Preggo Diaries: 17 Weeks Bring Dreams and More Baby Shwag!

OK, let's get the update part out of the way: Your baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and she's around 5 inches long from head to bottom. She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop.

So, I had two extremely odd dreams this week (so far). First, I must have gotten hot one night while I was sleeping. I ended up taking off my shirt. In the dream I was having, I was at school without a shirt on. I had a hooded sweatshirt hung over my back, with the sleeves covering Emma and Phoenix (yes, my boobs are named after X-Man characters, laugh away, my husband is a terrible influence on me). The whole time I'm walking around the school, I'm extremely uncomfortable because everyone is talking about my blatant lack of shirt. I keep readjusting the sleeves as if it will help. Meanwhile, the part of my brain that isn't dreaming but isn't awake is yelling at dream me to just put the F-ing shirt ON! Maybe that dream is not odd to anyone else, but it was to me. The second dream, at least the part I remember, was very short. I was at school and saw a student who is not longer our student since he's gone back to jail. This is the same student who stole iPods off my desk! I see him walking around and I notice that he has essentially grown a mullet, pulled it back into a pony tail, and then shaved the rest of his head. So basically, he's grown a very long pony tail, but shaved the rest of his head. I keep chasing him around the school, trying to figure out why he's there and telling him to get out. Weird dreams are supposed to be common now I guess. I don't know if they are weirder than normal, or if I'm just remembering the weird parts. Maybe both of these dreams have something to do with feeling a lack of control. Feel free to debate.

In other news, Aaron and I went home last Saturday to see family. Cousin Annie was turning 4, so we celebrated at Chuck E. Cheese's. I'm saying this now and if I ever re-nig on this, my readers are obligated to remind me: NEVER, EVER have a party at Chuck E. Cheese's. It is a cesspool of screaming, whining, unsupervised germ-breeders. Need free birth control? Stop in there and just absorb the environment. Children are not so cute when they are pitching a fit because they can't make the helicopter ride go up. I had the most fun, however, watching little Evy plugging coins into various games and yelling "I stopped it!" when we lights/wheel/contraption would stop moving and spit out tickets. She was not a high roller, but she had some fun. There was this creepy older lady there who seriously looked like she was playing slots at one of those drop-in-the-coin-to-see-how-many-other-coins-fall-off machines. I think that lady made a killing, but she probably spent a butt-load too! I love their security measures too. I think it's smart to stamp kids and parents and make sure they match up before they leave, but Aaron and I speculated about the glory associated with "running the velvet rope" at Chuck E. Cheese's.

We have plenty of new baby shwag after the trip home. Granny Joan and Grampy Tim bought the baby a couple of bibs and a little Carter's set. Grandma Shelly, Grandpa Rick, Aunt Kira, and Uncle Trey bought the baby a cute little onesie with frogs and a cuddly frog blanket. Then Stephanie and I went out to Babies R Us, where she bought Kiddo a cute little hooded set and I found a bunch of the Amy Coe skull set on sale, buy one get one free! I know, skulls are very much "boy," but they were too precious to pass up. Boy or girl, Kiddo is going to be a bad-ass! I also found a couple of sets at Target and bought myself some "Assets," aka. pregnancy Spanx to wear to Tonya's reception and Mockster's wedding.

Now for pictures. I'll try to post a pic of the belly again soon. It's getting bigger, that's for sure. Still sometimes hard to believe that I'm preggo. Sometimes, Kiddo reminds me with a little tap though. I live for those feelings.