Yay, December

Welcome to December...it sure does feel like these past few months are flying by! This pumps me up for several reasons; one of which is we go to NC at the endish of the month (yay!). Until then, Daniel will be working his tail off with holiday related things for the many different age groups he works with, and I'll be doing the clinical dietitian thing. And I'm happy to report that 1 week down working in a hospital and I didn't get thrown-up on and I didn't pass out. I believe that is worth celebrating.

This past week, I turned 24 and got so many messages of "happy birthday"- and I thank everyone who did that!! It made me feel very special. I got a very cute and long-thought about gift from Emily and Grayson and I'm wearing it in the following picture:) Really, I've come to learn that an apron may serve its best function as a pregnant lady bib; I swear, I've never left so much of a meal or snack behind on my chest, belly, and lap. This should make me look cuter as i swirl further into slob-dom. :)

I also got a bunch of my hair cut-off and am sporting the chopped look.... I was surprised by how much it didn't phase me to cut off so much. It still makes me chuckle that I really didn't feel remorse over loosing the inches...

As a side-note, despite what it may seem, I'm not that in to posting so many pictures of myself. But, I want to be able to include my family (and friends) in the growth, the changes, the daily life kinda stuff. Just thought I'd put it out there!

Ultrasound and ultracute

It seems that with every passing week, Jacob becomes less of an abstract and more of our son. This week featured a trip to the doctor where we looked at our beautiful baby boy once again. Last time when we were there, the Sonogram tech suggested that we might need another ultrasound if our boy didn't cooperate for all the right measurements. Who are we to disagree? This also meant that Jacob's paternal grandmother got a chance to see him in action. Well, to be perfectly honest, there wasn't a lot of action, only the occasional yawn and the always fun pushing on mom's bladder. The tech reported happily that all grown was on-track and healthy. What a relief! I'm slowly becoming aware of the toll parenting takes on one's nerves.

The thing I couldn't help but notice again and again is how much significantly bigger he was this week verses 3 weeks ago. His hand is probably 2x the size it was before, and the definition around his face and head stands out.

Here his is in profile. You can see, in comparison to previous posts, that his skull is denser, his nose is more pronounced, as are his lips and chin. While his eyes won't open for another few weeks, his mouth can open and close, it's very cute.

We also got an upclose look at his heart which has grown to where you can see each of the four chambers each with specific function. The miracle of creation is truely humbling.

Here's another, staring him in the eyes. All you can really see is his head, and perhaps his fist, but I think he is smiling! I know I am.

And, as any good husband, here's pictures of my ever-growing wife .

Reporting everyone happy and healthy in Az!

-Daniel

Finally Fall

Here in Arizona, I'm thrilled to declare that it's beginning to feel a lot like Autumn. Though the daily high temps still hit somewhere in the mid 80's, the evenings are crisp and the nights require a blanket on our bed! Being that I'm now my mini-furnace self x 2, it's a pretty amazing feat to need a blanket on the bed... I love waking-up snuggled up to your face with the blanket and having just your nose feel a bit chilly.

Other than the "thrilling" weather, there isn't a whole lot else to report:) Jacob is now flying around in circles in my belly and already enjoys some games. His favorite game appears to be moving every little bit of his body when my tummy is covered up and then freezing when we try to see him in action. His other game includes moving on one side of my belly, then waiting until Daniel puts his hand there to kick around on the complete other side. Sneaky little one.

Here's a very silly belly shot at 19 1/2 weeks- this Thursday marks the halfway point in the pregnancy! Truthfully, the belly has grown, but the degree all depends on time of day and how much I've eaten...so, sorry to disappoint (Perhaps Grayson or Emily?:) ) if it doesn't look like there's any drastic change happening yet.

I hope everyone is preparing for a warm and delicious Thanksgiving! I know Daniel's getting prepped for the huge Turkey leg and I'm getting really pumped about fresh cranberry sauce. If you're traveling....good luck and please be safe!

Time for pictures! One by one I'll post them with a bit of fatherly commentary.

First off, here's a picture of my son Jacob's right hand. If you ask me, I think he looks like a Quarterback. Notice the bone strength and the grip- imagine that throwing a 60 yard pass down the right seam, splitting the safeties and catching the reciever in stride.




Ok, here's the picture.





You see what I'm talking about, right there in the middle. Beautiful isn't it?

Ok, picture two. This one is a decent profile of the head. Notice the eyes, the little button nose, and the little chin. His hands are folded. In this picture he looks a bit like a merman, that's because the bottom half of his body is turned around...

As you can tell, he looks quite comfortable. In the beginning of our ultrasound, Jacob was sleeping like this, with his arms crossed. After he woke up, he gave us some more interesting pictures.

It's a boy! I am proud to say that my kid is negative 4 months, and I'm already embarassing him. This picture is of his backside, his frog legs are to both sides. In the middle are his "boy parts" as the doctor told us...

As a point of reference, the two white objects on the left half of the screen are his feet. You can figure it out from there. P.S. He's mooning you.

Ok, that's enough for now. Thank you all for your love and support. Jacob feels very loved.

We will be posting another picture of Ashley soon as she is growing.

It's A....

It's a BOY!! If you guessed that, pat yourself on the back because you were completely in the minority:)
His name is Jacob Daniel and he is on schedule to arrive about April 10th. He is extremely wiggley, making it tough for the ultrasound woman to get the images as clear as the doctors like them...which will allow us to have another ultrasound experience on November 30th!! As of now he's chilling wayy down low and though we didn't get a good profile view, we did see him yawn and have the hiccups!
Pictures to come soon!!

A slight delay

Just an FYI: We received a call from the doctor's office to explain they didn't have an ultrasound technician working tomorrow (Monday). So, it looks like we'll have to wait all the way until Tuesday afternoon to learn what we'll be calling our baby ....... :)

Poll time

We're at about 16 1/2 weeks...and there finally some belly changes! In addition, tomorrow we get to hear our baby's heartbeat again and then one week from tomorrow (on Nov 5) we'll know whether we're having a girl or a boy! That is, we'll know as best as possible until our baby is born :)

So, what do you think: is it a girl or boy?

Other than awaking a few nights ago because of a 'twitch' in my stomach and the occassional twinge or bubble, everything is pretty boring (in a good way I suppose). Though, I can't wait until I can feel some kicks and Daniel can join in on the fun!