9 May: She's becoming a real person to me! (Jen)

Ben's been out of town for a few days, leaving me here to talk to... not myself, but to Sophie! Before Ben left, we were trying on names for our daughter, and the last one we picked was Sophia Grace. So I find myself talking to her a lot, calling her "Sophie". This name may not stick!!! But it's fun for now. It's fun because every once in a while I feel her move and I can pretend that it's in response to our "dialogue". It's strange how having a name for her really helps move her from being a concept to being a person. Another helpful thing for that is her movement. She moves a lot in church, so I can tell that she likes it there -- I think she must like the organ, or when the congregation sings... She moves a lot at night, too. And when I eat more during the day, she kicks more -- less, and she scares me because she moves so infrequently. All of that helps me to imagine that she has a personality -- and therefore a real sense of personhood. Here are some photos of me/Sophie's home that my friend, Melanie, took last night. She also did my make-up and hair.