28 weeks

How far along? 28 weeks
Total weight gain: 23ish pounds

Maternity clothes? yep

Sleep: Love it, even if it is interrupted with trips to the bathroom.

Best moment this week: Spending time with family and receiving so many wonderful gifts!
Food Cravings: dessert items

Movement: Lots lately, especially around meal times and at night. This girl does not like to be hungry!

Gender: GIRL!!

Labor Signs: NONE. I hope to answer this question that way until March.

Belly Button in or out? In.
What I miss: sleeping on my stomach
What I am looking forward to: Starting our birth classes at Missouri Baptist this weekend. Two full Saturdays should be enough to teach us pretty much everything we need to know, right? :-)
Weekly Wisdom: Rejoice!

Milestones: At 28 weeks, over 90% of babies born will survive.

27 weeks

Merry Christmas! Our best present is wrapped with a bow :-)
How far along? 27 weeks
Total weight gain: 22 pounds

Maternity clothes? yep

Sleep: Love it.

Best moment this week: Nate felt her move finally!! That was such a sweet moment! Also, Dr. F called her a "superstar" at this week's appt since he could already see her practicing breathing.

Food Cravings: Food, basically.

Movement: Lots more every day. She is breech right now, so I feel a lot way up high and way down low.

Gender: GIRL!!

Labor Signs: NONE. I hope to answer this question that way until March.

Belly Button in or out? In.

What I miss: Sleeping for a stretch longer than 2 hours.
What I am looking forward to: Seeing our families for Christmas.

Weekly Wisdom: Be thankful in all things.

Milestones: Officially in the third trimester, holy moly. Also, I got to meet this little guy last week. So thankful for another healthy baby! Congratulations Megan and Ryan!!

26 weeks

(Thanks for the Ram's tickets Bill and Ginny, we had a great time!)
How far along? 26 weeks
Total weight gain: 20 pounds - it makes me feel better now that most of the weight gain is really baby girl!

Maternity clothes? yep

Sleep: Love it.

Best moment this week: My work wife Megan safely delivered baby Jacob on the 16th and mom and baby are doing great!

Food Cravings: Food, basically.

Movement: Love it! Still waiting for dad to be able to feel her from the outside, so far she's being a stinker and only letting me feel/see that, silly girl.

Gender: GIRL!!

Labor Signs: NONE. I hope to answer this question that way until March.

Belly Button in or out? In.

What I miss: Making it longer than an hour and a half without having to pee.
What I am looking forward to: Nate being able to feel her move and of course meeting my work wife's new baby Jacob Christoper!

Weekly Wisdom: Be thankful in all things.

Milestones: Every day is a milestone :-)

25 weeks

How far along? 25 weeks
Total weight gain: 19 pounds and holding steady

Maternity clothes? yep

Sleep: Love it.

Best moment this week: Feeling more serious movement and especially feeling her kick way up by my ribs during church. Maybe she's already charismatic? Also, last night I was reading a book and resting it on my belly and she was wiggling so much that my book moved a couple of times!

Food Cravings: I'm so hungry in the mornings I'll eat almost anything. But if you have a bagel, watch out.

Movement: I know now that this is definitely the best part of being pregnant. I could just sit back and feel/watch her move all day. I want everybody else to feel her too!

Gender: GIRL!!

Labor Signs: NONE. I hope to answer this question that way until March.

Belly Button in or out? In and spreading. Nate thinks it's cute, me not so much.

What I miss: Nothing I can think of.
What I am looking forward to: The whole Christmas/New Year's season.

Weekly Wisdom: Do not try to turn off the water faucet by pushing the Stop button on the microwave. No matter how many times you try, it just won't work.

Milestones: Every day is a milestone

Work Baby Shower

Yesterday was my work baby shower and it was so exciting and fun! My work friends did an amazing job and everything was so beautiful! There was a lot of pink and purple and I loved all of it. I felt so special, loved, and blessed to have great colleagues who are so generous and thoughtful.

The cake made by the pastry chef downstairs in Fresh Gatherings. I love the sleeping baby in the corner and all of the chocolate stars! It had a raspberry filling and was so delicious!!


Me and my work wife Megan. And our babies, of course! She described her "bump" as an accessory and I thought that was hilarious. I can't wait to meet her little guy in just a few weeks!



Katie, me, and Megan - they were great shower organizers!


Katie was doing an excellent job bartending. I loved the sparkling apple cider!


Cute table decorations and advice cards.



Clearly I was having a lot of fun!!


Baby girl got so many cute and really soft blankets. She will definitely be warm!


Opening another great gift.

Fun on the Freeway, Part 2

This weekend we braved the cold and went to the opening of the second half of Highway 40, aptly titled Fun on the Freeway. Just like Sweat 4 Pets, it was fun to think about what we did last year compared to this year.

2008:
Megan and I before the 5K run. It was so cool to run on the highway in December. Everyone was really excited and it was a fun crowd.


Here I am finishing, if you look closely. I thought I was doing horrible and the run felt miserable, but I took about 2 minutes off my previous 5K time!


A view of the new highway


Close to the Ballas Rd Exit


After I did the run, Nate rode his bike nearly the entire length of the first section to open.


2009: We walked between Hanley Rd and the Big Bend Exit. It was fun to see runners, walkers, bikers, roller bladers, skate boarders, unicyclers, and other interesting people. People also wrote in chalk all over the median and the road.


Almost to the Bellevue Exit. I realize that the weather and overcast sky actually looks exactly the same in both years.


At the Big Bend exit.

Semester Project

Quick detour from baby news to highlight what I've been working on for the last several months for my master's program. I studied the effect that MetroLink rail stations have on residential property values. Studies in other cities have found 5-20% boost in value from living within a short distance (1/4 mile or 5-minute walk) from a station. Other studies have found houses decrease in value because not many people use mass transit and because of noise and traffic. I wanted to see what the deal was along the new MetroLink extension. To keep things manageable, I looked at the two stations in Maplewood, Sunnen and Maplewood-Manchester. Thanks to the St. Louis County Planning Department for the data.

It's more complicated than it sounds because I had to play around with the data alot. It's difficult to compare different neighborhoods directly, especially since Maplewood has older, smaller, and cheaper houses than the surrounding areas of Brentwood and Webster Groves. Basically what I found was that once you control for the school district, there is a 6.3% increase (per square foot) in value for single-family homes, excluding rentals. This works out to approximately $9,000 in extra value for each house located within 1/4 mile of the station.

This project is just a start, I hope to expand it to all stations, get more updated data, and tweak my model for my thesis sometime next year. If you want all the gory geospatial details, or are looking for some delightful bedtime reading material, I will happily send you my full paper.

You can click on the map at the top to see in more detail.

24 weeks

How far along? 24 weeks

Total weight gain: 19 pounds (maybe I should have been paying closer attention to the scale, I'm trying not to be too stressed about it since we're both totally healthy)

Maternity clothes? yep

Sleep: Love it.

Best moment this week:Seeing her on another ultrasound at Monday's appointment. She's looking great and is growing right on track!

Food Cravings: Pretty much anything, I've been starving lately!! I'm trying to choose healthy foods and snacks, but how many apples can I eat a day?!?

Movement: Lots more just this week. Some so strong I can see my belly moving from the outside, which is crazy awesome.

Gender: GIRL!!

Labor Signs: NONE. I hope to answer this question that way until March.

Belly Button in or out? In and spreading

What I miss: Being more independent. I have to get help to move and carry things and I'm not used to that! I know people are happy to help, but I hate to have to ask for it.
What I am looking forward to: My first shower next week at work :-)

Weekly Wisdom: Love more, fear less.

Milestones: VIABILITY! If she were born today all possible attempts would be made for her to survive and she would have a good chance of making it. This is a HUGE milestone to me.

She has a crib

Thanks to a little extra down time over Thanksgiving and the generosity of Grandma and Grandpa Tenholder, baby girl has a crib. The room is really starting to look like a baby girl's room!

23 weeks

How far along? 23 weeks - Happy Thanksgiving!

Total weight gain: 12-13 pounds?

Maternity clothes? yep

Sleep: Love it. It's getting harder to get comfortable since I'm a natural stomach sleeper and that is definitely out of the question now. The hip and back pain also make it hard to find a comfy position, but I'm hanging in :-)

Best moment this week: Feeling baby girl movements from the outside! She's definitely growing and getting stronger.

Food Cravings: Bagels with cream cheese and Switzers licorice, as usual.

Movement: I feel something every day and usually it's pretty low. Lots more just in the last few days!

Gender: GIRL!!

Labor Signs: NONE. I hope to answer this question that way until March.

Belly Button in or out? In and spreading

What I miss:Being able to play Wii with my family and not hurting myself! I feel so fragile.
What I am looking forward to: There's so much to look forward to I can't pick one thing.

Weekly Wisdom: Love more, fear less.

Milestones: Past halfway!

22 weeks

How far along? 22 weeks
Total weight gain: 12 pounds (?) I'm trying not to be too crazy about weighing myself.
Maternity clothes? yep
Sleep: Love it. I still definitely think that there should be a mandatory 9:30 bedtime for pregnant women.
Best moment this week: Being able to find baby girl's heartbeat so quickly every time I try with the doppler.
Food Cravings: Bagels with cream cheese and Switzers licorice, as usual.
Movement: I feel something every day and usually it's pretty low.
Gender: GIRL!!
Labor Signs: NONE. I hope to answer this question that way until March.
Belly Button in or out? In and spreading
What I miss: I can't think of anything
What I am looking forward to: Seeing the families for Thanksgiving - there is so much to be thankful for this year.
Weekly Wisdom: A thankful heart goes a long way.
Milestones: Past halfway!

21 weeks

How far along? 21 weeks
Total weight gain: 11 pounds
Maternity clothes? yep
Sleep: Love it. There should be a mandatory 9:30 bedtime for pregnant women.
Best moment this week: Getting some reassurance from my OB that everything is looking great and that the lower back pain I feel is not indicative of preterm labor.
Food Cravings: Bagels with cream cheese and Switzers licorice. I'm starting to be pretty consistent with these two!
Movement: Still not totally consistent, but I usually feel something every day. Some days she's much more active than others. Right around 5:00-5:30 she is pretty active - maybe she's hungry like me?
Gender: GIRL!!
Labor Signs: NONE. I hope to answer this question that way until March.
Belly Button in or out? In.
What I miss: My memory/full brain power.
What I am looking forward to: Our no plans Saturday. I plan to sleep in, eat a bagel, take a nap, and hang with my husband in our pajamas. It couldn't be better!
Weekly Wisdom: There are so many little things that happen everyday that show us how loved we are. We just have to slow down enough to see them.
Milestones: Past halfway!

baby girl's room

Here's the progress so far, which is pretty good!

Room before paint:


Room after paint: Only three walls are painted purple because the back wall will be taken over by a mural painted by Nathan's dad. It will be so beautiful!

20 weeks

How far along? 20 weeks - the produce measurements are starting to get weird. This week is a cantaloupe and next week is a banana? I'm not so sure about that! I don't think they work as well once the baby starts to get bigger.
Total weight gain: 10 pounds (right on track, according to my OB)
Maternity clothes? yep
Sleep: Love it.
Best moment this week: Feeling some distinct nudges from baby girl. She is starting to get stronger and letting me know when she's awake!
Food Cravings: Bagels with cream cheese!!!
Movement: Some and it seems to be a little bit more every day. This may be my favorite part so far.
Gender: GIRL!!
Labor Signs: NONE. I hope to answer this question that way until March.
Belly Button in or out? In.
What I miss: Being able to be as active as before. I have to slow down and take breaks otherwise I pay for it later.
What I am looking forward to: Seeing her room painted this week and oddly enough cleaning out the basement closets this weekend.
Weekly Wisdom: If you're feeling anything weird and aren't sure about it, call your doctor. Even if it reaffirms what you already think, it will make you feel a lot better.
Milestones: 20 weeks is halfway!

Baby Girl

Sweat 4 Pets

The Sweat 4 Pets is a big event for us each year. It's an annual fundraiser for local pet charities held in Tower Grove Park. They have a 1 mile fun walk, 5K, and 10K.

2006: I sat on the sidelines with Jackamo while Nate did the 5K. I remember feeling so lame watching everyone be active while I just camped out. The guys looked great though!



2007: We did not participate. However, I was on my weight loss journey then and decided that in 2008 I would run the 5K. This seemed like a completely unattainable goal but I was determined.

2008: My first 5K! There was a group of 4 of us and we all ran the 5K. My friend Megan also did her first 5K on that day and we were both so excited and nervous. Our husbands can both run a 5K with little to no preparation, however. I also laid out my future plans for the next several years on this day. I said that hopefully in 2009 I would do the 1 mile fun walk because I would be pregnant, in 2010 I would do the 5K with a jogging stroller, and in 2011 I would do the 10K with a jogging stroller, then there was even talk of double jogging strollers after that.


Me before the race feeling very official with my number pinned on!


Us before the race. It was freezing! It actually started to flurry while we were running.


Me along with the Osborns at the line up. Nate was way ahead of us because he's speedy.


Almost to the end!


At the shoot and sprinting to the end!


2009: Just as I said I would last year, this year I did the 1 mile fun walk while Nate ran the 5K. It was perhaps the most beautiful day in the history of the world and it was great to look back and see how things have changed since our first time here in 2006. God has been so gracious to us!

My guys before the run


Charging through to the finish


The walkers at home after the race


I can't wait to see our pictures from 2010!

Date Night

Since last winter, we've had a recipe torn out from an old Sauce Magazine. It's for fonduta mac 'n' cheese: recipe here. It seemed a little too fancy for an average weeknight, so when planning this week's date night this was the recipe that came to mind.

Making the fonduta cream - adding in the fontina cheese


After the bake


Our fancy table. We also had roasted cauliflower and asiago cheese bread. That's a glass of sparkling apple cider for all of you pregnancy police!


After dinner we watched Once and really enjoyed it! After the movie we went with some friends to our favorite little place for dessert.

We had a great night!

Halloween, a bit late

Halloween was interesting this year. I'll be honest, I was not in in the mood to dress up and go to a party. Nate, on the other hand, had his costume picked out for months. We saw a Demetri Martin sketch about a guy who was too early for a rave. Check it out on YouTube here.
He was ready to go with his hair in pony tails, glow sticks, and disco speakers. I was not at all prepared and at the last minute decided I had enough around the house to be a 50's housewife. I'm glad we decided to dress up and go because we had fun!




Who wouldn't have fun with this guy?

20 weeks!

20 week mom view

I'm so excited to be 20 weeks pregnant today! Officially halfway! Baby girl must be going through a growth spurt this week because I have been feeling a lot of stretching and aching from everything growing. She's also taking all of my energy and making me extra hungry! This poses the question: how many bagels with cream cheese can I eat and still gain the appropriate amount of weight? I feel like I could live on bagels!!!!

Click on this link to see how she's developing.

19 weeks

How far along? 19 weeks - a baby zucchini!
Total weight gain: 9 pounds
Maternity clothes? yep
Sleep: Still unsure about the body pillow and having some strange dreams.
Best moment this week: Having my OB confirm that we have a girl and getting to see her moving around on the ultrasound
Food Cravings: Halloween candy?
Movement: Little taps, rumbles, and vibrations here and there still, it will probably be a couple more weeks until I'm feeling more regular strong movement. I can't wait!
Gender: GIRL!!
Labor Signs: NONE. I hope to answer this question that way until March.
Belly Button in or out? In.
What I miss: Feeling alert and being able to get more things done at night. I just keep dozing off!
What I am looking forward to: Everything! The holidays, getting baby girl's room together, 2010, the weekend, everything.
Weekly Wisdom: When it's the hardest to be nice and understanding is probably when it matters most.
Milestones: Every day is a milestone :-)

18 weeks

How far along? 18 weeks - a sweet potato! I don't think we did our baby girl justice picking out this week's produce, she is probably a little longer than this particular sweet potato.
Total weight gain: 7 pounds (right on track!)
Maternity clothes? mostly yes
Sleep: Definitely, yes. Not nearly enough this week.
Best moment this week: Finding out we have a healthy baby girl! Seeing her arms, legs, heart, brain, kidneys, fingers, toes, and every other body part was so amazing. It was so clear that she is fearfully and wonderfully made.
Food Cravings: Mexican food and specifically a quesadilla dish at Casa Gallardo we got an ad for in the paper. I had to have it! I did, and it was disappointing, of course.
Movement: Little taps here and there still - I felt a bubble popping sensation a couple of times and I'm sure that was her saying "Hi, mom!"
Gender: GIRL!!
Labor Signs: NONE. I hope to answer this question that way until March.
Belly Button in or out? In.
What I miss: Margaritas. My mouth was watering last night when the table next to us ordered two of the biggest margaritas I have ever seen.
What I am looking forward to: Getting baby girl's room together and more daydreaming about our family of three.
Weekly Wisdom: Be in the present, not in the past or future. Realize how blessed you are at this very moment!
Milestones: Every day is a milestone :-)

Little Lady

We found out this morning that we have a little girl growing! We've been thinking girl all along and it was so exciting to get confirmation. They measured so many things and she (we love that we can say she now!) looks great. Her heart, kidneys, brain, spine, legs, arms, and everything else is measuring right on track. She weighs 9.8 oz right now and she's a healthy growing little girl.

Profile of our little sweetie


Clearly a girl - you can see how she's laying with her ankles are crossed on the right - the white spots are her feet.


In the car after the appointment - what a proud dad!


And a proud mom!


Of course we wanted to pick out a little coming home outfit for her! The long sleeved onesie says "I love hugs" and there are pants and a little dress to go with it. No outfit is complete without the headband and hair bows!