36 Weeks - Melon

Happy Thanksgiving! We had a nice and relaxing Thanksgiving in Austin, and I ate way more than I had room for. Poor baby was probably squished because of all the stuffing, turkey, and mash potatoes (not to mention pie) that I feasted on. There's no holding back these days.

We spent Saturday and Sunday at home in Houston watching football, playing around the house and decorating for Christmas. This is the first year that we have put up a tree and it was oh-so-much fun! We're full of holiday spirit and want to bring baby home to a cozy house. Jeff and I are not big on exchanging presents so this year our gift to each other is a baby boy.

This week is a big one for baby and us. We have meet-and-greets scheduled with two pediatricians, and on Thursday we have a check-up with the doc. At this appointment the doctor will check to see if labor is progressing, and do an ultrasound to find out the position of baby and his weight. Lets hope he's not a record breaker! From now on our appointments are weekly. We also have tickets to a Cirque Du Soleil show Wednesday night and on Saturday we are going to a yummy "Thanksgiving Feast" party with some friends. It's going to be a super fun and busy week!

The best part of all about this week is that our new baby nephew should be arriving Thursday or Friday! Yippy! We can't wait to meet him and will be praying for a quick delivery for my sister Cristee and brother-in-law Brandon. It's going to be so much fun to have our boys grow up together. I have a feeling they will be little buddies :-)

33 Weeks - Pineapple

Oh baby! Our little pineapple has officially "dropped" - a pregnancy term meaning he has descended and is getting ready (for those of you not familiar). It has brought some comfort since I no longer feel him digging in my ribs. This also means we're getting closer to meeting our little guy! Words do not describe the excitement we feel about getting to finally meet him. We've felt and watched his movements, talked and read to him and daydreamed of what life will be like with a little boy joining our family. Pregnancy is an incredible journey.

A special thanks to the Grandmas for helping us prepare for the baby shower and getting our house ready for the baby! And thank you to our family and friends for a super fun party! We feel so blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives, and have been telling baby how spoiled he is already. We are still in awe of the love and generosity! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

31 Weeks - Naval Oranges x 4

Jeff did an Olympic distance triathlon on Sunday in Galveston, TX. He did great, and baby and I had so much fun cheering him on. We learned that Jeff is part fish from this race. He did really awesome in the swim by taking 3rd place in his age group! We hope baby likes doing triathlons too so we can be a family of triathletes one day.

Baby and I are getting B.I.G. He should be around 3.3 pounds (or the weight of 4 naval oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. Getting off the couch is quite a feat these days, and thankfully Jeff has become really good at knowing when to extend a hand to help me up! There are usually a few jokes involved with it though. Sleeping is also becoming a bit more challenging. Between the bathroom breaks and having to switch from side-to-side often, we don't sleep through the night anymore. It's just preparation for when he arrives! 

Last night was especially a sleepless one because the fire alarm went off at 12:30am. We're still getting use to the noises of our new house, and it took a few minutes to determine if it was the security or fire alarm going off. After some investigating we determined it was a false alarm, phew! 

30 Weeks - Butternut Squash

Our little butternut squash is almost 3 lbs now, and he gets the hiccups! About once a day I feel him "hiccup" but they usually don't last long. His movements are more visible from the outside and sometimes it looks like I have an alien inside me trying to escape. We have 10 weeks left until our due date. I have a theory that he'll arrive about one week early, or maybe it's just wishful thinking. 


Jeff and I graduated from "Labor and Delivery" class. We feel much more comfortable with the whole labor part now, just hope we don't throw our learnings out the window when the time comes. Our teacher reminded us that labor is just a short time, and being parents is the rest of your life...a sweet but scary thought!


This past weekend we traveled to Washington, D.C. for the wedding of our friends Tom and Danielle. It was a beautiful wedding, and we really enjoyed the fall weather while seeing the sites.

28 Weeks - Chinese Cabbage

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have now entered the 3rd trimester! Let the final weeks begin! Baby is now around 2.25 lbs and 14.8 inches long. The bigger he gets the harder he kicks, and the stranger the food that my Baby App uses to describe his size...chinese cabbage? In a couple weeks the doctor will do a basic ultrasound to see the position of the baby, but besides that there are no more ultrasounds scheduled. The next time we'll see the baby will be in person! Holding back tears at the thought of that...silly hormones. 


We toured the hospital that we'll be delivering at which was an eye opener. I wouldn't say the delivery room was exactly pretty. I guess it really doesn't matter though because I'm sure the wallpaper will be the last thing on my mind during those hours. Thankfully it does have valet parking so Jeff won't be dropping me off on the sidewalk while he finds parking. Wouldn't that be a sight!


Now that it's starting to get cooler out we decided to get the back porch set up. We already love hanging out back there, and are looking forward to planting some trees, flowers and a garden in our very bare backyard.

26 Weeks - Cucumber

Baby is now around 14 inches in length and should be close to 1.75lbs. We started our Childbirth classes and have a few more sessions to go. The first class was already quite interesting. The Dads and Moms split up into two groups and were asked to put together a list of the "Good" and "Bad" of pregnancy. The Dads' list was funny. It included "always having a designated driver" under the good, and "too many pillows in the bed" under the bad list! 

We had a super busy and fun weekend which included putting the crib together and painting the nursery. Daddy did a great job with the crib while Mama watched and gave praise and baby kicked with delight. We think he really likes his new room already! Sunday morning we indulged and made chocolate chip and blueberry Ebelskivers. These little tasty delights are Danish pancakes, and thanks to  Zach and Sari we have our own ebelskiver pan and recipe book! They are so much fun to make, and a fun word to say too!

We have an announcement to make about the neighbors: they got chickens! Yes, we live in inner Houston, the 4th largest city in America, and we get to wake up to "cock-a-doodle-do" in the morning. At first we thought it just added to the strangeness of our street, but now we've come to appreciate and love the duo (a rooster and a hen). One day I may go out and try to photograph our new friends...

25 Weeks - Rutabaga

We found a little slice of heaven on earth, and it's called Martha's Vineyard. From the majestic beaches to the interior farmland, it's absolutely perfect! Last week we were fortunate to spend time exploring the island, and be at our dear friends' wedding. They couldn't have picked a more beautiful location to tie the knot. And in typical Karen and Derek fashion, they left the ceremony in kayaks! The week also included a lobster bake on the beach, some kayaking and hiking to secluded beaches.


Baby and I have definitely grown! He moves all day and all night, so we are preparing ourselves for an active little guy. We are nearing the 3rd trimester and the nesting has begun. The crib has arrived, and we hope to have the nursery done in the coming weeks. It's all becoming so real and we can't wait! Our doctor appointments are now every-other week. At our last checkup we got to hear baby's heartbeat and it was around 150 - healthy little boy! Next week we start our labor classes which should be interesting...