5 months

Yesterday I stacked several books in this basket in an attempt to clean up...only to find it moments later full of baby buns and books. I snapped these with my cell phone...

 

We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We sure did! We were at my mom's house this year and my Uncle Jack and his family joined us along with my grandma Nana. It was a scrumptious, family-filled day. We have so much to be thankful for.

A quick update on Ryan...he is just over 14 months old now and is changing so much! He is really into climbing right now and his comprehension astounds Rob and I. He understands 90% of what we are saying and is really participating in our family now. It's wonderful! He is working on a couple of new sounds...a dog bark and a crow "caw" of sorts. It's adorable to see him "talking" to the neighbor dog or crows overhead. He is full of smiles, laughter, and now, a few antics. He likes hide-and-seek, chasing the dog (preferably with a stick-much to my dismay and instant intervention), and is slurping down mandarin oranges as quickly as I can peel them.

As for baby #2...we're half way there!

We're still working on getting a second ultrasound to see if our little baby will give us a better answer to "is it a boy or a girl?" But, if it doesn't work out or if we still can't tell, we'll have a surprise come April. We're still leaning towards a girl, but a little more evidence would be helpful! A surprise would be fun too though! For "updating" purposes, I'll refer to Baby J. as a girl...

Our baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. She's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, most measurements are taken from the top of the head to the bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, baby is measured from head to toe.)

She's practicing breathing and swallowing on a regular basis. She will continue to grow and fill out, with the head becoming slightly more proportional to the rest of the body. Baby J is also starting to grow hair on her head! Other fetal development that typically takes place around week 20 of pregnancy includes the following:

• A protective, waxy skin covering (called vernix caseosa) is forming to protect the baby's skin from the amniotic fluid
• Delicate eyebrows are forming
• If our baby is a girl, her uterus is starting to develop
• Our baby's skin is thickening and developing layers, including the dermis, epidermis, and subcutaneous layer
• Nail growth begins

Small stuff

So much of the time it's really all about the small things...

We recently delighted in Ryan eating a banana, in the peel, all by himself! And so did he!

Photos from Grandpa

We are lucky enough to have my dad watch Ryan once a week and I think it is honestly the highlight of both of their weeks! I have to get some video of Grandpa's morning arrival one of these days...it's so priceless to see the ear to ear grins from them. They adore one another...

Here are some photos Grandpa took recently...

Bookworm

Laughing

Mmm...pizza

Two Blankies & Mr. Bear

They are sayin'

...it's a girl!

The tech wasn't 100% sure so we're hoping to have one more ultrasound to confirm. I'm not sure when that will be yet, but Rob and I are feeling 75% sure it is a girl and are both thrilled and a little nervous (what do you do with a girl!? Only, kidding!).

If this baby surprises us and is in fact a boy we will be equally thrilled, but would prefer to not have all pink clothes hanging in the closet! We'll keep you posted in the coming weeks after we have another peek at the baby.

The BEST news is that the baby was healthy and right on track. We feel very blessed and look forward to another 21 weeks of pregnancy.

Much love,
Brooke, Rob, Ryan, and Baby Girl J.

Music Class

T-minus 3 days

Until we have our ultrasound! Yay!

Here are some photos from a recent playdate with Aidan.

Cracking up!

Week 18 - Our lil' Sweet Potato!

Week 18:  Baby J. is the size of a sweet potato 

Hi all! It's been a couple of weeks since I updated on how big Baby J. is getting! I'm now 4 months and really starting to pop! I have also been feeling flutters for a few weeks and it's now common for me to feel the baby throughout the day. I can tell he or she is getting bigger and the "flutters" are going to turn into "kicks" soon!

So here is the latest on the babe:

Baby J. is about as long as a dinner fork - eight inches - (5-6 inches if you are measuring only the crown to rump) and weighs a little more than six ounces (that's as heavy as three extra large eggs or one hockey puck). 

Although baby is enveloped by the familiar sound of my beating heart and rushing blood, he or she is conscious of noises from the outside world, too. They filter through the bones forming in the ears and to the developing brain. Our little one's sense of sight is evolving as well; the retinas are more sensitive to light, and if (and that's a BIG if around here!) I basked under a hot sun, the baby could perceive a red glow. Pads are forming on the fingertips and toes, and the eyes are looking forward rather than out the sides of the head. 

Our baby is capable of moving, flipping and turning somersaults.

Other skills include:

1. Startle movements
2. Slow gradual movements of the entire body
3. Hiccups
4. Breathing movements
5. Opening of mouth
6. Sticking out tongue
7. Moving arms and legs
8. Rotating and lifting head
9. Sucking
10. Yawning
11. Stretching
12. Swallowing
13. Making faces

I wish this was an image of our baby...but it is a baby at 18 weeks gestation so you can get an idea of what our lil' sweet potato is looking like. Our ultrasound in next Thursday and we are so looking forward to seeing the baby and hopefully finding out the gender. We won't hold back any surprises and will announce the news of "boy" or "girl" as soon as we know! :) I know, isn't that nice of me? 

Aside from contemplating baby names, thinking about decorating the new nursery, and feeling baby flutters all day long - we're also gearing up for Christmas around here. The first gifts have already been purchased, wrapping paper is on stand-by, and I was ready for the tree and house lights as soon as Halloween was over! We'll see what we can get done in the coming days, but I feel a surge of Christmas heading our way. It is the best time of the year! 

Happy Friday!

Sledding?

We bought an infant/toddler sled for this winter so that we would have one before the snow falls and they are sold out/hard to come by. Ryan puts his "baby" and "Mr. Bear" in the sled and pushes them around. He also likes to join them in the sled and be pulled around the house.

Hugs for Mr. Bear