this week's adventures...

Okay, I am NOT complaining, but I have to say; I feel like I have been in the middle of some kind of weird social experiment the last couple of days. It really is true that people get so excited about pregnancy that they completely lose their ability to filter their thoughts before they commit them to words. For instance, no less than two people (in two days) have told me that they can see my pregnancy...in my face! And I don't think they were talking about my glow. And then a counter clerk at Sprouts told me that I look "5 months pregnant". Of course I said thank you and I am definately not trying to hide pregnancy...in fact, I am constantly negotiating the fine line between wanting to flaunt it (by wearing maternity clothes whether I need them or not) and still trying to hide the fact that I am pregnant from my clients. But still, who wants to hear that their face is the first to show? And I am a little concerned about what I might look like when I am 9 mo. pregnant if I am already looking 5...has anyone ever looked 11 months pregnant?...I guess we might find out! That over-zealous clerk even told me that she predicts I am having a boy (Caleb was all to happy to hear that) because when SHE was pregnant with HER son, she showed "all over" but only showed in her tummy with her girl. THANKS. So I really love being pregnant, and aside from trying not to turn "eating for two" into "eating for two linebackers" the comments really don't bother me...it is just amazing to me that people make them. Anyway so much for the social experiment. Honestly I don't think I have gained very many actual pounds. (I will find out tomorrow at my appointment). Here are some pictures so you can see for yourself. PLEASE, someone who loves me-let me know if I really need to tone down the quesadilla consumption. Until then, I will assume that my new friend was just misguided. She also called me beautiful....maybe after she realized what had come out moments earlier!

So that's that. I really am showing. I do think more than usual for 11 weeks. I just got my fit pregnancy update for the start of my 11th week so here are all the new nuggets I have since learned about our little one. He has a noggin that still makes up for 50% of his body mass and his liver and kidneys are starting to work. Apparently "work" means that he now pees...The miracle of this whole thing is so amazing, and yucky...I'll spare you the details. I am learning so much about pregnancy...and they call me a pregnancy "specialist"...I just figured out that I have a lot to learn in my chosen trade. My hope is that my own pregnancy and parenting experience will make me a much better pregnancy counselor, but so far it just seems to make me more emotional! Speaking of babies...I have had some amazing work stories in the last two weeks and extra opportunities to hold beautiful newborns. One even made me start hoping for a girl!

Caleb is still on a wee bit of a health kick-which is great and fully supported by his wife of course-except he tends to be a bit extreme when he sets his mind to something. I'm not sure if you knew that, Becky! So far, I have seen calorie-counters, colon cleansers, at least 8 different "healthy" teas, and a few new recipies that I don't think we will be recommending including his Kei Lime/Avocado pie which although is "all natural health food" still has approximately 4,000 calories in it. We decided that all those calories are "good fats" that are really only good for you if you are a vegan who doesn't eat enough protein and walks to work everyday. It has been quite entertaining for me and several friends as we watch my husband shed a few pounds. In Caleb's defence, he has never told me that my face is fat! And come to think of it, I have heard not one person comment on his fat face in recent days...hmmm... maybe there is something to avocado pie after all.

Fields holiday at home

We have had a great holiday! It was quiet as we stayed in the SW so I could be on call for work and Caleb could help out with our Christmas services at church. We spent what hopefully will be the only Christmas for some time without family present. Thankfully we have great friends in AZ who allow us to crash their parties as long as Caleb is willing to make his famous cheesecake. Aside from having a great time with our friends, we also got a very important lesson about not planning too many holiday parties into one day! As of yet, we had not learned this lesson since the sides of our families live too far away (when we are in the NW) to travel to both in one day. So I am sure that many of you can relate when I say that I am thankful to learn, before baby comes, that planning for our personal Christmas at home and two different parties for the same day is just a little taxing. It wouldn't have been so bad except we left the first party a little late to get to the second party...and on the way I remembered that I was supposed to bring a veggie tray to the second party. Which I completely forgot about since baby is not yet craving broccoli and of course there are no grocery stores open on Christmas. Thankfully, we were quickly forgiven and I blamed the whole thing on "pregnancy brain." So aside from working and playing this Christmas and New Year, we made time for a little "nesting." Here is just a quick update since the last post about the growing Fields family this holiday season.

There really is something to the idea of nesting. Not that we have a choice. I mentioned in my last post that we have to purge our tiny house of a lot of very important accumulations so that we can use one of our three bedrooms as a nursery. It is astounding how many things you can fill up every available space with until you realize you started out with a purpose for that space in the first place. So here we are...one success ready for publication: We have somehow combined our, once separate two extra rooms, which consisted of an office and a guest room, into one room...which now looks very much like a dorm room. Here is a picture so you can see our handy work with a shoe horn!

We have also found time to be active over the last several weeks! It is a wonderful 70 degrees in Mesa now that we've gotten past our two weeks of actual winter (lows of 35 and highs of 60). I know this sounds like bragging since most of the people reading this are still getting plumitted with snow and ice in the NW, but I promise it will sound nothing like bragging when I am 9 months pregnant this July and it's 120 degrees outside! You can laugh then...

So we are back to our routine of hiking, biking and walking. We decided we could really use an overhall in our activity level since I continue to crave quesadillas (not a pregnancy craving, I have craved these for years) and Caleb has decided that it just isn't cool to have a bigger belly than your pregnant wife! Here are some pictures of our recent conquests: Caleb and Shep even climbed Superstition Mountain on the day after Chistmas, a feat only attained by shear will-power and determination! We were very proud of his 3,700 ft elevation gain that afternoon! I didn't go (thank you, Lord!) mostly because I had to work. Not that I would have attempted anything of the sort...even 9 weeks pregnant...geez guys.

Lastly according to the millions of email updates I am getting from every pregnancy magazine in the world, Baby Fields now has a strong enough neck to lift his/her head up off his/her chest, is still around the size of a shrimp, has facial features, arms and legs, and has started developing the "private" parts (which we are very much hoping he/she does not choose to keep private 10 weeks from now). Speaking of he/she and how annoying it is to keep doing that....Our niece, Isabelle is now firmly convinced that we have a baby girl in here. Of course, she is a girl and has a baby sister, so her spectrom of experience is somewhat limited. I am very excited to find out!

Hope you all had a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year!