28 Weeks

Welcome to the third trimester!!! This week fetal development is focused on continuing brain development. The brain is starting to develop it's distinctive wrinkles. Emily's hair is continuing to grow, however the lanugo that started forming around 15 weeks of pregnancy is now starting to shed and will be mostly gone by the time she is born. Emily is now about 16 inches long and weighs around 2.5lbs.

We finally got a hold of our lawyer and will be meeting with him on Wednesday to go over the paperwork. On Monday or Tuesday Eric and I will be heading to Denver to be fingerprinted for our background checks. We're definitely behind, I think, when it comes to the legal stuff, but I'm trying to stay positive and hope that things will move quickly and be complete when Emily arrives.

Just 81 days to go until we get to meet our little girl!!!

Airplane Chandelier

We installed the airplane chandelier :) It wasn't too bad and took us just over an hour. We think it looks great in the nursery! It also holds three 60 watt bulbs so it brightens the room a lot more than the old light that was in there. I think it's a keeper ;) Now we just need the glider, which I think we're gonna go get tomorrow.

27 Weeks

This week marks the last week of the second trimester! As of today we only have 89 days left until Emily's estimated arrival!! At 27 weeks Emily is about 15 inches long and weighs in around 2 lbs. She's about the size of an eggplant.

This week Emily is opening and closing her eyes and her eyelashes are starting to grow. At this point you might be able to feel her little movements when she gets the hiccups!

Eric and I can't wait to hold our baby girl in our arms, and December is just around the corner!! I can't believe we're already half way through September!

The airplane chandelier Eric and I ordered for Emily's nursery arrived a couple of days ago, and I'm hoping we'll be able to put it up today. I've changed out a light fixture before, but not a chandelier, so I think this will be a little more work. Luckily, Eric is home this time and we can work together. I'll post some pictures when we get it installed!

I was thinking about going and buying a baby doll today. Crystal, one of my closest friends gave me the idea. She said to carry the doll around like you would a baby. Talk to it, play with it, cuddle with it...that way Champ can get used to a baby being around. Luckily Champ is a good dog. He's just really playful, so if we get get him used to being gentle to the baby before she even arrives things will be so much easier at home!

In news outside of the baby realm, Eric and I are getting ready to work on the deck. We need to restain and reseal it. We haven't had much rain since early July, and no rain is forecasted in the next few days, so now's the time. I'll be able to help Eric today, tomorrow and early Sunday. On Sunday evening I'm headed to Colorado Springs with Bre, a friend from work, for a two day advanced fetal monitoring course. It should be interresting! Since so much of what we do is based on fetal monitoring in L&D this class should be great and I hope to learn a lot that will help me be even better at my job! I'll be gone until Tuesday evening and then I work on Wednesday and Thursday. I'm spoiled and not used to this 5 days of work thing...LOL!!!

Well, I think I'm going to get up and clean the house a bit while Eric is at Centennial Airport. He's taking the Cessna up to get ready for his biannual flight review at the end of the month. I can't believe it's already been two years since he got his pilot's license!

26 Weeks

This week Emily weighs in at almost 2 lbs and is about 14 inches head to heel! The length of her spine matches the approximate width of an adult human hand when the fingers are stretched out! This week Emily's eyes continue to open and the nerves in her ears continue to develop, making hearing a more consistent daily event. She is soothed by voices talking, reading and singing to her. Emily's lungs are continuing to develop and produce surfactant. She is taking practice breaths and preparing for life outside of the womb. We're coming up on the end of the second trimester with only a week and a half to go!!

This week Eric and I bought our plane tickets to travel to and from California for Emily's birth. We will be driving to CA on November 3 and plan to make a couple of sight seeing trips along the way. We're hoping to see Meteor Crater in Arizona (http://www.meteorcrater.com/index.php) as well as make a stop in the Grand Canyon (http://www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm). We'll get to CA on the morning of Nov 6. We'll be leaving my car in CA in preparation for Emily's birth, and then we'll fly back home on Sunday, Nov. 8. Then we have tickets to come back on Dec. 9 when Lori will be 39 weeks pregnant. We checked with Frontier Airlines to see what their policy would be if we would need to change our reservations in the event Lori goes into labor before the 9th, and they said it would just be a $50 fee per passenger and the difference in ticket price. Not too bad. We'll be flying with Champ, and his ticket was just $100 (no fee if we have to change dates). Southwest no longer allows you to check pets, and Champ is too big to fit in the carrier that is allowed in the cabin of the plane. Frontier was very comparable in price, and we are allowed two free checked bags and get free Direct TV on the flight.

Eric and I ordered the airplane chandelier for Emily's nursery. It's due to arrive here on the 15th. I can't wait to see it and get it installed in the room!

"Meeting" Emily for the first time at 25 weeks

This past week was amazing. I got to travel to CA for my sisters birthday, go camping at MacKerricher, get together with friends, hang out with my sister, spend time playing with the most adorable nephew in the whole world, see my dad, see Mema, Papa, Aunt Paula and Grammy Carol, see Kylie and Amy, and see Lori. It was the first time I had seen Lori since this journey began. It was surreal seeing her cute pregnant belly and knowing our baby was inside. I was able to feel Emily move a few times and she even got in a couple of good kicks. It was just amazing!!! Lori and I were able to spend the day together talking about the baby and how excited we were. I honestly couldn't ask for a better sister-in-law. She kept talking about how she is so excited for us and can't wait to make us parents. This whole experience has already changed our lives so much, and we can't thank Lori and Richard enough. They are giving us the most amazing gift. Getting to go to CA and feel my daughter move around is something I'll never forget!!

Mommy saying "hi" to Emily

Aunt Patti excited to feel Emily move

Happy Mommy to be :)

Mema and Grammy Carol finished the Bumper for the crib and I was able to bring it home. Mema also bought us an airplane mobile which looks perfect in the nursery. I am so thankful for all of the love and hard work they are putting into all of this. I'm so lucky to have such loving people in my life, and Emily is going to be one lucky baby too :) Here are some pictures of the crib with the bumper and mobile:

It looks PERFECT!
This one is for Grammy Carol!