28 Weeks!

We've made it to the third trimester!
Here's what's happening with baby Dane right now:
By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of his head to his heels. He can blink his eyes, which now sport lashes. With his eyesight developing, he may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. He's also developing billions of neurons in his brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

I still feel great! Also more wonderful news...I passed my 3 hour glucose test so no gestational diabetes! Whew, I was worried about not getting to eat pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving! Thank you for the prayers and well wishes for that! Here's my 28 week picture so you can all see how the buddha is growing!

My Husband: Child At Heart

We got our first piece of nursery furniture today and we raced to put it together...it was our glider and ottoman. Thank you Mom for the wonderful gift - I'm sure there will be many a night when Cameron or I fall asleep on it feeding Dane! What does any husband do once the big furniture box is empty and the contents are safely sitting in the soon to be nursery? Stairway sledding, of course!

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Crazy Dog!

It's been a long time since I posted about our four legged family members, but I have a story that is worth sharing! Typical day for me is spent in our office upstairs working and the dogs have free run of the house. They sometimes do things they shouldn't do (like tp our bathroom) but most of their shenanigans aren't a big deal and they don't destroy anything. Yesterday I was working and heard an unfamiliar noise in the kitchen...heading downstairs to investigate, here is what I found:Let me just reassure you that we don't typically allow our dogs to crawl around on the kitchen counters. Apparently Roscoe could smell the few cheese tortellinis I left in my lunch bowl in the sink and just had to have them. When I initially walked into the kitchen, Roscoe's head was in the sink licking out my lunch bowl. We also don't feed our dogs people food, so I guess the smell was just more than he could handle. It is terribly hard to yell at a dog for something when you're laughing at the sight before you. Needless to say I told him to get down and as soon as I went upstairs, he was right back up there again. Guess we have a new habit to break!

Glucose Test: Failed!

So maybe we did get an answer to why our baby is measuring on the big side...I failed my glucose test for gestational diabetes. I now have to do a 3 hour glucose test to see if I truly have diabetes or if it was just high on that day. I'm not all that concerned as I know it's very easily controlled and this is the only "bad" thing that has happened through this entire pregnancy, I would say we're pretty lucky! The only thing I'm upset about is that if I do in fact have gestational diabetes, I have to cut sweets out of my diet! That is my most recent craving, so that is going to be a tough pill to swallow! We'll keep you posted on what we find out from the 3 hour test.

Finally...A Quiet Weekend!

We had a very quiet weekend, it was so nice to finally veg out and just be. Friday evening we spent on the couch watching my belly move with each of Dane's kung-fu kicks and punches. It's quite freaky to watch your entire belly move, knowing there is a baby in there causing the commotion but wondering what he looks like and what kind of a personality he'll have. I'm enjoying this pregnancy very much but I am also excited to meet him in February...getting very anxious about birth.

On Saturday, I had an entire day to myself - Cameron had a guys day with a couple of his college buddies...he knows those times will be limited come February! He went to the Northwestern vs. Ohio State Football game and then into Chicago for the evening. On Sunday, we hung out on the Kopalas couch to watch DA BEARS unfortunate loss. Thanks Kopala family for hosting the Hattens for the afternoon!

The Kopalas & Cameron (Sawyer just arrived on 8/26):

A Busy Weekend!

This past weekend, Cameron & I travelled back to my home town for my Dad's wedding and to see the family. Friday we went to rehearsal and dinner and most of the crew dressed up for Halloween. On Sunday afternoon we headed down to Bloomington, IN to spend some time with the Zehrings and check out the Proton Beam Radiation Institute where Andon is receiving treatments. He has finished 24 treatments as of this morning and they are going to finish at 31 or 33 treatments. He has lost his hair around his ear on the right side of his head and it looks a bit sunburned, but he's handling everything very well. See pics below and a short video of just how goofy Andon is...it's a good indication of how he's doing since so many of you ask, but it's nice to see it for yourselves.

Presley:Andon:Cameron, Dad, Pam & Brian:
*Remember to pause the playlist to hear the video*

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Trisomy 18

I stole this video from a friend's blog because I was so incredibly touched by it. Trisomy 18 is a terminal genetic disease that doesn't allow for a very long life at all...most babies don't make it to birth and those that do typically die within hours of being born. It's pretty rare - 1 in 3000 births. I've heard about it a lot recently, probably due to my condition. I thought this video was really moving and wanted to share again what an incredible blessing a child is. Please click on "video" up above if you feel so inclined. Here is some additional information I found on the Trisomy 18 Foundation website:

At conception, 23 chromosomes from the father and 23 chromosomes from the mother combine to create a baby with 46 chromosomes in each cell, two of each type. Each chromosome holds a particular "position" in the cell and carries certain genetic material. A trisomy occurs when a baby has three chromosomes in one position instead of the normal two.

The most common trisomy is Trisomy 21, also known as Down Syndrome, where a baby has three of the twenty-first chromosome. Trisomy 18 is the second most common trisomy and occurs when a baby has three of the eighteenth chromosome. This results in 47 chromosomes instead of the normal 46 in the affected cells. It is this extra genetic material that causes the problems associated with Trisomy 18.

A Different Kind of Tag...

I was tagged by my bloggy cousin-n-law (is that a word?) Katie. The rules are to take the fourth picture from your fourth picture folder on your computer and write about it. Then you are to tag four people to do the same. So, here is the picture...
Cameron went to a 3 day music festival called Lollapalooza in August and I just went to the last day of the festival to see Kanye West. Needless to say, sometimes August is a miserably hot & humid month and we just happened to be at the festival on one of those days. Being pregnant wasn't so fun on that day and we didn't stay very long. I paid for a one day pass and wasn't there for more than 2 hours! Kind of a waste I agree, but I had no idea when I bought the ticket that I was going to be preggers. Sorry to do this to you, but this one is more interesting than the other blog tags that are out there:
Christy
Jodie
Sara
Priscilla