TWO!!

Oh we had the best party here yesterday. The sun was shining -it was 80 degrees!!! Absolutely perfect. We were surrounded by friends and family, and everyone played until we all had sun burns -it was great.

Then there was that wonderful time of evening quiet as we enjoyed our exhaustion together on the couch. To be followed by pizza with Daddy and Grandpa.

She had so much fun, and slept like a rock last night in her big girl bed. I can't believe it...two years old. My sweet baby girl!

Progress and a Big Butt:

19 weeks, and things are going well for us so far:

I continue to expand in all directions. I just don't remember being this hungry with Ray -actually, I don't remember being this hungry before ever. Whatever, I've gotta eat, so I'm ingnoring the TWENTY pounds I've gained already.

I have made some pretty important decisions regarding the birth, and I feel really good about them. Although they are based on the limitations of my geographical area, they don't feel very much like compromises. I've been spending what little free time I have doing some much needed personal and spiritual work. I didn't do any of this last time, and I feel like I paid for it. So now I'm really examining what happened with Ray's birth, and what about me I can change to have things be completely different this time. It's not that I have terrible associations with giving birth to her, it's just that the whole hospital scene made me so uncomfortable, and I think it slowed things up a lot. This feels good. I'm finally allowing myself to explore the primal and maternal side of my life without apology. I'm doing what I need to do for myself and the baby, and no one can stop me. How liberating.