Week 26 1/2

If you have ever seen the movie "Willie Wanka and the Chocolate Factory", my beautiful wife is slowing transforming into the girl that turned into a blueberry... minus the blue color of course. She is now starting to feel what is is like to be me. Having a gut is a lot of work. Just bending over to tie your shoes is a task.

As you can see we are getting closer and closer to the big day. Katie is beginning to feel a little uncomfortable at times and the baby is moving a ton now. Just last night I had my head on the Katie's belly (talking to it. I know it is cheesy) and the baby kicked me in the face. I hope this is not a sign of things to come, but it really was quite funny. Despite Katie's moments of feeling uncomfortable she is loving every moment of being pregnant. I truly believe she has been waiting for these moments since she was a little girl.

Sorry we didn't update the blog in the past week. It was very crazy after traveling in the beginning part of the week followed up by having my dad here for the weekend. It really was great having him here. I think he might stop coming soon if I don't ease up on the amount of work I give him. Saturday night we were up until 2:30 am working on a closet in my office. We got it done and it looks great thanks to his help.

Playing with Bailey Video

Here is a little update video of Katie and Bailey.

TJ left for Mexico yesterday for a work conference. The baby and I had tea at that Drake downtown with Sue and Janelle. I love fancy girl days. If the baby is a girl, she just went to her first tea; if the baby is a boy, we won't mention it in years to come. Unless of course, he ends up really liking tea.

To everyone that has voted on the size of the baby...Thank you for NOT agreeing with my husband in thinking the baby will be 9-10lbs. If however, our baby is 9-10lbs. he may be very sorry he will be the only one in the delivery room. :)

Just a little somethin' somethin'...

IT IS FREEZING IN CHICAGO!!!! LITERALLY, IT IS FREEZING. My car dashboard read -6 on the drive home today at 3:45. YUCK!
However, there is some good news about this insane burst of frigid weather. For the first time in my life I am not to the point of tears while being cold. In fact, I actually have moments of feeling hot and I have to take off a layer. Can you believe it? For many of you that know me well...you know I am always cold.
For as long as I can remember, I have never been an individual that gets hot or sweats (unless working out). With this being said, I attribute my sense of warmth to the little one growing inside of me.
Here I am thinking I am taking care of the baby, and he or she is already taking care of me and giving me some extra warmth! What a sweet baby.

Week 24

Not a whole lot to report. We wanted to update you all with some photos so everyone can see how things are progressing. Katie continues to feel fine, she has started to go to prenatal yoga once a week.
We had our monthly checkup on Friday with the doctor, who reassured us that everything is going great. Katie's only concern at this point is the weight she is gaining. I keep telling her it is normal and she looks fine, however she doesn't believe me.
Our next major hurdle will start in a few weeks when we start to work on the nursery. My dad is coming into town in two weeks to help me get some other house projects done. So in the meantime we are busy registering for baby stuff, and picking out colors for the baby's room (yellow or green most likely because we need to keep it neutral).
Lastly, my own personal concern is this. I have heard of husbands getting sympathy pains for their wives, but I never heard of husbands taking on sympathy weight. I am not sure, but I am I think my body is trying to keep up with Katie's.

Week 23

TJ and I just registered for baby stuff over the weekend. It was really overwhelming. Exciting, but overwhelming. We went into babies-r-us and it took us 20 min. to get past the bottle isle. There are so many choices, I had no idea what the best option would be. I think we are pretty well set after much deliberation. Many of my girlfriends have been enormously helpful by sharing their ideas and helpful hints. In fact, it would have taken much, much longer to register without their words of wisdom. (Thanks Anne, Laura, Kristin, and Allison). I am hoping to purchase a few of the things on ebay if we are able to find the same items. I know the baby will outgrow some of the swings and such early, so it probably makes much more sense to borrow or buy the items off ebay. We'll see what happens.

My mom gave me a really adorable diaper bag for Christmas...I LOVE IT! However, T.J. thinks he may still want a more "manly" bag. He will soon discover, it really doesn't matter, as long as the baby is comfortable, safe, and has stuff...he won't care about the bag.

I am feeling the baby move a TON lately. It is so fun and really amazing. TJ has felt the movements as well. We will be 23 weeks on Monday! We will post pictures soon. If you think I looked big at Christmas, wait till you see pictures from this week.