Evan at 30 weeks

We did another ultrasound at Prenatal Peek on Wednesday, July 27th.  Here are some pictures of Evan from that day:

Our sweet girl!

Yes, she has a tongue!  :)

Using her tongue to lick her arm

This is my favorite....a little smile!  :)

In case anyone was still wondering---Evan is a GIRL!  :)

Apparently she DOES have some hair on her head!

Oh, I love this precious face!  Look at those cheeks, those lips and that cute little nose!  <3

Wanting us to leave her alone

A profile picture...looks like her eyes might be open in this one

Now she was really getting tired of taking pictures

And there's the "for real, guys...leave me alone now" face.  Haha!  :)

We got the DVD of the entire session as well.  I'm so glad we got to see her again before she arrives in October.  She has changed so much from the 20 week ultrasound!  

Julie and Warren had their baby girl EARLY this morning at 2:45am!  Katie is absolutely precious.  We went to visit them in the hospital this afternoon, and both mom and baby are doing great.  It was awesome to hold Katie and hear how their experience went at the hospital.  It's really starting to sink in that Jeff and I will be the next ones there, and everyone will be coming to see us and to hold Evan for the first time.  Holding Katie made me even more excited for Evan to get here.....BUT we're still not ready yet, so hold on Evan!  :)

Jeff is painting her room as I'm typing.  We're doing it pale yellow to match her bedding.  Her furniture came earlier this week, and it's all white.  We're hoping to have her room painted and the furniture set up by the end of the week!  I can't wait to see it all come together!  This is all making me so much more excited for her arrival....and I know after our baby showers, we will REALLY be looking forward to bringing her home.  :)

This past week we had VBS at Mt. Harmony.  Jeff and I taught the first graders along with Maria.  This was our first year teaching, and we were pleasantly surprised with how well everything went!  It actually went great and the kids were very entertaining.  I think they actually learned quite a bit, and I was proud of them when we did the commencement for the parents on Thursday night.  :)  The little girls were obsessed with my big belly, and wanted to rub Evan every chance they could.  They were all sweet!

Here is what is going on with Evan at 30 weeks:

Big news for baby's brain this week: It's starting to wrinkle and fold and looks like something that grew in the back of your fridge. This is due to the rapid growth of your little genius's brain cells. 

Other highlights this week:

• Fingernails and toenails are finally finished—causing his or her parents great fear and anguish the first time they try to cut those little daggers (it gets easier, we promise)! Plus, the bone marrow is completely in charge of red-blood-cell production now. Trust us, this is a good thing.
• Baby is starting to shed his lanugo—the downy hair that was covering his skin. Now that he's chubbier and better able to regulate his body temp, he doesn't need to sport a fur coat 24/7.
• "I spy an umbilical cord and the inside of my mom's uterus!" When your baby is awake, his eyes are now wide open and he's whittling away the hours looking around, checking out his rather dark, limited environs.
• Your baby hasn't gained much weight or height this week, as most of his energy's been channeled to the brain. He weighs about 3 pounds and is approximately 15.5 inches long, about the size of a Yorkie terrier. Of course, your baby is less hairy and way cuter!

And here is the belly picture at 30 weeks:

I went in on Wednesday for a regular doctor check up and everything seems to be going great.  I had to take the glucose test, and I haven't heard back about my results, so I'm assuming that's a good thing.  haha  we'll see I guess!  I go back in 2 weeks on August 10th.

Alrighty--check back in on us soon!  Hoping to keep up with the posts!!  :)

28 Weeks

Yesterday was 28 weeks!  That means we have entered the last trimester!
Woohoo!!!

Here is what Evan is doing now:

As the Big Day nears, your baby is getting ready to go towards the light at the end of the tunnel (the tunnel being the birth canal, the light being the one the doctor is shining directly into it so she can see what the heck she's doing). 

Other highlights this week:

• Your baby's eyes are partially open now and can blink. Truly superior babies can actually wink. (OK, there is no way to prove that, but it's fun to imagine, no?) Your baby can also now become a shiny, happy person as she has begun having rapid eye movement (Get it? REM? Shiny, happy person?? We'll be here all week.)
• Her eyes have color now, too. It may not be the color she ultimately ends up with, especially if they're light gray or blue. The eyes typically don't settle on a final hue until nine months after baby is born. So when your mother-in-law says that the baby has her eyes, you can politely inform her that they'll most likely change soon. Sorry!
• Your babe is downright chubby compared to a few weeks ago. She is about 15 inches long, about the length of an amusement park cinnamon-sugar-coated churro (yum!), and weighs 2 to 3 pounds.

Speaking of Evan getting CHUNKY---we have scheduled another ultrasound for July 27th at Prenatal Peek.  We will be one day shy of 30 weeks, so she should be plenty chunky!  I hope she cooperates that day and lets us take some good pictures of her.  I can't wait to see how much she's changed!  :)

Here is the belly picture at 28 weeks (plus a few extras being silly---and a few bare-belly pics b/c my belly button is slowly disappearing):

I was just messin' and told him to take a picture with his hand on my belly--and it actually turned out pretty cool!  haha  :)

And here is a video from this afternoon....Evan had kicked or punched me several times, so I grabbed the camera to see if I could catch the action.  Sorry for it being blurry, but on the left side of the screen you can see the belly JUMP a few times.

I'm sure I'll be taking a few more of these videos in the next 12 weeks.  :)  She's getting pretty cramped in there, so I know she'll be pushing and kicking me around!  

We have a lot we're trying to get done by the end of July, so hopefully I can keep my posts up-to-date.  And hopefully we'll get some good pictures of her on July 27th!  Can't wait!  :)

July 4th Vacation

We had a great time during our July 4th vacation!

We spent the first part of it at Lake Gaston with mom's side of the family.  This was the first year we stayed at the Barnes' new place.  It is extremely nice and they have done A LOT of work on it!  Donald even rigged up a rope swing off the upper deck of the boat dock.  Robert and Lindsey came up too.  The weather was perfect and we got plenty of sunshine!  Here are some pictures (you can also see how Evan is growing too!):

Lindsey & Robert 

Jeff and I

The swing

Me and Mom 

Floating---so nice to lay on my stomach!

Sexay

Chillin

Jeff and Rob on the tube

yeeeah

Uncle Roy and the pups

Donald swingin

Brian showing how it's done!

The dock

There goes Jeff...

Mama and Evan

Again, with the view from the top

Aunt Barbara and Yogi  :)

Getting ready to go watch the fireworks

After a couple of days at the lake, we packed up and headed to Atlantic Beach for a couple of days with the Jennings crew.  Again, the weather was perfect (and actually quite breezy!).  I got some good use out of the beach chair that mom made for my pregnant belly-----So I guess there is a good reason for keeping a beach chair for 30 years.  :)  Thanks mom!  We had a great time on the beach and relaxing.  We also went to Beaufort to eat and shop a little too.  Can't believe it's already July!  The summer is flying by!  Here are some pictures from the beach trip:

Hanging out on the beach

hey hottie

The chair!

Lovely!

yep

Out in Beaufort

So yep, we had a great time!

In other news, here is how Evan has grown this past week (27 weeks):

Baby's lungs and immune system are maturing this week as baby prepares for his grand entrance. If he were born today he would have an 85 percent chance of surviving as his lungs are capable of breathing air (with medical assistance, of course). 

Other exciting developments:

• Baby's done a lot of growing over the past few months. His length has more than doubled in the past 15 weeks! And that's not the only thing growing—baby's brain tissue and neurons are all developing at a rapid pace. His brain waves are now firing away just like those of a newborn baby. If baby is a he, his testes will have completely descended at this point.
• Your baby now weighs in at approximately 14 1/2 inches and just over 2 pounds, or about the size of that roast you made last time your in-laws were in town. (OK, the baby is the size of that roast you meant to cook before you decided that ordering Chinese was a much better idea.)

Yes, my belly is getting pretty large now.  And she seems to be growing very fast!  I am still feeling great (thank goodness), but I must admit---it's crazy to see the scale going up like it has!  I'm hoping to gain about 30 lbs total, and as of now, I should be on track for that.  Our next doctor's appointment is on July 27th, and that's when I do the fabulous glucose test (sarcasm of course).  Hopefully I will pass it the first time and not have to do it again!  One thing that has been difficult is getting a good night's sleep.  I know, I know---I better get used to running on little to no sleep, but it's not just sleeping---it's just being uncomfortable and waking up feeling like I need a back adjustment!  I really need to purchase one of those pregnancy sleeping pillows for your whole body I guess.  Lately, I've been sleeping on the couch because I can seem to prop my body differently on it than in the bed.  But besides the sleep, everything is going great.

We are hoping to get Evan's room painted by the end of the month, so we can start filling it up/decorating it throughout August & September.  I still can't believe we're having a baby....It's so awesome, scary, and exciting all at the same time!  I will try to post another update for 28 weeks with an official belly picture....I need to take one of my bare belly....my belly button is disappearing!!  :)  Thanks for keeping tabs on us!!