... and growing... week 27

This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with his legs extended. He's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing his eyes, and perhaps even sucking his fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While his lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if he were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother him, so just relax and enjoy the tickle. (pregnancy.com)

Since this is already a week late... I'm not going to give you 'guys' a sports analogy for a head of cauliflower. You'll just have to be imaginative.

All I will say is... 3rd trimester, here we come!!!! 

Week 26

A super special week 26 entry.  Just for you.

The beautiful changing leaves...

The handsome husband...

And...a week 26 action shot!  Maybe not Oscar worthy - but it's a better representation of the belly.  :) 

  

Brain Waves

I took a short rest yesterday and now I'm missing a little piece of my brain.

I'm assuming it dropped out of my ear so I just wanted to stick it back in.  Maybe with a little tissue as a plug so it wouldn't fall out again.

I looked everywhere around the couch but couldn't find it anywhere.

My only other thought is that the baby took the opportunity to sneak up there and steal a chunk for himself.

If he comes out with an excellent memory I'll know where mine went.

Hot Chocolate Day

Today was good for drinking this.

And hugging him.  

Sorry, you'll have to get your own. :)

What's Cooking

Whole Wheat Pasta with Creamy Pesto Sauce of course!

Wow - so good.  Thanks to the Well Rounded Pregnancy Cookbook.  I adjusted it to meet my tastes...but it's pretty basic.

Pine nuts, parmesan cheese, a little pecorino romano (my call), olive oil, garlic, and half basil half spinach (my call again - I love spinach and find it cuts the too strong basil flavor).  

The creamy part is sautéed garlic and spinach with cream.  Stir it all up and there you go!

If anyone ever wanted the exact measurement/quantities of the ingredients they could leave a comment.  I have a memory like a steel trap so I don't need them.  I also have the cookbook since the last statement is a complete lie. 

... and growing... (a weight week)

Our boy keeps on growing and developing. He's been kicking more and more, and you can tell a dramatic difference in how much Em's showing over the past week and a half. Here's where he's at in his development...

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. He's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture. (pregnancy.com)

For you readers out there who have never had a rutabaga, and have no intention of eating one (myself included, except maybe on a dare). That pound-and-a-half is roughly equivalent to the weight of the stick of a defensive back in field hockey (props to Emily - notice I didn't say 'real hockey'). :)

And finally, here's an interesting article on how rutabaga's may help with energy production issues: Michigan State professor explores oil-rich rutabagas

Enjoy - JP

The Crib Arrival

Next in our TMI baby series... if you are not a grandmother, nana, or aunt that cares, feel free to skip this post - remember people (a.k.a. Gbenga), this is how we update far flung family.

Some generous neighbors gave us this crib. 

It was broken down, but after a good washing Jon and I figured out to put it together.  Pretty handy people, right?

 

The crib has a little sticker that identifies it as being made by Thomas Edison's woodworking company.  I'm guessing it was made in the 30's or 40's - don't worry - I've already looked up places to get the paint tested for lead and will make sure it complies with regulations. 

Yay for vintage!  Thanks Fosters!

Week 25

Week 25 - bigger and bigger. The lady at the post office yesterday asked me when I was due - the first complete stranger brave enough to ask. I guess it's a little obvious that it's baby and not just a muffin top (MTS shoutout) now.

Although, after eating copious amounts of turkey taco leftovers...

What's Cooking

Why turkey soft tacos of course!  

Tonight's dinner was so great that I had to post it.  (I mean, how else will I remember to make it again?)

Here's the scoop.  Ground turkey, spinach, corn salsa, black beans, cheese, avocado, and whole wheat tortillas.  Sounds great right?

My tips for the best tacos ever.  

1) Heat up the tortillas.  In the oven - just on warm - while you're cooking everything else.  It brings out the nutty flavor of the whole wheat and makes them slightly crisp.

2) Cook the turkey on medium low heat.  I find that cooking ground turkey on high or medium high makes it too chewy and tough.  Maybe everyone else knows this but no one told me that lower is better with turkey.  I added the turkey, a drizzle of olive oil, cayenne and chile powder, onion, real garlic, and (my secret) some Worcestershire sauce - just a few splashes.  I just threw in everything together - it cooks for 10 to 15 minutes so it has time to absorb the flavors. 

3) Use this salsa (thanks Anna!).  It's tangy and slightly sweet - a great compliment to the slightly spicy turkey.

A little freshly grated cheese, sliced avocado, warm black beans, and these tacos are AWESOME!

He thinks so.

...and growing...

Our little guy keeps growing and kicking.  Here's a summarization of where he's at for Week 24...

Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long, he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon. (pregnancy.com)

Some of my male friends have found it difficult to image the child based upon the vegetable references.  So here's another example to help you out.  This week he's about the length of a football.  

He's obviously not as round as one but hopefully this will help you guys out. 

I've been busy with classes this semester and the winter hockey season is about to start (that's my league, not the NHL).  Work has been incredibly busy and productive lately as well.  I say all this as an excuse for my laxness in posting.  Though Emily has been carrying the torch admirably.  

She's an amazing lady.  Wonderful!

- JP

Week 24

The 24 week photo. Wow - I look so much bigger now than even last week. We went to the doctor's this morning and Whn was super hyper - rolling all over. Jon saw my stomach moving for the first time - which was pretty funny. The doctor said everything looks/sounds great. Starting next visit we switch to the every other week visits. Exciting!

Corny

Jon and I went to Frederick, MD yesterday to go through a corn maze with Chul and Katie. None of us had ever done a corn maze - so we were all pretty excited. I wish I had a shot from above - but the entire field was mowed to be a picture of Obama and McCain.

Jon (on the phone...how odd), Katie and Chul contemplating the challenge. Before the maze we made sure to get our energy up with Hamburgers, cold apple cider, and apple cider donuts!

We chose the long maze - which was suppose to take us about 1 to 1.5 hours. They give you a "passport" which is 10 questions. When you reach certain signs you answer the questions and it tells you to go right or left depending on the answer. We ended up skipping several of the signs (and finding others 5 or 6 times after going in circles).

Reminds me of the first time he told me he loved me...

After we made it through the maze Jon challenged Chul to a little peddle-cart race. Not sure who won - the 7 year old girls racing with them were pretty darn good though.

Watch Me Bloom

Anyone ever seen Chinese Blooming Tea?  It's tea leaves wrapped up into a ball.  The secret is that when you pour water in the leaves unfurl and you see a beautiful, fragrant flower in the center.  

At our women's meeting, Lisa spoke about how relationships can be like water poured on the blossom.  We help to draw each other out, challenge each other, open each other up.   Even the hard interactions can refine us.  

Left to our own, left to my own, I'd still be the little wound up ball of leaves.

Thank God for relationships.

These are my people

Last Sunday the ECDC Community had a cookout at Fletcher's Boathouse on the Potomac near DC. It was absolutely beautiful. The weather was sunny and mid 70's - perfect for being outside - and totally why I love fall.

Being with the people was by far the best thing though.

Gbenga Idowu - our resident photog - took some great candid shots that he let me include here.

Jon and Gbenga starting up the grill.

A small sample of the spread and crowd.

Just hanging out. Baby Evan is all wrapped up! So is Whn. :)

One of the two brave boating crews on the C&O Canal.

Lisa and Zakyla enjoying some quiet time.

A great shot of Anna.

The football team - I love the second action shot.

Catherine playing with Liam. Big groups always turn into a kiddo swap meet - they're just too cute!

Heidi and Zakyla and Zhaun - one of my favorites of the day.

It's so incredible to have this group of people as family.

The Debate

Today at work was one of those days. I carefully save up my loose change in case of this type of day (which can take a long time as I rarely buy things...especially with cash).

I carried my three quarters, two dimes, and one nickel up to the fourth floor and walked around the corner.

Then, suddenly, an unexpected challenge!!

Skittles or Peanut m&m's?

Fruity Sugar or Chocolately Sugar?

I stood there wondering what to do until I heard footsteps coming down the hallway - I didn't really want to be caught staring intently at a vending machine.

I went with my old standby. It makes me feel healthy to be eating peanuts.

... and growing...

Well, apparently the measurements switch from length to weight now, so our little 'Whn' weights about as much as a large mango. He's moving around a lot more and I can feel him kicking pretty regularly now. It sometimes blows me away that he's growing away in there and that (no surprise) he's going to come out at some point. It's pretty obvious.. you know, cuz that's what happens when you have a baby... but it really sets in sometimes and gets me thinking. I pray for his growth and health a lot, and for wisdom for us to bring up a solid, well-adjusted boy.



The name hunt is on, but we're still searching. I don't know if I've said this before but we probably won't know until we see him in person before we give him a name. But we'll certainly have a list of favorites.


And I promise we won't call him 'Whn'. Honest.


Also, I changed a setting on the site so you should all be able to add comments now.


Enjoy! JJ

Happy 50 Posts!

We reached 50 posts! In honor of the blog's mini-milestone we've unveiled a brand new blog page. I designed the page and Jon used his awesome skills to make it a web reality.

The awesome banner design (with slight modifications) is from SwirlyCurls - The Brush Kit at http://www.createsk8.com/ Thanks!! The birds and nest though I designed.

I thought these 4th of July pics from my trip to Seattle capture the mood nicely.

The design of everything may change slightly in the coming weeks - we're still figuring out how to do all this - but what do you think? Feel free to leave a comment below (or on Jon's facebook site - since most of you go there anyway!)

Hmmm...so I guess that for the 100th post we might have to give something away to top this!

Happy 50 Highpoint View!

Sarah's Royal 4th.

My niece Sarah turns 4 today.

She is a princess.

Maybe a fairy princess...but that depends on the outfit.

Happy Birthday your Highness!

Week 23

Yay! Finally I got the interweb to work at home! Jeeze-o-peeze. Here is what the baby and I look like as of today. If the baby is a little hard to make out just squint.

This week got pretty hectic and I seemed to always be eating late...well past lunch, well past dinner. On top of the usual hunger pains (as in, I will eat you if you stand in between me and that cracker) I usually would feel a couple sharp "WHACKS" from Whn (pronounced win and stands for what's-his-name Jon's current name choice).

I think we may have an impatient child when it comes to food.

Takes after his mother. That's my boy.

Apologies

I’m sorry for not posting in so long. I’ve had some serious battles with my computer this week trying to get photos to upload, the internet to work, my mouse to move. The typical “my computer hates me” experience. But I found a partial way around it. I posted some of my photos to Picasa and then downloaded them at work and am blogging here! (Don’t worry – I’ll work extra time to make up for my slacking.)

You might notice that we also didn’t post the weekly podulation pic. I was traveling this weekend, visiting my family in PA. I got back on Sunday after dark and since then I haven’t been home while it’s light outside. Ahhh…the shortening day. I may be able to take one tomorrow but it will be really late. Let’s just pretend it was taken last Sunday.

So I was up in PA to visit the family both because I took the summer off from traveling AND because the girls were going out to shop for some baby clothes! They were appalled at how not ready I am at this point but no worries – once Jon and I get started we are quite the team. We’ll be ready in no time. Plus, I do have about four months left!

On Saturday we went to the last day of the town fair.

Here's dad in front of some of the fair tents.

The big attraction that day was the baby parade. Kids dress up as…pizza slices…and other things and travel through town. Jon has strong feelings about dressing our children up like pizza...but I'll leave that for later.

Unfortunately it was really raining, so no actual parade, but we did go to see the judging in one of the tents. Afterwards mom and dad and I walked through town getting fair food for lunch. An egg roll (yum), a steak sandwich, a grilled cheeseburger (think grilled cheese sandwich with a hamburger patty) and an ice cream waffle. Yeah – we split most of it three ways…

I had better pictures…but see above excuse as to why they are not here.

By the way…stay tuned! The 50th post is coming up and Jon and I have a surprise to celebrate our first tiny blogging milestone