It's getting real, people: 27 weeks

In our living room sits my mother's bassinet: the very same one I slept in.

Inside there is a quilt for baby girl from Grandma Estes 

[I thank Jay daily for marrying me so I could inherit her]

And Jay's childhood beanie babies, 

which were, as promised, given back to him now that he's having a baby of his own. 

And in the second bedroom in a box is her blessing dress, 

and a sweet little outfit with rosebuds that she can wear home from the hospital. 

And last week we paid our big fat global maternity bill in full. 

You guys! It's real! It's getting realer all the time!
And I'm grateful for so so many things.
I'm grateful for husband who is just as excited to be a parent as I am.
I'm grateful for the part inside of me that wants to be someone's mama.
I'm glad we prayed and waited for the timing to be right-
having a child will never be convenient,but I'm glad we know it's right.
Because as long as we know that, the hard will always be bearable.
I'm grateful for the 2 am kickboxing sessions and the early morning nudges and my growing tummy.

I'm just grateful.

As for pregnancy updates:
-night sweats: I don't know if this is a pregnancy thing or what. It happened to me sometimes before (thank you for the inherited gene, dad) but it's been happening while I've been pregnant way more intensely than before. Hormones are weird, people.
-sleeping: Some nights I just can not seem to sleep. I wake up multiple times per night wide awake. Sometimes I'm uncomfortable, sometimes I can feel her really getting her groove on and kicking like crazy, but sometimes I just wake up.
-sleeping pt II: the bump nest. You guys, my mom got me my very own bump nest for my birthday and it's a freaking miracle and a half. Regardless of the sleeping issues above they are NOTHING compared to what they were before I got this thing. It wraps all the way around to provide support for your back, belly, head, and knees all at the same time. And though it severely limits night time cuddling, let's be real, my belly is getting big enough to get in the way of that anyways.
-sciatic nerve issues: does anybody else have these? I got a prenatal massage for my birthday (which was amazing ps) and the lady acted like it was normal but I've never heard about it from other pregnant mamas. Seriously, something is pinching my sciatic nerve (usually the left side) and sending shooting pains/cramping down my leg. Of course, there's tons of blood flow/leg cramping problems to be read about online, just curious if you've experienced it!
-heartburn: if I eat too close to bedtime my food inevitably wants to make a small acidic reappearance and soon as I lie horizontally. It's not out of control though, so let's hope it stays that way.

Really though, I'm feeling great. I'm still able to exercise a couple times per week, go to work, cook and clean on my days off. Bending over is difficult and I've about given up hope of getting my toenails painted but they're all small prices to pay. Keep baking baby- we're excited to meet you!

Aaaaand iphone photodump: (but there are real live pregnancy photoshoot pictures coming soon.)

 did I mention donuts always sound good? And Brooke is the coolest?

And everything including the cat loves using my belly as a pillow.
We're to that point friends.