Eat, sleep, eat, sleep, eat........

....and sleep some more!  That's about all I'm up to lately!  As I type this, it's about 10:45am EST, and I am yawning.  This is after breakfast and a little coffee, and I'm ready for a nap.  They say you get more energy in the second trimester, and I am hoping that's true as we approach the end of this first trimester, because I could really use it.  I've said this many times, but I feel even more tired than those days before the wedding when I was working out around 3 hours a day between biking, elliptical/running, and strength training.

We have had a great first week in the DC area, though it is strange to be back here.  We've gotten to visit some of our favorite restaurants, including a life-saving (yes LIFE-SAVING) trip to Chick-fil-A on Saturday which was heavenly, and the weather has been great.  On Friday night we went to Texas de Brazil, which was great, except it was a little sad to have to ask for well-done meat.... such a crummy thing to do to such wonderful cuts of meat!  The staff there was SO great about accommodating me, though I would have much preferred to eat the still-moving pieces of meat on Chris's plate.  Oh well, small sacrifice.

We did one "tourist-y" thing on Saturday - we went to the Washington Monument and went inside to the top.  It was on our list of things to do before we left DC last year, but tickets were always sold out.  It was cool to see the different views of DC from 550 feet in the air.  Here are a few pictures:

The White House

Lincoln Memorial and Reflecting Pool

Jefferson Memorial

Capitol Building and National Mall

It was very cool to look down from the Monument on the spot where we watched the fireworks a year before getting married.  Very cool.

We spent the rest of Saturday down at the outlets in Potomac Mills where we both picked up a few clothing items.  I got a few more "transition" pieces, which was great because almost none of my bottoms fit!  I was telling both of our moms last night that I weighed myself on the scale in the gym here last night, completely terrified, but then so happy to see that I have barely gained a pound!  But, HOW is it that I have gained little to nothing, yet my clothes don't fit?!  I realize there is a person growing in my belly, but this person only weighs an ounce right now!  My honest best guess is that I am losing a lot of muscle tone.  Before the wedding, I was definitely doing intense strength training a few times a week.  Thank you, LIZA, for taking me to 24-Hour Fitness while we were in Texas and taking me to the 24 S.E.T. class there.  It completely changed the way I did my strength training, and I was incredibly proud of the results I got from it.  And I was not ashamed of this pride.  Right around the wedding is the ONLY time in my life where I could say that I was TRULY happy with my body.  I wasn't concerned with losing or gaining, I was just very satisfied.  I could put on a bikini and feel confident.  So when I went to the gym for the first time in almost 8 weeks yesterday and got on the elliptical for 20 minutes at loser pace, I realized how much I miss that gym time.  While I would pick our baby over my body any day, I can't help but be a little sad to watch certain parts of my body change, but as I told our moms last night, its all worth it, and I know I would and will do it many times over.

Overall, I'm still feeling pretty good, just very tired and very hungry.  Most days I sleep in until 8:30 or 9 since we've been here, and I still need a nap around 3!  I have also figured out that I have my own version of morning sickness, but I'm not nauseous really ever.  Later in the afternoons, I don't feel my best, but its a feeling that I usually describe as "icky-ness."  Its the feeling you get when a cold is coming on.  Your throat feels lousy, your head hurts almost like a sinus headache is coming, and you're tired.  I think part of this is my struggle lately to be extra hydrated.  The tap water here tastes less than wonderful, which may be due to my "off" taste buds (or its just the gross Potomac River), but I can tell I haven't been quite getting the fluids I usually get, so I've been trying extra hard, and started including some V8 VFusion juice, which also has servings of fruits and veggies in a glass, and no added sugar or high fructose corn syrup, so its not bad, and its goes down easily.

Chris of course is handling everything like a champ, even though he is so tired at the end of the day when he gets back from his class.  He gets back, and then we immediately leave for dinner.  He is so very good to me, always willing to drop whatever we're doing if we're out and I get a hunger attack, or offers to walk Bailie if I'm not feeling well at night.  At least for now (he always laughingly says to remember that we still have a long way to go), he is the pregnant woman's dream husband!  And Bailie is doing well too.  We got her a toy squirrel yesterday since real squirrels are the one thing that she tries to chase at home.  So we found one that squeaks at Petsmart.  Here are some pictures of her with her new love/hate, Mr. Squirrel:

And then there was the other day when I didn't see Bailie in her usual spots, either on her bed, or beside my side of the bed, and I found her here, IN our bed:

You can't get mad at her because she just looks at you as if to say, "what? I was just taking a nap, no big deal, aren't I cute?"  I usually laugh and then tell her to get down and she does it.

Well, we're almost through the 11-week count.... can't believe it.  Before we know it we'll be in the teens.  Everyday I am so in awe of how blessed we are, and no matter how I am feeling, I am SO thankful for every day and every little symptom.