Recommendations & a little life/baby update

On our way home from Washington I decided to read a book to make the time go faster (even though we flew haha). I borrowed one from my brother because I heard great reviews about it. And I want to add my own recommendations. The book is called "The Wednesday Letters" and I LOVED it!! It is definitely one of my favorite books. It's a bit slow at the beginning because you have to get to know the characters, but it is SOO worth it in the end. I was crying by the time it finished (ok so maybe it had to do with the pregnancy) because it ended so powerful. If you are looking for a good book to read, definitely check this one out!

Also, I saw a GREAT movie over the weekend. I am sure that everyone has seen it by now because it's a little bit older, but it was my first time. I have been meaning to see it but never got the opportunity. But I am so glad I got the chance! It's the movie "Life is Beautiful" and I highly recommend that too. Beware though because it is really sad, but really powerful. I think my favorite part was the attitude of the Dad. His optimisim no matter the situation reminded me of Richard so much and is something that I love about him! It makes stressful situations so much more managable and better. After watching that movie I decided that no matter my situation (cause jeeze look what situation he was in!) I want to be more optimistic and happy. It really makes all the difference! Life really is BEAUTIFUL! :)
So things here are great! Richard started his first day as a student teacher for the seminary program yesterday and he LOVES it!! He says that the kids are amazing and he couldn't think of anything he likes more! He has three classes which is more than the three full-time teachers have at his school! But he loves it. It is a great experience for him. We are praying that it works out and he is hired but if not, then he is SO glad he got this experience.

Well today I am 17 weeks along and everything is going great! I am starting to feel a lot better and instead of being sick, I am now CONSTANTLY hungry. My normal appetite pre-pregnancy has about tripled! For instance I made pizza on Saturday and I can usually eat only two pieces and I am stuffed. But before I knew it I had eaten 5 and probably could have eaten another one! I eat at least as much as my husband now who always ate at least twice as much as me! I am glad to have my appetite back so I can start gaining some more weight (I only gained 3 lbs in the 1st trimester and have already gained about3 lbs in the 2nd trimester)! I am still really tired but I think that is because little baby is having a growth spurt and putting on some weight. I can also tell that the baby is getting bigger because her/his kicks/movements are getting stronger, a little more frequent and higher! In fact yesterday I swear the baby had hiccups because the kicks were coming at a steady rate and then after about 5 minutes it went to more random thuds! It was so cute!! I am also getting SO excited to find out what we are having in 3 weeks!! I am so ready to start buying, making and getting things ready for the little one but it's hard to do that before we know what the gender is! :) And I CANNOT believe I have 3 weeks until I am half-way done with the pregnancy!! We are also planning a baby-moon which we are really looking forward to! We originally thought about combining our anniversary (in November) with a baby-moon but decided to not combine them to 1. take advantage of two different excuses to get away 2. and considering I will be about 27 weeks pregnant at our anniversarywe thought it would be smarter to do it sooner when I am not as huge & uncomfortable! I am way excited!
So here is the official update from pregnancy websites:
"Baby's skeleton is hardening, changing from rubbery cartilage to bone, and fat is finally accumulating around it. His umbilical cord is getting thicker and stronger, and those little fingers and toes now feature one-of-a-kind prints."

So like I said above, life is great! Sorry I talk about the baby so much. But my "full-time job" is preparing and getting things all ready for baby so it's on my mind a lot. I know I have awhile, but I wanted to start now so I can slowly get things done (because let's be honest I already get pretty worn out) rather than have to do a lot of stuff right before the baby comes! I'am so excited.