Another belly picture! Actually it's well past time for another (about 5 weeks since the last one). So without further ado here I am at 22 weeks 4 days.
I don't feel like I look much bigger. But I feel bigger! My belly feels tighter, like it's barely containing all the baby and organs and stuff in there. And my bladder is definitely feeling a change lately. I'm constantly running upstairs to use the bathroom. But that's good. Exercise is good for ya! And our little Lovey is getting stronger too! Some of her kicks are getting almost uncomfortable. But I still love it whenever she wiggles. I don't think I could ever complain about that particular aspect of pregnancy. Of course, I try not to whine about things at all. I've pretty much had the perfect pregnancy (no morning sickness at all)! Besides, what are a few minor discomforts compared to the joy of having a little babe? Man, can you believe I'm going to be a mama in about 4 months?

So, our phone situation has gotten worse rather than better. We are currently unable to make outgoing calls. Which is making getting a hold of customer service really stinkin' difficult. It's stressing me out to no end. I just want my phone to work properly! Is that so much to ask? If this weren't the only VOIP service in our price range I'd be moving on to a different company by now. But I'm making the best of what I've got.

We dined with another family from our ward tonight. Good meal! And good fun (we played Killer Bunnies)! And in addition to milk shakes we had waffle cookies/brownies. Yum! And we were sent home with a huge bag full of food for our freezer (elk steaks, elk roast, deer roast, deer sausage, banana bread, etc.). It's a big blessing because our food budget for the rest of August is all but gone. This stuff is not only going to get us through the next week but well, WELL into September! And Adam loves elk. Plus I feel a lot better eating game than eating farmed meat (yes...I'm "vegetarian" and eat meat...I'm human and weak, accept it and move on). After all, deer and elk lived a nice life in the wild right up until their death unlike factory farm animals. We're having the ward missionaries over for dinner on Wednesday. I felt bad knowing I was going to have to serve them just spaghetti or pancakes or something. But now I can serve them a roast instead!

The most exciting thing that happened this past week was interviewing and hiring my doula! I liked her immediately. And she's got a LOT of experience. She's already been a huge help (clueing me into things I could have never known on my own, like which doctors are the best). There are plenty of reasons to hire a doula. In addition to the normal services a doula provides our doula will be taking pictures for us, and will provide a written account of my labor and delivery to put in our baby book. Plus she'll be "on call" for me two weeks post-partum to help with breastfeeding or whatever. I really wanted a midwife and homebirth for this baby. But once we moved to Medicine Hat that just wasn't an option. I was really down about that for a long time. But now I'm feeling excited and happy again. Knowing I've got her on my support team has made me do a complete 180 in how I think about this birth. I'm actually looking forward to the experience now. I know it will be hard. I know it will be tiring. I know it will be unlike anything I've ever experienced. But I'm not afraid anymore. Plus she's just super nice. She's working with us on the cost and she's easy to talk to. She's got this vibe that's both professional and laid back at the same time. You can see her website here.

I have another prenatal appointment this week. My doula told me that the doc I'm seeing this time is one of the best ones at the clinic so I'm hoping this visit goes better than the rest have. I may not get to choose who delivers my baby but I can make appointments with whomever I'd like. So if I like this doc I'll keep seeing her. I'm also planning on brining a written list of questions along because I'm tired of feeling like I just pop in, give them my weight and pee and head out again. And this time I'm going to ask for a copy of my chart. Seeing as they never tell me anything (like what all they screened my blood for and what the results were, or if I'm gaining too much or too little weight) I'm just going to have to demand that knowledge. I guess I'm just usually too timid to speak up. But my doula encouraged me to go ahead and ask for what I want. She instills a lot of confidence.

I should have a picture to post of our family room this week (and hopefully I'll finish setting up the kitchen too). The family room was clean on Tuesday. But it's been very lived in since then and needs a little tidying.

Cats are funny creatures. At least, our two cats are. Sometimes they seem to meow and meow for no particular reason. You try to love on them and they don't seem interested. But they keep meowing like they want attention. After a bit you start to tune them out because nothing you do seems to satisfy them. It happens every so often. Then there are other times when you realize after 5 minutes of this strange behavior that you're an idiot and they want you to open the basement door so they can get to their food, water, and litter box. Of course...this is all hypothetical. I've certainly never done anything like that...

That's all folks.