17 weeks and puppy love

How far along? 17 weeks!!

Total weight gain: at my appointment, I gained 6lbs - but that was after eating Mexican food. I weighed myself yesterday morning and I lost 3, so I'm still holding steady at a 3.5lb gain.

Total inches gained: who knows.

Maternity clothes? I love my maternity shorts. I have shorts that would definitely fit, but my maternity shorts are fun :) and I require more loose-fitting shirts.

Sleep: Sleeping better!!

Best moment this week: Our 3D/4D ultrasound & seeing our little one in such clear detail!

Movement: multiple times a day. definitely at morning, around 10, after lunch, in the afternoon, after supper, and before bed. I'd say I feel movement every 2 or 3 hours.

Gender: daddy's little PRINCESS! (his words -- he already calls her his princess!)

Labor Signs: no way!!

Belly Button in or out? haha.. in!!

What I miss: not having weird hip and back pain

Weekly Wisdom: shell out the money for the 3D ultrasound. how could you regret seeing your precious baby? It's the best thing in the world!!! definitely worth the money.

Milestones: feeling movement often and finding out we are having a little girl!

almost the same photo as the one up top
except with color
for your viewing pleasure!

~~~~~~~~~~~

This morning I woke up really early. Piper scootched closer to me, put a paw on my chest, and laid her head on me. We just stared at each other for 10 minutes. I swear she is the love of my life (other than Mark, of course!) Don't worry - Mark feels the same way. We love our dog so much it hurts. Before we go to sleep each night, we talk about our daughter and what we think she'll do.

Now Mark says she's a tennis-playing, golf-playing, soccer-playing, lover of camping. Okay then.

But our favorite thing is to discuss how our daughter will know and grow up with Piper. We can't wait for the two of them to meet. Piper is just smitten for her baby sister already. In fact, she went out and bought a polka dot pink collar to celebrate her sister:

I know. Piper's darling. Piper is more like a cat and seriously sleeps and cuddles all day. We know that she will be a pro at being a big sister. Like Punkin, Piper has daddy wrapped around her little finger:

What you might not know is that Piper is very attached to her daddy. Very. If she catches me laying on Mark's lap, she will (seriously) crawl up on the couch, walk on his lap, and plop her butt right in my face. She thinks daddy's lap is her spot and she doesn't want to share with me. She'll have to get used to it since our daughter will get first dibs on daddy's lap for the rest of her life.

But for now, it's funny.

Oh, and our dog knows the command "Jump!" as pictured here:

Yep, we love her. An insane amount. If you have a dog, you can relate. If not, you might think we're crazy. She has five more months of being the center of our attention. And then she'll have to fork it over to her newest pack leader, Punkin Cox.

Piper is so ready.

I hope.

yes, that's a wink.

Edited to add: Yesterday just so happened to be Piper's 11-month birthday. She will soon be one year old. Sniff. Where does the time go, really?