26 Weeks!

OUR baby now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber), from head to heel. The nerve pathways in his ears are developing, which means his response to sounds is growing more consistent. His lungs are developing now, too, as he continues to take small breaths of amniotic fluid — good practice for when he's born and takes that first breath of air.


According to the cute LilliePie ticker at the bottom of our blog, we've only got 97 days till baby time (give or take, obviously)! We can't believe it! It is getting a little hard to sit at a desk for 8 hours a day, and sitting for a long time in general isn't very comfortable (guess that's good for kicking the couch tater habit). We have so much to do before baby comes, yet remain grateful for this incredible privilege.

2nd Leg of the Trip!

THE second leg of our trip included trekking from Janesville, WI, to Champaign, IL, to see Megan, Stephen, and baby Max! We had what seemed like only a few hours with them, so didn't do an exorbitant amount of things. But we did go to Marble Slab, a fun bookstore, and a baby store (I saw the crib bedding I like but decided not to go with it). Meg and I also got to go to Target for a leisurely spree--we could spend hours there (and did)! We also noshed on yummies at Ruby Tuesday's; Max was so good in his high chair!

Max calls me "Minnie" now and is growing so big! It was awesome to get a glimpse of life with a toddler. Meg sticks to a nightly routine of bath and reading time; they have read to him almost every night since he was born. Shawn and I bought 3 books (Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?; Goodnight, Moon; & The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss) today so our baby can be smart just like Max, and have lots of books to discover.

Now it's back to work and a routine..I came back to 99 emails in my work account, 77 of which were legit. I got a good start on them yesterday!

Janesville, WI Quick Get-Away

THE first half of our mini-vacay was spent in Janesville, WI, with my Aunt Tam and Uncle Ken. My Grandma just moved up there, so we got to see her new pad. We went to Madison for a day (capital building below) to shop, went to the Rotary Gardens and shopped in Janesville (found baby clothes), rested, went to Tam & Ken's vet clinic, and had yummy Greek pizza & butterscotch oatmeal cookies. My aunt has an awesome bathtub with jets (the Sven) so I definitely took advantage of that!

25 Weeks!

HEAD to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches.
His weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an
average rutabaga, but he's beginning to exchange his long, lean look for some baby fat. As he does, his wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and he'll start to look more and more like a newborn. His hair is probably recognizable now (in color and texture), although both may change after he's born.

Baby & me in front of St. Elizabeth's Nursing Home, Janesville, WI, where G'ma lives.

FYI, a rutabaga is a type of turnip (I had to look it up)...

On Vacation

Pics to come soon--we're in Wisconsin/Illinois! Baby, Shawn and I made the 12-hour journey in a cool Toyota Hybrid we rented...