oh, hey baby - week 19

oh the sultry and exciting life of a married couple in their (very late) 20's. apparently so much that the blogs go unauthored for months. apologies. let's recap before the 19 week low-down.

after week 11, all hoped for energy and spunk returned nada, so there are no pictures of my growing bell for week 12. in truth, the absence was due entirely to my foul mood and joey's crazy busy school schedule = no photos = no posting, because everyone knows it's the pics the fans come back for... not for this wit, we can all be sure.

there was however the exciting reveal to all of our friends and family via text, for the most part, using this photo. to those we didn't tell in the intimate and planned out text message (sarcasm, of course), we told at the finke family reunion at this place. below are some pictures of my family during the reunion.

once the family all knew, and our friends were informed, our secret was out. no more skirting past offered alcoholic beverages, making up stories to explain my way too early bedtimes, or (awkwardly) answering the "so when are you guys going to start trying?" question. it was as relieving as it was somewhat disappointing. my husband is really the coolest, and having a super secret that only he and i knew was oddly exhilarating. it was also nice to have just a little bit of privacy sans the always present questions and belly grabbing that come with pregnancy.

here's a shot from week 13. please, hold the embarrassing shouts of admiration.

weeks 14-17 went by in a flash. here's a 15 week image that i recommend you scoot past swiftly.

don't ask about my affinity to green shirts, because this one certainly does
 zero justice to the skin tone/sleek bod/atrociously messy (in the not cute way) updo.

during week 15 our family visited to help us celebrate joey's graduation. for the three years i've know him, joey's been in grad school. i have never seen anyone work as hard or put in the deliriously long hours that he put in week after week. i could never describe how proud i am of him, my little architect.

joey's brother and his wife + joey's mom

 

week 16 was celebrated with the first birthday party of our god-child, and my brother's youngest, paxton. that little boy can steal hearts, let me be the one to tell you. his bright eyed smile is the most infectious grin i have ever seen, and he wore it wide and proud the entire day. birthday parties are exhausting, but he was such a trooper. happy birthday little guy. we love you so much!

our sweet families threw us a going away party/baby shower during week 17. all of our closest friends and family were invited, and all but a few were able to make it. the house was packed! but it was so much fun seeing some of the faces we hadn't seen since our wedding. here are some of my best friends helping me celebrate. the gorgeous blonde with curly hair on my right is also pregnant, due the beginning of august. we were roommates through college and i absolutely love her. i only hope i can pull off the later stages of pregnancy like this girl can!

the following day i had to leave to go back home to st. paul, and joey stayed in sioux falls to spend time with his family before leaving for a.t. (annual training for the national guard) in wyoming. we've been apart for over a week, and we still have twelve days to go before he finally comes home (yep, counting like a love-sick chicken). today is the third anniversary of our second date*, and although joey doesn't think we need to celebrate every anniversary now that we're married, he knew it meant a lot to me. these are the flowers he sent, because he's the most amazing guy on the planet.

* we don't count our first date because it took us some time to get to date two, for a variety of unimportant, yet semi-funny reasons. after date two we were inseparable... until he moved four hours away from me after a month.

week 19 was spent in complete (unsuccessful) denial that joey was missing from my life. i think i went to bed before 8pm precisely every night last week, and therefore have zero tales to report back. unless we count that time on thursday when i accidentally mowed our tiny yard, against joey's demands, instead of letting my brother drop by later to mow as planned. what can i say, i'm a hopeless stubborn a$$, and there's very little be done about that. the yard, it just looks stunning.

and so we're finally here, week 19. i've been amazed at the reactions i've been getting at work about this growing babe all week. yesterday i was minding my own, filling up my 80 gallon water jug at the trough, when out of the blue spunky rebecca came bounding over to rub my stomach while proclaiming, "you're not fat!" 

jamie: ....

rebecca: you're pregnant!

jamie: (awkward laugh)

was that a true/false quiz i didn't come prepared for? did someone say i was fat? because i do look like i just ate half a cantaloupe, whole, sans digestion. is there a proper response for an exchange proclamation like that? it should be said this was maybe the fourth time rebecca has talked to me since she started over six months ago. never, not once, have we discussed my current state of pregnant, until yesterday.

this morning one of my favorite doctors came by to drop off his semester evaluations. the first thing he said to me, after boisterously asking if "the great jamie larson is in" (he holds a spot in my heart, that one) was, "it looks like you've got a baby in there!"

jamie: i do

dr. loveable: well, it's not mine!

jamie: ...

speechless, nothing but speechless these days.

until next time!

J