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...

We Like Our Walks!

MARLEY and I went on a lovely, long walk this evening. As I type this, he's wiped out on the couch snoring. His snoring is so bad that a vet once offered a referral for "cosmetic" surgery to fix his nostrils...sometimes it's more than I can bear and I have to rustle him a bit. This is one of those nights!

What I like about walks:
When Shawn's with me--conversation uninterrupted by cell phones & TV
Ogling over masterfully tended yards (with a tinge of envy)
Smelling BBQ
Smelling laundry drying
See families being active
Seeing the geese land in the river

We saw some interest-piquing things:

24 Weeks! Woah!

How your baby's growing:Your baby's growing steadily, gaining about a quarter of a pound since last week, when he was just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (like an ear of corn) that makes a pretty lean figure, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon put on more baby fat. Your baby's skin is thin, translucent, and wrinkled, his brain is growing rapidly, and his taste buds are developing. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" and cells that produce surfactant, a substance that helps the air sacs inflate easily.

Cool things:

~Baby kicked when I was making chocolate chip cookies!

We might be raising a chocolate fiend...hehe.

~Daddy told baby "bye" before leaving for San Diego,

and baby bumped back a "good bye."

Not so cool things:

~Heartburn

~The above picture (bad hair day & squishy cheeks!)

Roses are Red

...AND all kinds of pink!

Shawn knew I needed some encouragement (the hints were oh so subtle! ha!) so he had a dozen roses delivered to the office on Monday. My coworkers and I enjoyed them for a few days, then I just had to bring them home to show Shawn how good he did. The flowers were the highlight of my Monday, and it appears they're going to last awhile. My brightened outlook will, too.

Thank you so much, Shawn! I love you!