ultrasound pictures

Today we had our 20 week ultrasound, I'm a little short of 19 weeks but we are leaving for Peter's pond hockey tournament on the 10th and then my doctor is on vacation after that. 

We were so excited to see the baby again, remembering how fun it was to watch them moving all over the place at 10.5 weeks. I have been feeling them move around every day now for the last several days. So this morning as I was lying in bed and becoming more and more awake, I wondered if the baby was awake too. My hands were much warmer than my stomach so I put my hands on my swollen stomach and after a couple seconds felt a little, bump, bump, bump! Yep, our little one was awake too. And excited to go to see the doctor that reminds us so much of Aunt B! (really Betsy, I wish you could meet my doctor because she reminds us so much of you!)

So I have to admit Johnny, I was half hoping that they were going to tell us that we were expecting twins when we went today. (Even though I know I'd be much larger right now if I were). But there really is only one baby. One baby that weighs 9 ounces and who's head is 5mm in diameter now. We could see all their little bones and what looked like dark hair on top of their head. We have a shot of their face and profile and another of their little foot. See any family resemblance yet? We decided not to find out their gender, so we will all have a big surprise in a few more months. Take our survey to tell us if you think it will be a boy or a girl http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/S8T9KD8. The good news, yellow happens to be the favorite color of their dad and I love the ducky things for little babies. And there will be plenty of time to buy blue/pink things as needed. So bring on all your guesses. Peter has dreamed that we had a girl twice now and a boy once. The boy was born at 11:48pm and one of the girls' was talking after 3 weeks. :-D

And as excited as Peter and I were to see the baby moving around on the ultrasound, they happened to be sleeping. Funny, I never imagine that they would happen to be sleeping during the important event where we could see them. But they were, arm over their head, asleep...in the same position I woke up in this morning. The technician kept pressing on my stomach to get them to wake up and change positions, but they slept on, I wonder where those genes came from? There nap time might be the 3-4 hour of the afternoon because they weredefinitely sleeping at not at 9pm tonight because there was some more bouncing around after I had some hot chocolate tonight. But it is now 11:20pm and I'm not asleep yet because all I can think about is the ultrasound images from this afternoon. 

Fun to share this with you guys! We're excited to meet this little one! DONT FORGET TO TAKE THE SURVEY and see the results of what everyone thinks after you vote!  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/S8T9KD8 (by the way it only accepts one vote per computer)

18 weeks

I was 18 weeks yesterday, 4.5 months. It's amazing how fast time is going by and how large my stomach is getting! I feel like I've grown every morning that I wake up and see this little stomach poking out. I've been able to feel the baby move a few times, more recently. But the very first time was 3 weeks ago when I was 15 weeks. I was lying still trying t fall asleep and thinking about the day. When I felt a light movement against my stomach on the inside. It was something different than I had ever felt before. "There is a mystery and wonder bound up in feeling that first movement." Peter hasn't yet been able to feel them move, but hopefully soon he will. It is such an amazing thing that a little life is growing.
Peter has had three very detailed dreams now of our baby. Twice we have had a girl and once a boy. In one dream they were talking after three weeks and I told him that was normal. He could remember the time they were born and what they looked like. It's so fun to hear these! And I on the other hand have not had a single dream about the baby...maybe in a few more weeks.

a proper tea

Peter and I started dating 3 years ago today. (Three years, that's it? It seems like it must be much longer than that!) How did we even remember this day? That's a good question. I cannot take credit for that, it all goes to my husband. He has an amazing memory for dates. So to celebrate we had lunch at a British tea house. Chicken salad sandwiches, soup, scones with clotted cream and jam, and pots of tea. We lingered and talked for well over and hour and just had so much fun! It was quite a bit more casual than an afternoon tea would be and there were other men in the place too, so Peter didn't feel quite out of place. And he enjoyed it, but would never pick a place like that to eat/have tea without me.

an unexpected time with family

On the last day of our girls/guys weekend with friends I got a call that my grandmother had passed away. So our plans for reuniting in Colorado changed quickly to meeting up in Michigan instead. A lot of family from out-of-state came in, some that I hadn't seen in years. It was good to get to know the more grown-up versions of my cousins and for Peter to meet them. We both really enjoyed our time with them and my brothers. And Peter was quick to offer to hold our 7 month old niece and is quite the "natural". It was a fast and packed few days, but a blessing to all be together. We are now back in Denver and settling back into normal life for the next two weeks until we drive to Wisconsin for the annual pond hockey tournament (ie: hang out with college/HoneyRock friends).

Girls/Guys weekend away!

This weekend Peter and I are in different states from each other. He is in Montana skiing, playing hockey, and just hanging out with John Elsen. And I am in Indy, visiting an old friend from high school, Rebecca Peterson who will be having her 2nd baby in a couple of  weeks. And yes,I have hoped that she would go into labor while I'm here and that I could be apart of the excitement of it all. We have spent a lot of time talking about babies, pregnancy, and labor already. (It's nice to ask her all the questions that pop into my head since she is such an expert.) Today we are going to Babies R us to do some more shopping for her little girl that will soon be here. This couldn't be a more fun! I doubt that Peter and John's weekend will revolve around babies, but they will have a blast doing their own thing and being together. I did have a sweet phone call from Peter last night saying that he was thinking about me and the baby as he was driving yesterday and just so thankful for us. The Lord has given me two wonderful gifts, my husband and a little one. It will be great to see him again on Wednesday!

morning thoughts in a cafe

This morning I am sitting in a European cafe watching the barista make lattes with pretty rosettas on top. They have all sorts of rolls and sweet breads to eat as well as quiches and empanadas. I'm looking at their day-old scones and thinking how well that will go with a cup of tea and reading the newspaper (and dreaming about this little life inside of me)!
I will be here all day today since our car is getting some new brake pads put on. So I have brought books along to keep me company and my computer so I can accomplish some things off my to-do list. Not to mention the many people that will come in and out and how interesting that is. This cafe is also attached to the cooking school where I have taken classes and there is a class this afternoon that I'll join on cooking foods from Argentina.
So for all my Wheaton friends that read this, Peter and I met up with Nancy Swider-Peltz last night in Colorado Springs. We had dinner and toured the Olympic Training Center. We watched some people training: women's wrestling, men's gymnastics, and those lifting or running in the gym. It was so fun to see another Wheatie here in Colorado. And it also made me wonder what all those people that I went to school with are doing now. The Lord has a wonderful way of giving gifts and leading people to his work, as various as it can be. I can only imagine seeing the big picture in Heaven, a beautiful tapestry of intertwined lives and work and gifts.

NEWS of our New Year

We're back in Denver now, today is our first day back after almost 2 weeks of being with family for the holidays. It was a nice, relaxing time to be together and also one to cherish with our grandparents getting older.

And now that we've seen everyone and we able to make some phone calls to out-of -state relatives, Peter and I have news to share - we're going to be parents this summer. The baby is due on July 7th and we'll be in Texas then. We couldn't be more excited. I am 3.5 months right now and have just started showing in the last couple weeks. It is a beautiful and mysterious thing to have a life inside of you. And to know that the Lord already knows who this little one is and His plans for him! It really brings a new meaning to the scripture "he knit me together in my mothers womb" Ps 139.

So we are excitedly getting back into our Denver routine: working out, Peter studying and me taking cooking class and harp lessons. Although, all I really want to do is buy things for the baby and set up a nursery, etc, etc.