20-Weeks Pregnant!

Happy one-week-until-Christmas Monday! I'm 20 weeks pregnant today and truly can't believe we are halfway there. I finally have a little bump and am so excited. I want to look at it all the time! :) 

We have an ultrasound in two weeks and I cannot wait to see how much our little babe has grown since the last one. I thought I'd answer this fun pregnancy questionnaire to track the journey.

Maternity clothes? I have one pair of maternity jeans and leggings from H&M. They are a dream! They don't stay up very well yet, but I am sure the day is quickly coming when they will. 

Sleep: Better than ever - other than crazy, crazy dreams. 

Best moment this week: Watching Chris say hi to the baby in the morning when we wake up. My heart.

Movement: None yet! I cannot wait to feel it! 

Food cravings:  Clementines, limes, lemon, vinegar - anything acidic. Also pretzels and cheddar cheese.

Food Aversions: Strong flavors like cumin, garlic, onion, etc. Also greasy foods. 

Gender: We will known in 20 weeks!

Labor Signs:  No, thank goodness!

Pregnancy Symptoms:  Oh yes. Lots of emotions, some hormonal headaches and just a TON of energy all the time. I am loving it!

Belly Button in or out? In! 

What I miss: A margarita! And sleeping on my back.

What I am looking forward to: Meeting our baby. I cannot even wait!!

Upcoming appointments/events:  20-week ultrasound coming up after Christmas!

Milestones: My bump finally showing!! It's making me so happy.

Love Your Little

In the early days of The Letter Project, when it was just me and the handful of women who instantly bought in to this crazy idea, I adopted the mantra of loving my little.

You see, it would be easy, in our social media-dense world, to compare our small tribe to the thousands of followers other women have. It would be easy, in our fast-paced, instant-growth, overnight-celebrity culture to feel like our progress is too slow, or, on some days, even stagnant.

But, I decided last fall that I wouldn't - I couldn't - play this game. I had to learn to love my little. 

I want to genuinely love every woman who has agreed to be part of this. Not because she makes our cause bigger, but because she is one single human who is making the world a little brighter by writing a letter to a girl in need. 

I want to love every, $20, $10 and $5 donation. Not because they give me more money, but because someone, somewhere decided to support us in a way that felt significant to them. And that matters. 

I want to love 200 writers just as much as the 1,400 writers we have now. And, if the day comes when we have thousands of writers, I want to love all of them - no more or less than I did the original 15 who signed up. 

I want to love my little because, otherwise, I might be tempted to let numbers drive this project, as opposed to purpose.

I want to love my little because little is beautiful. Also, my little might be someone else's big. And guess what?

Your little might be really big to me. That's the beauty in loving your little - it gives you perspective. It helps you recognize and appreciate how much you really have. 

These days, I'm loving my little beyond The Letter Project, too. I love the little house we just bought. It might be tiny to you, but it's just right for us.

I love the little family we are creating. It sure looks small next to my sisters' four and five babies, but, right now, it's exactly the size we are supposed to be. 

I'm loving our little left and right and, as we press through this season of more (gifts! activities! sugar!), I hope you, too, can find ways to love your little each and every day. Because you, my friend, and your little, are beautiful.

Be Kind to Yourself Today

I've always been a structured person, which has, at times, led to seasons of rigidity. One of the greatest lessons of my 20s was learning flexibility. Being flexible with my diet, my exercise routine, my to do list. The decade taught me balance and healing. I learned that - for me - being healthy meant learning to move with the rhythm of the world around me, as opposed to gripping rules, always thinking I knew better.

Letting go of rigidity also meant learning to be more gentle with myself. It meant giving myself grace and trusting that I was good enough - no changes needed. This was one of the hardest parts of the equation. You mean I don't have to do good to be good? 

Winter, I think, calls for extra gentleness. The weather is harsh, the daylight is shorter. It's harder on our bodies (the dry skin! the chapped lips!). The season often lends itself to less playfulness and more hibernation. 

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The days will start getting longer in 15 days. Can you tell I'm counting? In the meantime, as they continue to shorten, I'm practicing extra gentility with myself.  I'm remembering that some days call for hard workouts, while others call for a little more sleep. Some days call for kale and cucumbers, and still others for hot chocolate and popcorn. 

What would practicing extra gentleness look like for you today? An extra-hot, long shower? Walking slowly home from work with a podcast, instead of rushing through the motions? Early to bed with a book? A seasonal latte? Buying flowers for yourself? Burning the good candle and opening the good wine, just because? 

I've found that we women sometimes need extra permission to treat ourselves well. If you're of that mindset, let me give you the permission: enjoy the long shower. Buy the flowers. Drink the wine. 

Soak in the goodness of your life, not because you've earned it but because you - inherently you - deserve the good. 

{life updates}

Hi! I received so many requests yesterday for the grain-free pot pie recipe I posted on my Insta story. I thought I'd add a link here to make it easier for everyone to find.

This is the crust I used. This is the recipe I used for the innards. I vary this portion of the recipe each time:

• Sometimes I add peas instead of broccoli
• Sometimes I use butter instead of coconut oil.
• I always add celery
• I always double the vegetable quantity it calls for.
• I leave it topless because we prefer a high innards to crust ratio.

Chris thinks it's funny when I say innards, so I also like to try and say it as much as possible while making it. It's worth noting that this recipe is relatively time consuming. I typically make it on Sunday afternoon so I'm not in a rush. 

Beyond loving pot pie :) life in Virginia has been good so far. We're still living with my parents as we renovate and plan to move to our new house in early January. The house has been a huge learning experience for us and we're so grateful for all of the time, energy and support my parents have poured into it. 

I'm 18 weeks pregnant and the baby is the size of a sweet potato. Ah! I'm loving being pregnant. I feel so grateful to be carrying this baby and so excited to meet him or her in May. We aren't finding out the gender, which a lot of people think is crazy. :) I find it crazy that we're almost halfway through this pregnancy. It's flying by when I think about it as halfway over, but inching by when I remember I have to wait another 22 weeks before the baby comes. 

Now that I'm well into the second trimester, I have so much energy. I'm sleeping like a rock every night, but feel like I'm on a caffeine high all day. Some people say that means it's a boy. But who knows :)