Baby face 

Baby thigh, knee, and foot 

Baby's hands folded 

Arm and hands 

Little feet 

Baby Profile

Little

My baby's first pictures

Ultrasounds are SOOOO cool! It was amazing to see that little person on the screen and realize that it is my baby and it is growing inside me!!! Wow, wow, wow!

Here he/she is (we're going to be surprised). No matter the gender this is one cute baby (although I am a bit biased!)

(The pics are coming in separate posts cause I'm still not sure how to do pictures on here very well!)

The Best Things in Life ARE Free

One great thing about being pregnant is that people like to offer you free things--lots of free things!

Number one is advice, which I am NOT resenting in the least. The farther along I get the more I realize how much I don't know. I've received so many good tips that it really helps me feel slightly less like a parenting moron! :)

In addition, in the past few days I have received offers for the following:
Maternity clothes to buy cheap, borrow, or outright have
A free copy of What To Expect in the First Year (follow-up to the ever popular What to Expect When You're Expecting)
An exersaucer! (This great play center for babies who can't quite walk yet, in case you don't know baby lingo)
A brand new around the head padding thing to keep your newborn's head from flopping around in the car seat
A cheap, only slightly used crib
A bassinet to borrow
A body pillow for me and my expanding belly

And this doesn't include the gifts I've already received even months before my first shower!

Thanks to all...I feel special! :)

P.S. Tomorrow is ultrasound day! First baby pictures here we come!!!

Link

Here's the link--it didn't show up on the previous post for some reason:

http://http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=3185095&nav=0RcdYRbg

When somewhere, far away becomes here and now

Every day we hear of some new bombing or shooting in far off lands. I think we all feel a twinge of sadness, but don't let it affect us too much. It's far away...it's people we don't know and probably will never know. We just don't have the capacity to grieve for everyone.

And then you hear a report one day about a bombing in Egypt. One American is killed. You feel bad, knowing that there is a family mourning a little closer to home than somewhere else, far away.

Then you hear another report. That American was a young man from your state. He actually went to high school in your city--within walking distance of your church. He was a Christian and a missionary.

Then today, we went to church and talked to several of the young adults in our Tuesday night LifeStream group. Many of them knew the young man well. They remembered him as a popular guy who had a knack for making everyone feel accepted. He ran track with one of them. He came alongside another when he was just a freshman and was painfully shy.

And the report of some bombing somewhere far away, is now here, in your midst, affecting people you care about. It makes you realize that no matter where things like this happen, someone, somewhere, is touched, hurt, mourning. It makes me thankful for a God that sees it all and is there--whether far away, or right next door.


Here's a link to a local story about the young man killed in the Egypt blast. Pray for his family. We'd also ask that you pray for the young people in our LifeStream Bible study who knew him and who are also mourning his loss.

Baby Checkup--18 weeks

Had my 18 week checkup today. Here are the vitals:

Baby is measuring at exactly the right size.
Baby's heartrate is 156. The doctor found the heartbeat right away. Then we heard these swishing noises and he said that it was moving around while we were listening. I've got a live wire in there!
I have gained 2 pounds. I've been worried because I haven't gained anything to speak of yet, but I was told not to worry, especially since the baby is measuring right on track. Whew...good to know!

The baby has continued to flip and flop around every day for past several days...it's so fun to feel! We've got a soccer player or a ballerina on its way I think! :)

In other baby related news, I have a brand new cousin! Jacob Allen Hoffman was born to my Uncle Jim and Aunt Shana this morning. First pictures show that they have created cutie number 3 to join sisters Elizabeth and Rachel! :) Babies...they're the best!

My baby's high on Peach Iced Tea

Okay...so I'm feeling like a bad mom already and the baby is 5 months from actually being born...

Went out to dinner with girlfriends last night (beforehand they guided me through the strange and wonderful world of Babies R Us and helped me know what I need to register for! What a fun time!). I ordered a Peach Iced Tea. I'm allowed to have one serving of caffeine a day so I thought nothing of it. I also thought nothing of the fact that the waiter kept refilling my glass. Oops...more than one serving there.

Well, not only was I pretty wide awake until 2 am, baby was bouncing off the walls of my womb! I mentally apologized to the little one--I mean how do you let off steam when you're 5 1/2 inches long, hopped up on caffeine, and living in a space the size of a grapefruit. On the positive side, Daddy got to feel a definite kick last night for the first time. THAT was super cool.

But I still feel bad...need to watch that Peach Iced Tea intake, don't I, Little One?

By the way...as you can see, I keep forgetting that this baby, just because he/she is living inside me, can't actually read my thoughts. It is supposed to be able to hear my voice by next week so I'm going to have to start actually talking out loud to it! :)

I'm a bad, bad blogger

So sorry to anyone who was interested enough to check this blog in the last few months, only to find nothing new. I don't think I'm very good at this blogging thing!

Now that I'm finally feeling nearly normal at 18 weeks of pregnancy maybe I'll be more diligent. Maybe.