A Clever Title Encompassing Many Topics

Welp, here I am again. I'm a bit sleepy right now, so I think the witty banter might be at a minimum tonight. I know I usually have you in stitches. My apologies.

Last weekend was, of course, Halloween. My sister, Carey, and her husband Greg hosted their annual Halloween party. I stole this picture of us from her blog! Thanks, Carey!

Gerrit was a creepy dude that he called "Death." I did not approve because I don't like ANYTHING scary. He was/is sooooooooooo proud of this mask. Apparently it has been a dream of his to be something scary for a Halloween. The mask is now hanging and staring at me in the very room in which I am typing. I'm not thrilled about this. I was a butterfly. I have not always wanted to be a butterfly, but I really like the purple, feathered, sequined mask....cause, who wouldn't?

In other news, I came home from work a couple days ago to find these waiting for me:
It made me sing, "What a man, what a man, what a man, what a mighty good man...." The note reads:

For My Precious & Loving Wife,
Whom I Love So Dearly
And For Our Beloved Growing Child,
Whom We Are So Anxiously Waiting to Meet.
Love Always,
Gerrit

I could just blush. He's the sweetest. I really don't brag enough about him, but he's pretty awesome. I'd like to keep him.

And in Pregnancy News, this is a picture of me at about 12 weeks on the day we heard the heartbeat for the first time! Now, it may appear to you that I am "showing," but before you make comments about my growing belly, I think this is just the stuff I can't suck in anymore. Proceed with caution! :)

Like I said, that day we got to hear the heartbeat. I was a little worried that maybe I'd just been experiencing a pregnancy-like tumor this whole time. The Midwife got out the doppler tool to hear the heartbeat. It actually took longer to find than I thought it would. She could hear it because she knew what she was listening for. But since Gerrit and I weren't hearing anything, she went to get a more sensitive doppler. And lo and behold, a quick little thumpthumpthumpthump could be heard! The Bean is really in there! It was a pretty surreal experience that I can't quite pin an emotion on. Something like excitement/relief/oh-my-gosh-there's-a-human-in-there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today, I am 14 weeks along. I am officially in my 2nd Trimester (crazy). I am feeling better for the most part. It's really strange how symptoms can be so prominent one day/week and then nearly disappear the next. The symptoms, though very uncomfortable, were at least some kind of confirmation that I am pregnant. So, now that many of them are fading, I'll be anxious to go to our next appointment to make sure it's not a tumor again! :)