Landscaping Update

So our landscaping is coming along nicely. Ben has been hard at work hunting and digging for rocks to border our burm. He claims that if he can pick up the rock then it is too small. :) We've also purchased many loads of top soil and gravel to help fill in the areas that need it. So today Ben is out on the tractor moving dirt and smoothing things out. Yesterday when he went and got the tractor (which he borrowed from the farm) he was so giddy and excited to get to work. What a man! :)
Yesterday, while Ben was working the land, Andrea stopped by. I showed her around the yard and then we went to dinner. We had great conversation and after dinner she got to feel the baby kick! She is the first person, besides Ben, to feel the baby kick!! It was so exciting! It was great to catch up with her and I can't wait until she moves back to Michigan (which the move date is now set at June 13th). Yeah!
This weekend is Memorial Day weekend and today Ben and I are heading up to his grandma's cottage in Greenville. Then Saturday evening we are heading up to Lewiston to visit with my family. My family (well, except Grandpa Bob and Grandma JoJo) hasn't seen me since before we knew we were excpecting! They will be so shocked to see how I've changed since then! I'll definitely take pictures this weekend and post them when I can!! 

"Lake" Progress

Here are a few pictures of how our pond looks today. The recent rain has definitely helped fill it in!! It is a little murky right now, but we're hoping that this will settle within the next few weeks. Now we have to work on planting grass and bringing in sand for the beach area. The pond has been a great addition, Koda definitely thinks so!! :) She's already been swimming several times! Ben also enjoys it, from the several deer tracks that are visible all around the pond to the big burm that he gets to ride the quad on. He's outside working the land and making our yard beautiful as we speak. We are all loving life! :) 

23 Weeks

It has been awhile since I last posted a belly shot, so here you go. I definitely have a preggo belly now!!! Strangers now notice the belly and I am already being told that it looks like a basketball and that it is all belly. I'm glad to hear that! :) I hope they're right. No stretch marks on the belly, yet, but they say that they can start to show up any week now, if they are going to show up.

As for the development of the baby, the baby currently weighs just over a pound and is more than 11 inches long. Blood vessels are developing in the lungs to prepare the baby for breathing and the baby can now swallow (hiccups are common in babies so those could begin to happen also). Eyelids, eyebrows, and eyes are in place and developed as well as the baby's lips and teeth buds (which are underneath the gums). It is all such a miracle!!

In a final note, I have been feeling the baby move/kick for about 5 weeks now, but just last week Ben was able to finally get a feel!!! Yea!! He keeps trying to feel more movements, but the movements are still unpredictable (although it does move a lot more often...I just don't know quite when it will happen). I am excited for the movements to get more noticeable to everyone else so that others can feel the movements, too. Last night I laid down on the couch and I felt the entire baby on my left side and then I had to gently push it back in the middle...it was wild!! I hear from others that this definitely gets more and more noticeable...I can't wait! 

Puerta Vallarta

Our trip to Puerta Vallarta was great!!! It went by too fast (like most vacations do), but we sure had a lot of fun while we were there. The weather was perfect everyday and my belly even seemed to become pregnant looking while we were there!! We got down there on Wednesday and still had time to get some sun, which was nice. Then on Thursday, Ben and Jeff went on the Canopy Tour (rip-cording through the jungle), while the rest of us did some little shopping and got some more sun. Friday we all went on a snorkeling trip to the Mariatas Islands. On the way to the islands, Ben, Renee and I all got sick (no fun...). When we finally reached the islands, Ben seemed to recover pretty well and managed to go snorkeling with the group, but Renee and I stayed back. The water was pretty rough looking, so I thought that I would not have the energy to snorkel in that kind of situation. I don't think I missed much. We took some great photos on this island, too, which will be great to hang on the wall. Saturday, the group (excluding myself) went to downtown Puerta Vallarta to do some shopping and sightseeing. I stayed behind (my ankles were swollen from the two previous days) and laid out in the sun!! I loved the relaxation! Sunday we spent the entire day traveling home. We travelled with Jeff and Renee and at our connector flight in Dallas, we had to go through customs. We were very short on time and just made it to our flight. We lost Jeff and Renee at customs, so Ben got on the plane and tried to stall putting his luggage up and I got us all food and tried to stall the plane some more...to no avail. They were even calling "Britta Spitzley...Last call" and told me that my friends were not going to make the flight...ugh! So needless to say I felt horrible about this, but I guess the Owen's got on a later flight (though having to wait 4-5 more hours in Dallas...sorry guys). So that was a crazy event to end the trip. Overall, the food was excellent and the company was better!! We will definitely need to do another trip in the future.