25 weeks: Pop-Tarts and plenty of kicks

I was reading on The Bump's second-trimester message board the other day and someone asked what people "know" about their child so far. It got me thinking about Collin, and at 25 weeks, I feel like I have gotten some hints about his
in-utero personality. It's amazing what you can discern about someone the size of an eggplant that you can't see and have only known for going on six months.

Most remarkable to me is from this point forward, he could viably live outside of me. It's such a relief to have gotten him this far, and we've got 15 weeks left. Go, Truffle, go!

Among the things I know: Collin likes strawberry Pop-Tarts. (I know, I am a terrible influence, but it's not like I said I was going to feed them to him when he's older.) He's also big on guava juice (it makes him dance), grapes, chocolate milk, applesauce, Taco Delites from Tijuana Taco (which my mom brought me when she came to clean my bathroom, thus proving that grandmas-to-be rock) and low-fat cream cheese on crackers. He's not so fond of tomato-based sauces or anything spicy (which would explain why I am watching a segment about curry on the Food Network and cringing), and he's still iffy on pineapple. (That being said, I'd venture to guess that if his mother had an iota of self-control and didn't eat, oh, say, half a pineapple at once, it would cause less heartburn.)

He tends to kick the most when I first wake up and when I'm trying to sleep. If I don't get up and feed him promptly, the kicks get harder. He seems to know his daddy's voice, and will drift toward whatever side Chris is talking on. He seems to think all applause is for him, and will perform accordingly, as I found out while covering swimming last weekend and felt him doing half-pikes in my uterus.

Regardless of the fact that I haven't slept through the night in months, my energy level is at its highest since becoming pregnant. I am taking advantage of it by baking, baking, baking, and working around the house to not only get his room ready, but the guest room, too, because three of my friends are coming for my shower next month. It means a lot to me that they would come all this way (from Kansas, Florida and Texas) to get rained on and watch me slobber over my once-a-week trip to Starbucks. None of them have been here before, so I think it will be a blast to take the Washington tour (as long as we don't really have to go to Forks). I've never actually been to the Space Needle, and it's been years since I've been to the ocean. And of course, we'll visit the mothership: Nordstrom's flagship store. (Hey, I still fit into shoes!)

As for Collin's room, Chris will be painting the room soon and then we'll assemble everything and decorate. I am really excited to see how it all looks. His wardrobe continues to grow (recent additions: socks in various colors from Old Navy, a yellow hooded coat from Baby Gap and a green-and-white striped outfit with an alligator saying "chomp" on it from Macy's). I'm on the hunt for an outfit for him to wear to my sister's wedding in July, and much to Chris' chagrin, am enamored with plaid pants and a matching white polo with a plaid collar. I suspect he thinks I am trying to turn our child into a J. Crew catalog. What can I say? I love my argyle.

It is a lot of fun to feel him moving around throughout the day, and I call him my reporting partner when I'm out freelancing. Who needs Clark when you can have Collin? (He's a strange visitor, too!) I have become The Olympian's swimming guru and wrote four stories last week, including spending two days at the King County Aquatic Center covering the boys state swimming and diving championships. It's been a long time since I wrote on deadline, and I'd forgotten what an adrenaline rush it is. (Someone kicking my kidneys was a little distracting, though, not that I'm naming names.)

Being a former swimmer, I have a lot of fun writing about a sport I not only love, but totally understand (the fact that one of the coaches is insanely hot doesn't hurt, either) and it's nice to see such genuine excitement about being in the newspaper. I can't even count how many times I have been thanked by the coaches and the swimmers for writing about them. Back when I was swimming the 200 individual medley and the 100 breaststroke in high school, the media could have cared less about us. And considering that the last sport I covered was college football, it's nice to work at the other end of the spectrum -- with people who don't expect to get any attention and want to talk to you.

I have to admit, I kind of feel like a rock star.

Make that a knocked-up rock star who smells like chlorine.