The Dog....

has no idea what's about to hit him. poor little guy will soon be wondering why he's not the center of attention. We're working with Austin on jumping and using his paws to get our attention. slowly but surely he's getting better.

Here's a few pics of our little dude over the weekend. Jeff tied a tie around his neck and this not only created adorable pictures, but endless hours of fun for him!

the kicks... THE KICKS!

Are about the coolest thing ever. Feeling her inside me bouncing around, and having a little dance party in my belly always makes me smile. Every time I feel her move, I rest my hand on my stomach so I can feel her. She usually kicks pretty low, but lately she's been kicking right around my belly button. So of course, I want Jeff to have this same obsession with feeling her move and I'm constantly telling him to put his hand on my belly to feel her. I know this might sound weird, but she freezes when it's someone else's hand and stops moving! Or maybe she was just going to naturally stop then, who knows. So after a few minutes of Jeff's hand in some uncomfortable position holding it up he takes his hand away, sad she stopped moving. (let me add in, that Jeff has felt her move plenty of times, but certainly not every time he tries to feel her)

So last week I'm laying in bed on my back and she's going nuts, so he sits up and puts his hand on my belly. And of course...... she stops! he gets a little irritated and pushes on my belly (not hard at all). Immediately she kicks back (or I think punched back). You should have seen the shock on his face - and I was a little shocked too. I'd never pushed on my belly to get a reaction from her. Seeing how excited he was, I couldnt help but mess with him. First I tell him that she's not a puppet and doesnt dance on command. He kind of laughs. He leaves his hand there for a moment and she doesnt move anymore, so I tell him I bet he smacker her on the head and knocked her out. The fear on Jeff's face was pretty much priceless. He then starts in typical Jeff fashion asking lots of Q's - is she really ok, do you think I hurt her, why isnt she moving, can babies pass out in the womb?? Realizing the barrage of questions that would continue for quite a while, I decided to tell him that I was kidding and she is fine. Little does Jeff know how tight my pants can get when I lean down, or how Austin has sucker punched me a couple times jumping up that couldnt compare to Jeff's little tap.

So with that all said, feeling our little one move around, dance, kick, punch, and play the drums in my uterus is the coolest thing ever!

Our Compassion Kid

This summer Jeff and I decided to 'adopt' a child thru Compassion. It's a really neat organization that helps kids all over the world get better education, better food, medication, vaccines, all while learning about the Bible. In addition, the small amount we give monthly typically helps the entire family have a better way of life. We 'adopted' Mwajuma in Tanzania and she's 8 years old. She is required to write us atleast 4x a year telling us about her life, and we of course write her back. This time in her letter she included some drawings that I thought were just too cute not to share. She drew us an wooden motor (?? that made me laugh), a baobab tree and a cup. She tells us lots of simple things about her life, but she wants us to know she dreams of becoming a famous singer. how cute is that? Especially for all the hardships she faces everyday, she still has a pretty cool dream. Here is her drawing:

20 weeks

Alright, here is a current picture of my belly on Saturday. It's with my camera phone, so it's lacking quality. Jeff was gone all weekend skiiing (so jealous, I love skiing!) so I spent the weekend with my parents shopping for the nursery! So fun!

I was reading today about being 20 weeks prego, and it said the baby will move mostly at night or when you're resting. That couldn't be more true with our little one. It explained that the movement I create during the day rocks her to sleep.... I about melted when I read that. So that explains why I rarely feel her when I'm active!

18 weeks

Here I am at 18.5 weeks. Don't you just LOVE my frumpy pajamas? I'm sure Jeff does too.
I added this one, because I still have hips! They are slowly going away!

The Bump - 15 weeks

I know there isn't a whole lot see, but I still made Jeff take a picture of me. I havent looked at this picture in 5 weeks because it's been locked up in our new Camcorder/camera that we got at Christmas from my parents. We finally just got them off! So I must say, I look so skinny compared to now! I had no idea that around week 19 & 20, I'd just pop out one day! Those picture are soon to follow.

Uncle Austin

Our 9 month old Golden is in for a BIG change this summer. Right now, he's gets all our attention, but not for long! Here he is as a 3 month old pup (how cute is he?) That was the age we got him, he was a rescue in Austin (yes, we are super creative with names).

I have more recent pics, but not with me right now. No worries, Austin will be plastered all over this blog before too long.

And here is one of Riley, I could never leave her out, even if she does live with my parents now.