My Second Baby Bird

Well, I finally let the cat out of the bag, as it were. Shem and I are expecting again! Here I will answer some questions that most of you are probably too polite to ask, but you're curious about anyway:

1. Yes, we planned this pregnancy.
     It's been really fun this time around because we did the whole, "Hey. You know what would be fun? Another baby. What do you think?" thing. I mean, don't get me wrong, Luke was the best surprise of my life..but there was something extra exciting about the anticipation of trying for a baby.

2. Luke will be 22 months old when the baby comes.
    So, really close to two years old. Originally, I really wanted our first two to be at least two years apart, but the timing just seemed perfect and everything started to come together so we decided to start trying a bit earlier than we'd originally planned. I think 22 months is going to be perfect.

3. I'm super nervous about having another one.
    There are several reasons as to why this is.
    -Babies are hard. I don't know if anyone has ever told you this, but it's more true than you'd think. I'm nervous about adjusting to a newborn while also taking care of a toddler. That is a horrendously terrifying prospect.
    -People might think this is silly, but I do not know how I can possibly love another baby as much as I love Luke. I keep having these thoughts where they'll hand me the baby and I'm like, "Meh. The other one was cuter." AH! I'm sure that experienced parents (including my mother) who have told me that this will not happen are absolutely correct, but still, it makes me nervous.
    -They won't nap at the same time. So. I feel like this means any shred of 'me time' I have been enjoying will be gone. Being as I'm inherently a selfish being, this depresses me. =)

4. I'm also super excited about having another once.
    Obviously. But really. Teeny, tiny toes and fingers, soft hair, the baby smell, how perfectly they fit in your arms at first, the first smile, the first giggle, how they know your smell and voice immediately, watching them learn and figure out the world...just all of it. I'm so excited to have all of those moments again. All of those firsts. Also, I think Luke is going to be the best big brother IN ALL THE LAND.

5. I've been really sick this pregnancy, but not as sick as I was with Luke.
    Thankfully, I've been able to function better this time around. My "morning sickness" has been more on the normal side and even though I do tend to throw up at least once or twice a day and have lost about 5 pounds (you wouldn't know it by looking at me, though...my waist is like a tree trunk right now) I can at least get out of bed and take care of my baby. Of course, I wouldn't be able to do half of what I do if it wasn't for my amazing husband and my family. They have helped and blessed me more than they even know. My sweet husband always crawls out of bed early to bring me food, he's been doing the dishes for weeks now, he helps around the house and takes Luke for me as soon as he gets home since the majority of my nausea/vomiting happens in the evenings. He is my rock. Next time you see him, give him a pat on the back for me and tell him he's awesome.

6. Yes, we are kind of hoping for a girl.
     We haven't done the girl thing yet, so that would be fun. That being said, I have a very strong feeling this baby is a boy. The pregnancies are VERY similar. I'm craving all the same things and all that. And I've had two very vivid dreams that it is a boy. So, I'm gearing myself for a boy. There are a lot of benefits to having a boy. We won't have to buy anything at all. He'd be totally set in terms of clothes and towels and everything else we have that isn't gender-nuetral. So that'd be nice. Also, I think it would be so fun for Luke to have a brother so close in age. They'd wrestle around and do all the fun brother stuff together.

Random facts:
Due: June 22nd (hooray for not being pregnant in July or August!)
Weeks: 10 and 3 days.
Weight gain: None. I'd gained a bit originally, but all that came off plus two more thanks to all the barf.
Gender Reveal: Either the beginning of January or the beginning of February, depending on how patient I can be/how much money I'm willing to spend to be impatient.

Alrighty! That's it. We're excited and we can wait! I'm so excited to feel the first flutters and kicks and all that good stuff and I just can't wait until this baby is in my arms. YAY reproduction!

My Soul-Mate

If you'd asked me three years ago if I believed in soul mates, I would have given you an unequivocal 'no'; explaining my belief that there are many good matches for many good people and that if you're both working hard at your marriage, you can have a successful relationship. I'm sure I would have said it as though I'd really figured all this stuff out. I'm sure I was sure at the time that my theory was fool-proof.

Then I met Shem.

And I really liked him. I liked him a whole lot. And I thought, "I'd bet that we could really work together and make a successful relationship out of this whole mutual attraction thing we've got goin' on here".

So we did.

When we got married, we were madly in love with each other. We knew we were supposed to be together. We knew we were a good match. But I don't think we knew the extent to which our match really was made in heaven.

I firmly and absolutely believe we were meant for each other. I am so completely convinced that Shem is my soul-mate that I can't imagine ever believing there was no such thing.

We're definitely not the same person, though in the ways that matter, he is kind of the male equivalent of me. We both communicate through humor and silliness. We're both people-pleasers and we hate confrontation. We both value family and friends and are loyal to those we love. We communicate in eerily similar ways. Which makes arguments a lot easier to have.

In other ways, though, he really does complete me. I know that sounds unbelievably cheesy, but what else do you call it when your spouse's good qualities are frequently the very qualities that you lack? He is teaching me every day how to be a better person. How to serve selflessly, how to be truly honest, how to relax and let small things go, and how to be calm in the middle of a storm.

I never expected to be converted to the belief in soul mates. And I'm sure that my original theory holds true for some. But let me tell you something: from this side of the fence, a real life soul mate looks like a pretty darn good way to spend eternity.

I can't wait to continue falling more and more in love with my husband every year. It's the best feeling in the world to know that I already love him more than I did the day we got married.

I love you so much!
Happy Anniversary.