Baby Update

Before the baby update, I had to show off this cute piece of furniture that we got to hide our tv! It's actually not that new (as you can tell from the Easter decorations on top) but I never posted the picture and since it seems like most of our posts these days are baby updates, I thought I'd start with something different!



Here we are at 25 weeks! This really has been the best part of the pregnancy so far: no more morning sickness, the pregnancy rash has subsided, and I have energy! Lots of it!



As I was organizing our study closet yesterday (so much energy!) I found a sticky note with a memory verse on it. Back when we were trying for quite some time to get pregnant I had my share of emotional ups and downs. During one of my low points I happened to be reading through the Psalms and I came across this verse:

"I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." Psalm 27:13.

It's such a beautiful verse with so much promise and hope in it for whatever hardship you might be going through. So I wrote it out and carried it around with me in my purse for a while until I had it memorized. Anyway, it had slipped out of my mind after we got pregnant until I found it again yesterday. The memory of how hard that period of time was and how God has delivered us from it made me so grateful. I have seen the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

Some things I love looking at right now:

Look at me! Two posts in a row! In Phoenix I was thrown a fabulous baby shower by my family, and here in Moscow I've been finding lots of splendid things at yard sales for our daughter. This has resulted in lots of tiny things that I now enjoy looking at and imagining her in.

First, my favorite thing. Little girl dresses.


Then of course there is this adorable hat that my sister crocheted, plus a newborn baby toy and Curious George treasury.



And last, one of my favorite yard sale finds: a rocking chair for only $10! It needs a new cushion, but I would probably have made a new one anyway to match my nursery colors. And it actually matches the changing table that I also got at a yard sale (you can kind of see it in the dresses picture).



Very exciting!

Last Week's Baby

We still haven't taken the 24 week picture (which means it may never happen) but here we are at 23 weeks! Moving right along. This 2nd trimester is definitely flying by compared to the first.



My blogging lapse excuse this time is that Kate and Davey came for a month to visit, and we've been having a blast! David left yesterday to start summer school, and Kate will be leaving this Thursday. Very sad! But, as you can see, I've been getting quality nephew time in (I stole these from Kate's computer).



And here's a picture Kate took:

Several Weeks of Baby Belly

After getting back from two weeks of vacation I finally have my camera cord again and can post baby growth pictures! We had a fabulous time in Seattle and Phoenix visiting friends and family. It was hard to leave 90 degree Phoenix to come back to the wet and cold Northwest. But, one great result of all this rain is that the fields have turned vibrantly green and all of our plants and trees look beautiful.

Here's 17 weeks:



And 19 Weeks:



And 20 weeks! Halfway there!

Baby GIRL kumquat

We had our ultrasound today and found out that we're having a girl!!







I've been getting lots of kicks in the last few days from lower down in my belly, and from the way she's positioned in the ultrasound pictures it looks like what I've actually been feeling are head butts! I had some really cute videos of her but unfortunately right now Blogger won't let me post them! I'll try to figure out how to post them another way!

16 Weeks

Well, I did forget last week, but here's a picture of baby kumquat at 16 weeks! According to babycenter.com he/she is now the size of an avocado and has started growing toenails. What a miracle.

A post about Whiskey

Mom insists that once baby kumquat arrives our affections for Whiskey will go entirely by the wayside. I have even caught her whispering soothingly to her, "Don't worry Whiskers. When the baby comes I will still love you."
And while I imagine our attention will turn towards the baby and away from the kitty, I'm pretty sure this is a change she will welcome gladly. Less of me picking her up and cradling her like the infant I've been dying to have, less of Joel suddenly grabbing her by the skull and shaking her head back and forth in what he insists is a gesture of affection. In fact this first picture just might be the result of a little too much head-shaking.



Actually she's just enjoying our spring sun. It was hidden away for so long, we were all going a little crazy. Here's another picture of our adorable kitten, just so you all know that we still love her. I took the liberty of editing it so she wouldn't be embarrassed.