Day ~173

You know those pokes I was telling you about last week? Well, it seems that Miss Belly gained some strength over the weekend, because the pokes are now full-on jabs and kicks! Happy birthday, daddy! We were on the couch a few nights ago, with his hand and arm resting across my belly, when suddenly my stomach jumped and DTB's hand actually moved from the impact! She boogied around like that most of the evening, and I was overjoyed that he finally got to interact with this little person.

When we went to bed, I curled up behind him and snuggled my belly against his back - and within a few moments, we were giggling about the kicks she was giving his kidneys. Suddenly, there were really three of us in the room, cuddled together in the dark ...

I've been unpacking my books, after having them boxed up for more than three years between moves. Finally, I have shelves ... I even have an office room that is starting to feel like the library I always wanted. It sounds so cliche, but it was like unwrapping old friends and saying hello. More than a dozen boxes, full of stories that made me hold my breath and words that spun my imagination and ideas that furrowed my brow and lit up my brain ... one of the best moments was unpacking a whole box of books that have been dragged around since I was small - picture books and chapter books that were my world in the sticky-handed summers of childhood. I always said I wanted to save them for my children, and now that's real ... how amazing to put them on a shelf and think about reading them to my own daughter soon!

What else can I tell you little one ... sometimes I worry that I'm not eating enough fruits and vegetables for you, or that I squish you too much when I roll too far over in my sleep, or that I should be reading to you every night or playing Mozart ... I hope I am an attentive enough mommy, and that I can give you everything you need ...