the one you've been waiting for

 In honor of my friend Holly, a pregnant-with-pellet-gun shot (her weapon of choice did not appear to be a pellet gun though). The glee with which I've taken out the ground squirrels/gophers/vermin in our backyard had Rob observing, "You know, I was born and raised in Tennessee, and YOU'RE the bigger redneck." In my defense, he got me the pellet gun for my birthday (because I've wanted one for years). The neighbors are gonna LOVE US!

A few people have asked if we're going to find out if it's a boy or girl, apparently not realizing that, at this late date, it's nearly impossible. Ultrasounds at this stage are like looking through a keyhole at someone standing right on the other side: you don't really get the whole picture, just close-ups of very specific (and small) areas. Since we have no plans to pay out of pocket for an unnecessary ultrasound, I just tell them yes, we are going to find out.

We hope it's really obvious after labor and delivery.

 Post-church, I had on my dress and my new lipstick (story below), and this was the best - well, other than the one at top, of course - in a number of belly shots. I'm TRYING to get a few of these for the friends who ask so nicely, but usually the belly looks cute and my face is a hot mess.

New lipstick: I wanted something brighter than my norm for spring/summer and had Blake with me at the store. I told him my criteria and asked if he wanted to help me pick. We settled on a red, and he chose the brightest red of the bunch. I picked one shade lighter, grabbed a liner to go with it, and put it on when we got home. WOW. I've never been a shrinking violet, but I've also never been much of circus clown. I asked B what he thought, and he smiled shyly and said, "You look really pretty, Mom."

Well, okay. I'll wear it forever now. And I've learned that with bright lipstick and painted nails on a woman who talks with her hands... people look almost anywhere but my eyes when I'm talking anymore. The lips are especially distracting, and the power is intoxicating!

 We had a gully-washer of a rain storm the other day, and this one gutter nearly flooded our back yard in a matter of moments. Definitely getting a rain barrel for it, because damn. That's a lot of water.

 Blake has three cavities! /groan

Today was his first ever filling, and he did pretty great. There were some tears, mostly because it was so foreign and scary, but the dentist and her assistant were wonderful and reassuring and very verbal, and I had his music in his headphones and his hands in mine. Whole thing took about 30 minutes from walking in to walking out, and he was disappointed that he didn't have a shiny silver tooth to show for it. Next week we have two more, so hopefully he learns what I did: take good care of your teeth so you don't have to get those very often.

The umbrella. He really didn't like the pinchy thing that grips your tooth, and other than still noticing that pinched feeling afterward, he was entertained by how puffy his lip seemed despite not being puffy at all. Ah, Novocaine.