23 weeks and growing

So now I pretty much can't hide my baby bump or use my old excuse "I'm just bloated". I can also tell I'm changing quite a bit because my wonderful husband sometimes stares at my belly with a funny look on his face. I keep telling him it's gonna get bigger, but I don't think he believes me. I have been using a skin toning oil ever since I was about 2 months pregnant. It is called Mother's Special Blend and it is an all natural, no preservative type of oil. I wanted to use something oil based, I did not want to use a lotion. I bought it at a Whole Foods in Austin. The ingredients are Almond oil, Coconut oil, Cocoa Butter and Vitamin E. Joey says it smells like peanuts. I'll let you know if I don't get stretch marks...

We have been paint shopping and trying colors out for the nursery. We started at home depot where we came home with a sample of Whispering Yellow. Then the next weekend we went to Sherman Williams where we came home with two samples,one a dark brown and the other a lighter brown color. I believe we have decided on dark brown on the bottom, a white chair rail and then the light brown on top. The room will be accented with big polka dots in colors that match the bedding, red, blue, green, orange, ect...

Joey felt the baby kick for the first time last night. Baby is growing and kicking a little more each week. I have gained close to 9 pounds now and the baby should weigh 1 pound. The baby's face and body are beginning to look like an infant at birth. All the major organs, except the lungs, are now functioning. The cells that control conscious thought are developing, and the baby becomes much more sensitive to sound and movement. Baby can suck it's thumb and open and close it's mouth. The eyes open between 22 and 24 weeks, so maybe Baby is looking around in there. Baby's heartrate is around 140-150 beats per minute. Also by this stage the baby has developed a cycle of sleeping and waking.