Counting Down the 10's

This week is another big week. We are now counting down the weeks until your arrival and we are at 30 weeks or 10 weeks left to go +/- 2 weeks depending solely on you. Tomorrow night at midnight we will also celebrate the end of one decade (the 2000's, referred to as '0#) and we will ring in the new year and decade 2010!

You are still about 17 inches long and a little over 3 pounds. Your brain is starting to look like one, taking on the characteristic grooves and indentations you will eventually see first hand in science class...probably soemtime in middle school. Your brain is starting to take on tasks like temperature regulation, and you are starting to shed the languo you grew many weeks ago leaving you cute and not hairy for your big arrival. :)

The picture on here is a photo of the very first ball used in New York City in 1907 to commemorate the countdown. This year we are spending New Year's Eve with Matt, Kelley and Austin. We are looking forward to having a Mexican Fiesta at their house, watching movies and counting down the end of a good year, great decade and welcoming another!

Merry Christmas Sweetie

Merry Christmas Eve Baby! I have been so busy with holiday preparations that I have not gotten on here to log our 29th week. You are as tall at 17 inches and weigh about 3 pounds. You are within 3 inches of your final birth length/height, but will gain at least double your weight before delivery. We are at 11 weeks before the big D-Day, and as you plump up your little home will start to feel very cramped. I won't be feeling you kicking quite as much in the weeks to come but rather jabs from your elbows and knees. (Looking forward to it, Mommy says sarcastically but lovingly.)

Today is Christmas Eve! I have been making food prepartions nearly all day. Tonight your Dad and I are having brisket, Christmas day we will have turkey with many of the fixings traditionally seen at Thanksgiving, and Christmas night we will be at JD, Stacey and your buddy Owen's house where I will be making a fondue four-course meal. Your system might go into shock over all the different flavors you will experience tomorrow, but rest assured it is not a typical day out here.

Baby Ninja

Baby, you are moving around so much that I have been losing my appetite! You move around like a little ninja and I have now started picturing you wearing a black little outfit. :) haha. You were fiesty on Saturday night at the Medlyn's Christmas party to the point where I had to sit down a couple of times. You would calm down though on occassion and it was pretty loud there at times so I understand why you were moving about.

Yesterday I had a doctor's appointment and everything is still good. We don't have to worry about gestational diabetes, my results came back ok. My blood count was down a little, so I've been recommended to step up my iron intake. The doctor asked me if you were moving around. I laughed and said you were a little ninja in there. When it came time for the doctor to check your heartbeat though, it was pretty funny. You would not sit still long enough for her find it and count the beats, and she said, "You're right, she is a little ninja." HAHA! That's my girl! We did get to hear your strong heartbeats for a few seconds but with the way you've been moving, I haven't felt nervous about how you are doing in there.

Today is your Grandma Susan's birthday! Yesterday was the first day of Winter officially, and the weather forecasters are calling for some snow tonight and tomorrow. I would absolutely love a white Christmas. You'll understand this phenomenon in years to come.

Happy 7th Month! 28th week

This week you are about 2 1/2 pounds and about 16 inches long. I don't have any charming anecdotes to compare you to this week. Looking at a tape measure, 16 inches is pretty long and it makes sense why I can feel you in two different places at the same time. Lately there has been a very small pitter-patter sensation which I've been telling myself is your tiny hands practicing boxing or dance moves. Daddy felt them last night too. You also seem to enjoy story time and last night you seemed to find ways to work yourself into our conversations. Daddy was talking about the new 787 airplane's maiden voyage and you seemed to get excited by this. Will you be a pilot?

You are building your skill list to include blinking this week, along with coughing, sucking, hiccupping, and taking practice breaths that you've learned in the past few weeks. You are also starting to dream thanks to REM sleep. As the month progresses, I should be able to tell more definitively if you are awake or sleeping.

We are a mere 12 weeks away from meeting in person, give or take a few days on either side.

What a Weekend!

Friday night we went to the Red Rock Realty Christmas Party hosted very graciously by Staci & Marc. The house was gorgeous, and the food delicious. It was great to see the agents out of our "normal" settings and to meet their significant others.

Saturday we had some pictures taken in Denver. These pictures (above) were probably some of the last photos of just Jon and I. Some of the photos will be used in our Christmas cards, some are just cute for the two of us since we haven't had pictures taken since being married 4 1/2 years ago, and some show the baby bump signifying the time in our lives. Later, we attended the Hensel Phelps Christmas Party at the Greeley Country Club. Attending this event sober was difficult at best. I am proud to say it can be done, but if you were there you would ask why unless you were prego.
After the program portion I drove our crew over to Old Chicago's and we had quite a late night. It was a lot of fun, and baby you were dancing up a storm inside!

Sunday we started our drive back to the Springs, and had a stop at Johnson's Corner for breakfast and found out we had a screw in one of our tires. Luckily, we were able to get that repaired while we ate. We stopped again in Lakewood to visit with Jess, Damon, and baby Reagan. She is going to be your buddy and she is cute. You and her both seemed to sense each other because she was really good with me, and you would occassionally give me light taps like you were reaching out with your hand to touch her too. I can't wait to watch the two of you play!

New Measurements, Last Week of Second Trimester

We are now into week 27, and this week you will be measured from head to toe. All of the length measurements up to this point were from your crown to your rump. You are about 15 inches long and you are over 2 pounds. Another fun fact: You have more taste bud now than you will have at birth and beyond! (Please don't ask me how the doctors figured that one out because I couldn't tell you.) This may explain why you react differently to certain foods since you can actually taste the difference in foods I'm eatting. This is also our last week in the "fun zone of pregnancy" also known as the second trimester. I feel a little cheated since I was still sick in the Fourth month, so I'm going to cheat the third trimester and make the Seventh month a really good one yet. :) We are about 90 days out from the big day!

What else has been going on out here? Bitter cold temperatures and snow. We finally got a decent snowfall (5 inches)and an Arctic cold blast followed pushing temps below zero. Trust me, stay put for now...I hope you have been staying warm enough when I trek back and forth from inside to outside.

Christmas Joy

We've had a busy week! Tuesday was spent running a lot of errands and sending our holiday postcards for work. Wednesday it was so frigid outside that I did not leave the house and worked on some housework, email catching up and other stuff. It's been many months since I haven't left the house for at least one thing. Thursday I was back out and about even though it was still quite cold out. I worked on my Christmas shopping list and you, Sprout, were moving about that day too! Maybe you are understanding the concept of power shopping and getting your little legs ready. :) Friday we had the office tour mostly around Manitou Springs and lunch out at La Petite Maison. It was very good and perfect portion sizes. Later, I went out to try to get some more shopping done and was successful for the most part. I just have your Aunt Nikki left, and I know what I am going to get Daddy. After that whirlwind of a day I was planning on taking a nap, but Daddy came home shortly after I did and suggested we go pick out our Christmas tree! So we did. By the end of the night our tree was lit and decorated.

Tonight there is a Holiday Light Parade downtown that I'm pretty sure we are going to go to. We will probably watch from Slayton's BBQ, have some dinner, watch the parade and listen to some more live music. This is my favorite time of year and I hope it will become one of your favorite times too. It is so magical and beautiful.

2 Pounds of Love

This is the beginning of our 26th week, and you are weighing in at a full 2, that's right count 'em one-two, pounds and more than 9 inches long. I believe this because my belly is starting to really grow. This week your eyelids will start to open and you will start to really move around if you see a bright light or hear a loud noise. You will react by blinking (which of course I won't see) and by startling (which I certainly am feeling these days). I like feeling you move and a few others have felt your kicks too. You've certainly been squirming when music comes on and I just hope it hasn't been too loud for you in there.

There aren't many good pictures of a two-pound object except maybe a pot roast, so in the spirit of the current weather, I decided to post a picturesque winter image instead. It is very cold today 18, with windchill it is closer to the single digits, and it is snowing. I would like to say I believe the weatherman when he says 2-4", but he has let me down a few times already this year, so if we get an inch I will be thrilled. Plus, I know where the real snow is for snowshoeing and they always get more snow than what is forecasted. :)

Oh the Fun We've Had

It is December 1, and we returned from our road trip of Wisconsin last night. Thanksgiving was a very delicious meal for us and it was a very relaxed day. Friday we took your Grandpa Sanderfoot around to some stores to buy a snow blower for the upcoming winter, and we went out to a tasty Friday night fish fry for dinner with Carl, Nikki, Grandpa & Grandma Sanderfoot.

Saturday was a really big day. We were showered with gifts for you! JoAnn and my Mom hosted a baby shower for us and it was so great to see so many people! We received so many adorable outfits, cute blankets that I can't wait to cuddle with you in, and many other useful items to aid in feeding and cleaning you. Just before we left, a co-worker of Daddy's gave us a crib. So our list of things is starting to dwindle and it is making me feeling a little better. I am on a mission to find a decent dresser/changing table, a small bookshelf for the library you have awaiting for you, and a rocker. After the party, both your Grandma and I were pretty tired so the four of us decided to order in pizza and watch a movie.

Sunday morning we left Appleton and headed to Madison. We stopped in to say hello to my Uncle Alan and cousins Olivia & Ivy. It was great to catch up with them. We also stopped at State St. Brats for lunch, and bought a new shirt for each of us (you included). At a second store we saw a onesie that said, "Jump Around." This is a phenomenon which occurs at Camp Randall where the UW-Madison Badgers play football. When the song, "Jump Around" comes on the entire student section jumps around. This has been an area of contention for engineers who do not want to see part of the stadium collapse, but as a young person sitting in those seats it is so much fun you can't help but want to get up! It seemed fitting that day as well because you were really squirming inside like you already had the Badger blood in you.

Our road trip continued back the same way we came and we stopped again in La Vista, Nebraska just outside of Omaha for the night. While stopping makes the trip seem neverending, it was good to stop both drives to break it up and get us much needed sleep. We pulled up around 6pm last night and unloaded the car. It feels good to be back, but we also had a great time being in Wisconsin. There are so many people who can't wait to meet you!