Christmas Pictures

We had a great week visiting family in Indiana. See pictures from our week below...

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Merry Christmas!

May you and your family be blessed with wonderful memories this Christmas!

Saturday Fun!

Today was full of fun for Cameron & I...I had my first baby shower and Cameron attended the 3rd annual Onesie party! Thank you to my sister Janel, my sister-n-law Christy and my mom for throwing me an amazing baby shower. It was great to have so many family and friends to celebrate this little miracle with! Thank you to everyone who made time to come and thank you so much for all the wonderful gifts - Dane will be a well dressed little stud!

Mom, Me & Janel:Christy, Me & Janel:
Cameron attended the 3rd Annual Onesie party...
The Onesie party started as a "tree raising" party and ended as a tree decorating party where all participants dressed in red Christmas onesies. Needless to say, they all look absolutely fabulous in their onesies!

It's Monkey Time!

Cameron and Eric worked all day Saturday and well into Sunday morning to finish our monkey mural in the nursery. They did an incredible job...it looks like a professional did it! Thank you Eric for giving up an entire Saturday to do this for us, it looks amazing! See below for pictures of the finished product:

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

32 Weeks!

We are 32 weeks now and getting closer and closer to that full term 37 week mark! It's exciting to know that no matter what happens now (even if we went into preterm labor and had to deliver, God forbid) our baby has a very high rate of survival. It definitely eases my mind to be at that point!

So...our baby at 32 weeks:
By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, he'll gain a third to half of his birth weight during the next 7 weeks as he fattens up for survival outside the womb. He now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). His skin is becoming soft and smooth as he plumps up in preparation for birth.

At our appointment this week, I was reassured about baby's size. My doctor used the tape measure for the first time and said I'm measuring right where I should be, so our little one's growth has slowed down a bit which is good news for me...wasn't really excited about the possibility of delivering a LARGE Hatten man. Still feel great, although putting on my shoes is getting harder and harder. We have a very active little man and Cameron is amazed from time to time when he actually witnesses the movement in my belly. He's very strong and can shift my entire stomach one way or the other.

The ever growing buddha:

Shannan's Baby Shower

On Saturday afternoon I went to Shannan's baby shower. Rob & Shannan are home from CA for the week so her friends took advantage of having her here and threw her a shower. Shannan is due 10 days after us with a girl and another friend of hers is due 2 days after us...compare the bumps below:

February 8th; February 18th; February 10th::Shannan & I:

Cameron's Team Outing

Thursday evening we were downtown for Cameron's team outing. We had a great dinner at Feast in Bucktown and we also ended the night with karaoke at a nearby bar. It was a fun evening and even better...Cameron's gift from his team was a bunch of different gift certificates to our favorite restaurants. Guess that means I'm off the hook cooking for a while! :)

Baby Class, What a Treat!

Saturday found Cameron and I at an all day baby class with 11 other couples. The class was very informative and we learned a lot, but it could have been shortened by about 2 hours. We saw 2 live birth videos (natural and c-section) and Cameron actually didn't turn away...big surprise for me! We learned all about labor and delivery and also toured the facilities at the hospital where we will be having our baby. There is a button in the labor & delivery rooms that the father gets to push once his baby is born...Brahms Lullaby plays throughout the hospital to welcome another new little one.

Brahms Lullaby:


On Sunday we met my college roomies Jackie & Alicia for lunch and then proceeded to get some Christmas shopping done. Thank you Jackie & Alicia for meeting up - it was nice to catch up with you guys!

Karsyn

I know I've blogged several times about the brave children battling cancer that the Zehring clan has met over the last 2 years...I have a special prayer request for Karsyn Bell. The family received very devastating news this week. If you would like to read more about this family, please click here to go to Karsyn's caring bridge site. Karsyn is a very brave 4 year old that has been battling brain cancer for quite some time...this family lives in my hometown and I went to school with Karsyn's mom. Obviously, their situation hits quite close to home for us and I just feel the need to share their story with all of you.

Thanksgiving Weekend

This year we travelled down to Pittsfield, IL to spend time with my MIL's side of the family for Thanksgiving. Cameron and I actually got down there Tuesday evening and over-stayed our welcome until Sunday! We left early Sunday because of the snow that was supposed to be hitting on our ride home. We did see quite a few cars in the ditch and it was snowing / sleeting in several areas of our trip. Monday morning we woke up to about 4 inches on the ground. I guess winter is officially here!

Thank you to all the Gerards for a great Thanksgiving and for putting up with us for so long! It was great to see everyone!

Cameron's cousin Amanda - due a month after us w/ her 3rd!: