My body is slipping away

Over the past few weeks, I've really noticed my "baby bump" starting to stick out. However, tonight was the first time that I realized that I no longer have a waist. Where there was once a little bit of a defined middle is now just a round bump. No more bending at the belly button (even that has started to stretch a bit!). No wonder it's been a bit more challenging trying up my tennis shoes. Thank goodness for slip-ons!

In other exciting news, Jason has now felt the baby kick! Evenings seem to be an active time for the baby (hope that's not a sign of things to come), so he's been able to feel little kicks on a couple of different occassions now. He seems to be pretty excited about it. I've even noticed that he's feeling my belly more often now :-) So much fun!

Sorry, no pictures tonight. Maybe I'll get to that in a few days. I hope everybody had a fantastic Thanksgiving!

30 and other things

Blessings, blessings, blessings... This time of year makes me reflect on how blessed I am, more so this year than ever before. I have so many things to be thankful for - a wonderful husband, loving family and friends, good health, birthdays (even 30 of them!), and of course this little person growing inside of me! God is good (all the time!).

Jason recently surprised me and took me to St. Louis for my birthday and one last get-away before baby comes. Ordinarily, I would not have picked St. Louis as a weekend escape, but we had a great time! Unfortunately, our vacation literally got off to a bumpy start when we landed in Detroit for our connection minus flaps (a.k.a. brakes!). We got quite a greeting on the runway with all of the fire trucks awaiting our arrival. Thankfully, we were in a small plane and the pilot did a fantastic job of landing us safely.


Turns out, St. Louis is a pretty interesting city with all kind of FREE stuff to do (West Michigan is rubbing off on me - I love to find a deal!). We visited Forest Park (home of the 1904 World's Fair), Missouri History Museum, St. Louis Zoo, the arch, Soldiers' Memorial, endless parks, Union Station, City Museum... We were exhausted by the end of every day. It really was a very nice getaway. I'm so thankful for a man who plans such special surprises for me and treats me so well!


Some pics of us in St. Louis - The Arch, Jason coming down a slide at the City Museum, and us at Jefferson National Park

I am now officially 21 weeks. I can hardly believe it. The time is just flying by! Last week my doctor informed me that the ultrasound report came back, and everything looks very good - right on track. I can feel the baby more and more everyday. We definitely have a little kicker. Jason hasn't been able to feel it yet, but I'm sure it won't be long.

My mom and I went to Babies R Us a few weeks ago to register for baby items, and there's been talk of a baby shower coming this winter. All of these things just make me realize that we're going to be PARENTS very soon. That realization is terrifying yet thrilling all at the same time. The farther along I get, the more anxious I become about meeting this little person. Boy or a girl?? Who's eyes, nose, mouth, etc. will he/she have?? I can't wait to see this little miracle that God is knitting together right now!!




21 weeks - yes, going back on my belly shot vow...


I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and count all you have to be thankful for!

It's a....

??? We had our 20 week ultrasound today, and we stuck to our decision to not find out the baby's gender. It was so hard not to ask! I kept asking Jason if he wanted to change his mind. At that point, I would have found out in a heartbeat, but Jason remained firm.

Although, honestly, I don't know that the technician could have told us or not. When JackHannah wasn't moving, he/she was curled up in a ball. It's amazing how flexible babies are! We could potentially have a gymnast on our hands. From the time we started the ultrasound to the time we were done, the baby had completely summer saulted positions.

It was such an amazing sight to see. I think we were both kind of in awe to see our child for the first time (larger than a jelly bean anyway). Even though we won't get a full report on the baby until next week, the tech said everything looked good and is developing as he or she should.

This just really reconfirms what a miracle God has blessed us with and really brings Psalm 139 home. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we are now half-way through the pregnancy. Pray for the baby to continue to grow and develop as he or she should, that I would continue to stay healthy, and that God would prepare us to take on this awesome responsibility of raising this child up in His family.

Ok, just a couple of more pictures....