Today is my 26-and-a-half-th birthday. It’s Kitty’s eight. M. turned 25-and-a-half a couple of days ago. We have been together for half a year this week and I’m halfway through my pregnancy. I’m tired of people who react snotty when I tell them I’m pregnant while M. and I have been together for only six months. But I know I’ve been skeptical of similar situations in the past, so I suppose I deserve their disapproving looks. I just know that this feel right to me and I’ve never been happier with my life. I’m equally tired of unasked for, false advice. Why is it that everyone acts like they’re an expert on pregnancies? And why is it that so many people seem to think that alcohol is okay, even good for the baby? If I have questions, I’ll ask the midwife or someone I trust to know what they’re talking about, not some random person, kthanx.

I’m so incredibly tired. All I want to do is chill in bed with the laptop with food and my knitting within reach. I don’t know what tires me the most, the pregnancy, the mindless work or the allergies. It’s really hard to find something that I’m allowed to take that actually works for my allergy to pollen now that I’m pregnant.
Only three weeks and two days left untill my vacation begins. I cannot wait!

Here’s my first handknit fo for my little baby boy. It’s the Gooseberry Hat. Because everyone who knit it on Ravelry said it turned out big, I cast on 80 stitches instead of 96 and adjusted the pattern from k12, p12 to k10, p10. I think it’s a nice sized baby hat now. I used about half a skein of my favorite yarn, Lana Grossa Cool Wool 2000 in light gray.

At 19 weeks and 1 day. Excuse me for the lopsided scans!

Yesterday was the long awaited appointment for our second ultrasound. I was a little nervous because just like when I go for a check up to the dentist and my teeth start to hurt a couple of days in advance, I hadn’t really felt the baby move in a day or two, so I was worried something might be off. Turns out it is just a little trickster, because the ultrasound showed us that it was doing just fine and even M. felt the baby kick through my belly for the first time afterwards. Throughout the ultrasound I couldn’t stop looking at the facial expressions of the midwife, sometimes she looked worried, but I suppose she was just concentrating on her work because she assured us that everything looked normal and all measurements came up fine. After a while it became pretty obvious what the sex of our baby is; we’re having a baby boy! Ha! I’m so happy to be in-the-know now, now I can go out shopping without having to worry I’ll buy the wrong things. And M. and I really need to work on finding a boys name we both like. We have one in mind already, but it didn’t stand out as much as the girls name we had picked out, so maybe something else will pop up that we’re both wild about.
And then there’s still the ongoing dilemma of the last name…

I will post the pictures of the ultrasound as soon as possible, I’ll have to ask M. to scan them once he finds the time.

Yesterday we went to Burgers’ Zoo in Arnhem. Check out the pictures at my Flickr Photostream!

I can’t even remember how long it’s been since I’ve finished a pair of handknit socks. It must have been my Jaywalkers some time last year. Since then I’ve knit a handful of singles, but I couldn’t find the patience for another pair. Untill now! A complete pair of no-purl Monkeys, featuring my first attempt at a picot edge. Made from a skein of Classic Elite Alpaca Sox color #1835 Spring Green. I have some yarn left over and am considering to use it for a pair of baby socks.

One pair down, four more to go to complete #018 of my 101 in 1001 list.

We’ve been living together for almost three months now and I still get the treatment of a princess. I’ve never been happier in my life and that kind of scares me and so I’m coming up with all kinds of doom scenario’s in my head to make up for the good times we’re having now. What if M. gets in a car accident? What if there’s something wrong with the baby? But other than that, I have few troubles, besides coming up with money for our vacation. I don’t know where the money has been disappearing to. It feels like there’s a leak somewhere, I’m working my ass off and there still is a shortage! But I suppose that goes for the majority of us.

I can feel the baby kicking all the time now. Only nine more days untill our second ultrasound which will hopefully tell us if we’re getting a baby boy or girl! I really cannot wait!

I feel like I really need a break. I’m so tired. I have headaches all the time, they’re bordering on migraines and now my allergies start to act up as well due to the hot weather. I have yet to find anything that I’m allowed to take for this that actually works. Plus my arms got a terrible sunburn from working in the sun all day, I can hardly move them now. Ugh. How do you know you’re “listening to your body” instead of being a flunk? I really don’t know how I’m going to make it through the day.

In other news, our bunny Elmo got neutered yesterday. This was necessary for all of us. He’s been acting agressively towards me whenever I give him his daily supply of fresh food and water. Hopefully he will also stop spraying and leave Dixie alone when he’s out of his cage (he tried to mount her several times). So we will all be happier (including M. whose shirts got pissed on in the past, yuck!) and as a result Elmo will be allowed “out” more often. So now it’s my job to give him his prescribed painkillers this week. I succeeded this morning, but in return Elmo almost succeeded in amputating my arm.

Doing last weeks because I don’t like this weeks Friday Five.

1. Whats harder to live without, chocolate or alchohol?
Chocolate, I’m guessing. It’s been a couple of months since I’ve had alcohol and though I miss it and can’t wait to get painfully drunk again once the baby is out, it’s not that hard to skip. Chocolate however, I’m craving all the time.

2. Does the colour yellow remind you of anything?
Of summer and the beach!

3. Who most annoyed you last week?
I’ll have to raise my own hand. I was grumpy and unreasonable.

4. Do you have a cutesy romantic nickname for your partner (or previous partners)?
M and I call eachother “slut” and “hooker”. Sometimes it slips out in public as well. One time I said it when M’s mother was present. Oops!

5. What is your favourite Stephen King movie?
My uncle is a huge fan of Stephen King and I pretty much grew up seeing the movies based on his more scary works like Cat’s Eye and Pet Sematary. But I’ve long outgrown my fondness for horror so now I’d have to say The Shawshank Redemption.