Everett (Middle Name Yet to be Determined) Reese

Kaden talks in this whisper voice sometimes when he wants to tell you something really serious.  One of the most hilarious things he's whispered recently was to his Poppy when we were driving to dinner a couple weekends ago.  Chad and his dad were in the front seat, and Kade and I were in the back.  Out of nowhere, Kaden whispers, "Poppy!  I have a baby sister.  His name is Everett.  He's not ready.  He's still in my mommy's tummy."

We are really working on gender words around here.  Half the time, Kaden still refers to the baby as his baby sister, the other half of the time, he remembers it's a baby brother.  He knows it's a boy baby, but he gets confused as to which is which.  (He does the same thing with gender pronouns.  We'll be out walking, this gorgeous blonde woman will run by, and he'll say, "Oh, look!  He's running.")  

When I was pregnant with Kaden, we could never decide on a name.  We ended up naming him in the hospital after he was born.  This time, we have a first name, but we're still trying to agree on a middle name for the little man.  I feel like we're doing AMAZINGLY well to have a first name chosen.  Everett is a family name.  It was Chad's grandpa's middle name and it is also his brother, Tyler's, middle name.  Even though I had a hard time choosing a name for Kaden, this baby just feels like an Everett, so we've started calling him by his name in utero.

I got a late start with the pregnancy profile shots this time around.  This is the first one I got around to taking at 23 weeks (right after we shot a wedding in Kinston):

And, because I keep forgetting to have Chad take a more updated one, here I am today, self-portrait style, looking smashing at 26 weeks and 4 days:

I feel huge already. I have to have Chad help me put on some of my shoes, and I try to avoid bending over as much as possible.  I need a pedicure badly, but the thought of scrunching over long enough to paint my toes-ies is just a bit overwhelming.  

I have been feeling so much better!  No more puking, which is good, since Kaden was starting to pretend to throw up in the bathroom after watching me do it so much.  I'm even starting to feel less tired.  Still exhausted by the end of the day, but I feel like I can actually accomplish stuff during the day now.

Everett has got to be a billion times more active in utero than Kaden was.  I know part of it is probably because I can recognize what it feels like when the baby moves this time, but that's not all of it.  I'm slightly terrified if he's this energetic after he's born.  I feel like he never stops moving!  A lot of the time he has to be punching and kicking at once, because I feel movement from every direction.  Already you can see my whole stomach moving when he really gets going.  

I have four paint colors on the nursery wall and none of them is right.  We're going to use the same bedding we used for Kaden's nursery, and Kaden is getting a big-boy room redo.  He's not completely cool with this idea yet.  When we mentioned Everett getting his crib, he used his macho angry voice and said, "No he's not!  It's a big boy bed, and he is a baby!" (We converted his crib to a toddler bed shortly after Christmas, so he's convinced it's a big boy bed.)  I'm hoping he'll get so excited about his new room makeover that it will be an easy transition.

Kaden will put his hand on my tummy and pull it away really  quick and whisper, "Oh!  He moved!" even when Everett hasn't moved, and it is seriously adorable.  

Anytime he bumps into my tummy, tosses a ball at it, etc, he says, "Sorry, Everett!"  

We made muffins the other day and we were each eating one.  Kaden said, "Oh, Everett is eating one, too, Mommy!  He likes it!" and pointed to my tummy.  Then he told me the baby in his tummy was eating one, too.  

I feel like we have so much to do in the three months remaining before this baby gets here.  Where did the time go?!?!  AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!