End of September!

On the last day of September, I've put together a rather random group of photos to share... :)

Enjoy!

Here's one of Bill with Triton and Lexi - dogs we met at a baby shower for Daisy Patterson - huge dogs, that Bill just couldn't resist!

Here is Michelle and me at the Daisy shower

Our pile of baby clothes is getting bigger... :)
Thanks to everyone who's added to our pile!
(yes, yes, I realize we'll need to keep adding...)


I see FALL in the top left part of this tree - YAY!

They let us out 2 hours early today from school

because of flooding, and potential high winds... :-D I love Maryland...!

Women's Conference

I went away for the weekend for a Women's Conference with my sister's church on the 18th and 19th of the month.

Here is a picture of Alison and I ~

End of five months

Week 22... the end of month five!

Doctor's appointment went well today. Here are some "stats" about the pregnancy so far...

How far along: 22 weeks, 4 days :)

Baby's heart rate: 150 (right where it should be) and the nurse said it was "nice and strong"

Total weight gain: 11 pounds

Sleep: doing well - no worries there, and bring on the pillows!!!

Bellybutton: popping out a little ... yikes!

Food cravings: I wouldn't be surprised if this baby boy is addicted to peanut butter and ice cream... yum....

Labor Signs: um... NO. Not yet!

[thanks to my friend Heather M. who posted this same list about her pregnancy on their blog - trying to keep the family in the loop!! :)]

no video

Yikes... the video just doesn't transfer so well onto the computer screen - oh well! :)

Had a very relaxing weekend and it's off to work tomorrow! Doctor's appointment on Tuesday - I'll update you again then! :)

Sonogram Stuff

Happy Birthday Mom Barton! :)

here are our sonogram pictures to share with you... I tried my best to "label" them...

This one shows his "boy parts" and a leg

This one is also of the "boy parts"


This is a bottom view of the foot

This is a profile view - you can see his little nose and forhead, chin and lips

This is a "4-D" showing his face and his hands covering his mouth

Here is one with the eyes, nose, and mouth

I've got a video to upload as well... Look back in a little while!

Weekends

Before I posted the 'real' stuff... I realized I needed to include a 20 week picture... because I said I would! :) Halfway to meeting our baby!!! I am starting to feel movement during the day (it used to be just a night if I was laying on my back) and that's kinda neat. We're also working on ideas for the nursery - so far we've got fish/nautical theme, or 'camping'/outdoors theme....

okay, now for the "weekends" post!

Bill and I love weekends... especially when we're visiting with family and friends!

The 20-22 of August, we did a cousin camping trip to Bald Eagle State Park near State College, PA. We enjoyed good food and good company!

Julie, Grace, Mike, and Jacob

Jonathan

Erin and Jared

Alissa and Greg

Alison, Chloe, and Kevin

Bill and I (and baby!!)

On the 28th of August, we had a 'reunion' of sorts here at our house for the intramural team that Bill played on at Geneva. There were 4 couples who made it out to our house. The guys spent some time outside throwing the football around, and the girls catching up about what has been going on in our lives since we left Geneva five years ago!

Jonah

Justin

Steve

Bill

Steve and Abby's little guy Simeon

Jonah and Liz's little guy James

...and Steve and Abby's youngest Clay

Bill, me, Steve and Simeon, Abby and Clay, Randi, Justin, Jonah and James, and Liz.

This weekend we enjoyed a quick visit with Michelle on Friday night and Saturday morning - and then a visit with my grandmas and parents for the day on Saturday.

We got a group shot before they left. :)

Happy Labor Day Weekend!!!

Ultrasound

Today Bill and I went to the twenty week ultrasound.

We found out we are having a boy! :) :) :)

The appointment went very well, he's weighing in at 13 oz right now, and was moving all around. At one point he had the hiccups! We got to see his heart, his kidneys, arms, legs, face, spine, and of course the "boy parts" ;)

I'll try to post a updated picture tomorrow ~ which is also the first day of school ~ so it might be posted at some point by the end of the week.

In other news...
Cinnamon (our cutie pie dog) has been doing great the last few weeks, and is transitioning nicely into our school routine. She loves to be under blankets and loves to hang out on the couch with us. We have been trying to introduce her to all kinds of new people and pets around our neighborhood. She's just soooooo cute!!!

Okay, that's all for now :)

Our trip North day 3 and 4

Friday was our last day with the Patterson's before heading north to the Barton's. We started the day by crossing into Maine and visiting the Nubble Lighthouse.

Before leaving for more driving, we took one last group shot with Scott and Carissa.

We arrived in Bar Harbor, Maine and headed straight to the boat for our whale watching tour. They told us to dress in warm clothes, and I'm glad we did! It got to be about 45 degrees once we were away from land and out in the chilly sea air. We spent the first 40 minutes of our 3 hour tour "driving" out of the harbor and towards where the whales were.

It was worth the wait and the cold temperatures! It was neat to see real whales up close. They were close enough to see well, but not close enough to freak me out! :)

After we were finished whale watching, we drove to Chuck and Gail Barton's house in Trenton, Maine. They had a lovely dinner ready and waiting for us, and we spent the evening catching up with family that we haven't seen in a long time. (Chuck is my dad's cousin)

Saturday we spent the day with Chuck and Gail on Bar Harbor island in Acadia National Park. The picture below is us at the top of Cadillac Mountain.

For lunch, Chuck and Gail treated us at Jordon Pond. They are well known for their 'popovers'. I felt very touristy taking the picture, but I'm glad I did. :)

After lunch, we kept touring the island, including Sandy Beach. There were lots of people at the beach but we thought the water was freezing!!!

This picture is a good one to show how rocky the coast line is. It goes from pine trees and rocks into water ~ and that's what it's like everywhere!

Saturday evening's dinner included a fresh Maine lobster for Bill! The rest of us looked on as he enjoyed his seafood, and we enjoyed our steak dinner.

sorry...

Can you tell school has begun? The past few days (weeks) have been very busy and I know I'm behind in my blog posts about our vacation and the arrival of our new dog Cinnamon.

I promise when Bill gets home tonight and I can have some computer time I'll be posting!!

:)

Laura

Our trip north, day two

Our second day in New Hampshire was spent in the White Mountains. The drive was about an hour away from the Patterson's house. We enjoyed our time there - we had a relaxing day!

The Basin - a big circle area at the bottom part of the mountain that's about 15 ft deep.

Group shot at the Basin area - Tim, Deb, Carissa, Scott, Bill, and me!
Bill and I with our feet in the 'northern waters'

Although the water was bone-chilling cold, Bill embraced the experience and got all the way in!!!

We hiked up the mountain trail - look at all those roots!

Bill and I on the rocks where we stopped to see the view.

We left that area and headed for Cannon Mountain. We took the cable car up to the top (the picture only shows the first 2/3 of the ride... it was longer... a 7 minute ride...) and then hiked the "summit trail". I convinced myself that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity and went for it despite my fear of heights (not to mention the slight vertigo that occurs!). I didn't do much looking from the top, but I enjoyed the scenery none the less.

Bill on the other had fun "on the edge". :)

At the peak, there is an observation tower. This is not the top. I didn't go to the top. I made it to the first platform and after this picture was gripping the side rail.

This is the picture for the history books! I'm sitting on the edge!!!! :)

The views were beautiful. :)

After this we went to Mt. Washington... but I didn't have a picture ready to upload yet... it was fun to see the fancy Mt. Washington Hotel, and the peak of the mountain was actually covered in fog... so we can say we saw it, but it wasn't the greatest of views.

Day three is our trip up to Maine!