33 Weeks

Almost there!!! Just 7 more weeks until Emily is due (4 weeks until full term)! This week Emily is almost 18 inches long and weighs more than 4 lbs. In theory... :) I spoke to Lori on the phone today, and it sounds like they're predicting Emily to be pretty small...not unexpected! Kylie and Amy were both under 6lbs, so we're expecting around the same for Emily. Guess she'll get to wear those newborn clothes! :) Right now fetal development is focusing on growing, mostly in weight. Emily can potentially gain as much as half a pound each week from here on out. That's pretty amazing when you consider it took almost 14 weeks just to reach half a pound total!!! Emily's lungs are continuing to develop, however there is a chance that if she were born now that she'd require no oxygen support (we still hope to make it to at least 37 weeks though!). Her nervous system and brain are continuing to develop and get ready for life on the outside! Currently Emily can do everything any other newborn can do...except cry :)

Lori sent me a couple of videos of Emily moving around and I had happy tears in my eyes watching them! I'm feel so blessed that both Lori and Emily are so healthy and that in 7 short weeks we'll be holding our first baby. A year ago, I was beginning to think I'd never be in this place, so I'm savoring the moment(s).

Eric and I are riding out our first big snow storm of the year. We've had snow off and on since the end of September, but today is some serious stuff. At 5pm we already had almost 10 inches of snow on the back deck...and the snow is supposed to continue falling until tomorrow evening. Luckily, right now there's a small break in the snow, but the wind has kept up. The snow is beautiful, but I hate driving in it. Since last summer, after taking out the pole on the highway in a thunderstorm, I get nervous driving in bad weather. I do ok until the car slips a little bit and then I get this feeling that I'm going to spin out of control again. I have to try, with a lot of effort, to calm myself and realize that the car isn't sliding and I'm ok. What I like best about the snow is sitting inside by the fire, Champ resting on my lap, reading a book (or watching TV), eating some banana bread (which I made for the first time this weekend) and sipping a warm drink. I do love the various seasons we get here in Colorado (except we apparently skipped over Fall this year). All of the greenery and the thunderstorms in the summer, the trees changing colors in the fall, the snow covered mountains in the winter, and the blooming flowers in the spring. A lot of things you just don't see in California. If I could get my whole family to move here to Colorado with me, it'd be just perfect!!!

Well, I think that's about it. Eric and I are preparing for our trip to CA next week. I work Saturday, Sunday and Monday night and we leave Tuesday morning. I think I'm going to see if I can be put on call on Monday night...otherwise we'll just leave when I get home from work that morning! I took Champ to the vet yesterday to get him checked out and got his health certificate and his "permission slip" to fly. He's a whooping 21 lbs now!!! We were told he'd be 8-9 lbs when we got him, lol. They were just a little off ;) He's doing well with his crate. We parked it in front of the fireplace, threw treats in there, fed him in there, put his bed in there...and now he'll just go and lie down in it. I think he'll do well on the plane!

Well, I'm writing a novel this week, so I think I'll end things here. Not much else going on anyway :) Here are some pictures of the snow today!