans to go out on the weekends without worrying if I'm going to be alright that day or not.
In place of the headaches, dizziness, rapid heart rate, and so on, are a few new symptoms that I think are a little more fun. I've had some pretty nasty heartburn every now and then, but that's really the only negative thing right now. My belly is growing by the minute, and my poor belly button is so stretched and on the verge of popping any second. Matt seems to really like my new belly button, he plays with it all the time! I don't think I even remember what it used to look like, but hopefully it'll go back soon after the baby is born, because I think it looks pretty funny right now. Along with the growing belly comes tight skin, which at times feels like its just going to rip. Matt's been really helpful with that, too, though and rubs cocoa butter and lotion on me every night so that it doesn't feel so stretched. My favorite of these new pregnancy symptoms is hiccuping! I have hiccups all day, every day. They're not normal hiccups though, the kind that come regularly for a little while and then go away. Oh no, mine are completely random, only one or two little hiccups at a time, and they always make this awful squawking noise. Matt has said that I sound like a baby dinosaur, or like a raptor giving his mating call. I think I like the baby dinosaur better.. Anyway, this happens every day, and it always gives us a good laugh!

Aside from laughing at the funny noises I make, Matt and I have been having a lot of fun out here lately! Last weekend we went to Waimea Valley and walked about a mile in to a beautiful waterfall and had a picnic lunch there before walking back out. It was such a pretty day, and it felt great to get out and get a little exercise and fresh air! We couldn't swim that day because the waterfall was too strong, and the lifeguards were worried it would be too dangerous, but hopefully soon we'll be able to go back and swim at the base of the waterfall. The pool at the bottom of it is so cold and clear, it feels great to go for a swim after a walk in the sun! We'll be sure to bring our camera when we go! We're also going to start sailing soon! I'm so excited, I've never been sailing, and from what Matt tells me, I know I'll love it! We've found a place in Pearl Harbor that offers FREE sailing lessons for military!! Next weekend we're going to try to start the classes, so long as they have room for a couple of walk-ins. The classes last two weekends, for 4 hours on Saturday and Sunday. I am so excited that we found sailing lessons, especially for free!

Thanks to my amazing husband, I now have a new wardrobe of maternity clothes! I'm really excited about it, because I was really starting to have issues with my clothes no longer fitting me! This morning after my shower, I think I tore my entire closet and dresser apart trying to find something that looked decent and was still comfortable to wear. Of course, I've got about 2 pairs of jeans that I can still wear, and only if I use a hairtie to keep the button closed, and even then, they're not very comfortable. To top it off, most of my shirts were tight fitting before I got pregnant. If I can still manage to get them on now, they are so tight that they constantly ride up my belly and drive me crazy! After about half an hour of trying to figure out what to wear today, Matt came upstairs to find me curled up in the bed, in the middle of one of my meltdowns. I was so frustrated I just gave up on finding clothes and started crying. My poor husband is so sweet, he crawled into bed with me and asked what he could do. "Fix it." That was all I could think to say. So we managed to find me an outfit, and he said I looked great in it. I'm not sure I believed him, but I love how supportive and understanding he can be when I get into one of my moods. Once we left the house, I cheered up a bit, and we had a good time running a few errands, stopping by the marina, and grabbing lunch. Afterwards, we stopped by the Motherhood Outlet to see if I could find any good deals. A plain white t-shirt, marked down 50%, and still costing $36 is not my idea of a good deal. As I began to feel frustrated all over again, Matt pulled out his phone and checked craigslist for used maternitly clothes. He found several new moms selling their maternity clothes, and after making a few stops, I had an entire new wardrobe. $60 later, I have 3 dresses, 2 pairs of jeans, 3 pairs of shorts, several pairs of capris, and about 15 super cute tank tops and shirts! And we met a really sweet couple who has a 6 week old baby girl and gave us tons of 'new parent' advice and stories! I'm so thankful to have a husband who understands my crazy moods and meltdowns, and will do anything he can to make things better! He really is the best!

Also, I think we've almost decided on our baby girl's name! We're not sharing until we're 100% sure though!

A while back, I think I mentioned that we were planning to visit Florida early in December sometime. Now it looks like we'll be arriving in Tampa on Thanksgiving, and staying until December 10th or so. I was really surprised, but I found that plane tickets are significantly cheaper if we fly on Thanksgiving! Plus, I'll be hitting my third trimester on Black Friday (I'm telling you, time is flying by!!), and I don't want to be travelling too much later than we already will be. So as long as Matt's leave is approved for those days, you can expect to see us before the end of November! I'm really excited, it's been such a long time since we've seen most of our family and friends, and we miss you guys so much! I can't wait!

Anywho, it is now way my bedtime, and the baby is starting to kick saying she's sleepy too, so I will have to say goodnight! Thanks for reading, we love you all!