26 weeks!

that's right! i am two thirds done with pregnancy!

i have missed a couple of weeks of updates, but not much has changed, except my ever growing belly and higher reaching numbers on the scale....(my least favorite part- ha!) but things have been so great!

at 26 weeks our baby boy:

is 14 inches long and about 1.7 pounds!

[that makes him about the length of a green onion, the size of a "hot house cucumber", or a papaya...take your pick ;) ]

he is becoming stronger and smarter every day! he is able to "practice" breathing with his ever-developing lungs and he can hear a lot better now! guess that makes listening to me and his daddy sing more pleasant...or unpleasant :) 

and he is becoming more opaque and chubbier... the chubbier, the snugglier!

i am feeling SO good! i have finally gotten to the point where i am really enjoying being pregnant, minus the few downsides that come along with the blessing. 

i am basically wearing skirts or dresses every single day because they are the comfiest. unless i am at home, in which case i will almost always be in sweatpants and a big baggy shirt. i recently got some cute maternity dresses and tops from some family and friends and i ordered a couple shorter stretchy skirts for summer! i love online sales. 

sleeping isn't so bad. it was a lot worse earlier on. but my pillow really helps! i have gotten used to the frequent trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night. i guess i should be thankful though because in a way it's preparing me for future nights with baby boy. 

i am so glad morning sickness isn't a thing for me anymore. i really have loved being able to handle pretty much whatever i want to eat. i get hungrier fast but i also get fuller quicker. i don't really have any food aversions that i can think of, but definitely have things i eat on a daily basis: cereal or oatmeal and yogurt for breakfast, PB&J with fruit and snacky things for lunch, and pretty much anything for dinner! we usually have a meat (chicken almost always) with a veggie and potato/rice side. i love cooking. and we have been doing it more so that we can actually have left overs to eat for lunch or dinner the next day! it's great.

baby boy is getting SO strong. his kicks are crazy! i love watching my belly move or even just feeling my hand pop up when it's resting on my tummy when he kicks. it's crazy! i love it. i used to try and prod my belly to get him to kick back and he'd never do it...until now! i think he is getting more squished every day so when i poke him, he doesn't like it. or maybe he thinks it's a game! either way, i enjoy it. i know that is the main thing i will miss about being pregnant. 

i normally would be so apprehensive about uploading a video of my tummy but i think it is way cool! it's a short video, but toward the right side by my belly button, you can see him kick!

managing my diabetes has still been hard, but i am getting better at it! my A1C has stayed low the entire pregnancy and i have been able to be really healthy during it all. it's truly been a blessing. this could be so much harder, so i find great relief in knowing that my hard work is paying off. i've had a lot of labs done and they said that everything looks great! we go in this week to the hospital for another extensive ultrasound...i'm so excited! it's been 6 weeks since we've seen our boy so i can't wait!

in other news:

last week was my 22nd birthday! i was such a great day. i got my hair done in the morning- pretty differently done, too! i wanted to do an ombre for the longest time but was so nervous. i know a girl who does hair and is amazing, and so i figured since i wouldn't be doing anything the morning of my birthday, i should get it done! the results were just what i was wanting:

after that, taylor got off work early and we went to salt lake city creek center and walked the mall and hung out in the beautiful weather until about 7, then headed to murray to go to the cheesecake factory (one of my favorite restaurants)! it was so fun and yummy and i loved spending time with some of the people i love the most. i wish everyone could have come, but it was still a great birthday! i am really blessed! and this is going to be the biggest, most life-changing year yet!

the weekend before that was general conference! there were so many great talks that were given and we got to go down to my in-laws house in Glenwood for the whole weekend to spend time with them and listen to conference! i had been looking forward to this weekend for forever. school was getting stressful and it was just the weekend that taylor and i needed to recharge and just hang out. we had so many yummy meals and watched movies and played outside and hung out. and the whole family celebrated my birthday with me and got me such nice gifts! we even had two cakes, thanks to curt! haha. i got really lucky and blessed with my second family :) i'm pumped for summer when we will have free weekends to go spend with them whenever we can!

and this weekend is Easter! taylor and i are going to be spending it with my mom, shayla, quin and natalie. and we'll be having dinner at mine and taylor's apartment! (we moved to orem about two and a half months ago- one of these days when it's super clean i'll post pictures of it. but we LOVE it!) we are excited to see all of them!

AND best of all- classes are DONE-ZO! so happy. it's been a long and difficult semester trying to balance school, work, and morning sickness. luckily the last month and a half have been easier sickness wise. but a week from now when all of my finals are done- i'll be a free and joyous woman! summer is coming and so is baby boy and we could not be more thrilled!!

the best is yet to come.