Third Trimester! Yeah! High Five!

As the title suggests, we are excited about being in the third trimester! Twenty-seven weeks have passed now, and things are still going swimmingly, aside from some apparently minor swelling in Kathy's ankles. The baby is kicking like crazy! Last night we had some friends over for dinner and everyone could see Our Girl kicking through Kathy's shirt. Amazing.

OK, it's finally time for an updated profile. For ease of comparison, Kathy is wearing the same outfit and standing in the same place as in the first photo. In short: she looks great!

Kathy at 27 weeks

This weekend, Kathy's Dad Don was kind enough to help me move some items to make room for the baby swag, including a crib that I bought from a colleague who used it for his two kids. Below is a picture of the crib. Yes, the music posters will have to find a new home. Probably.

The Crib

OK, that's pretty much it for our quick update. We'll post more often now, I think, as things start to come together.

-Joe

P.S.

I added a map at the bottom of the page which plots the location of visitors to our blog. We have friends and family all over the US and Europe, and they (you) are checking in regularly, so I thought it would be fun to see it visualized.

A howdy

Hi All! Please excuse our recent lack of updates. Despite our blogging lapse, we have been quite busy. Kathy and the baby are both doing quite well. Kathy is still growing, which is good. The baby is moving quite a lot these days. She has been very active since Kathy started feeling her movements, but recently Kathy has commented most when movements occur simultaneously in more than one location: she (the baby) kicks and punches at the same time! I, too, have witnessed this, and it's impressive. I'm already thinking about which sports she should play first.

We have begun amassing baby stuff. A week or so back, we went to a sale by a local "Mothers of Multiples" group, at which we found myriad clothing articles for K and the baby, as well as a toy for me: a swing! Well, it seemed like it was for me. This weekend we will pick up the crib I am buying from a colleague and swap our extra queen bed for a smaller one so that there is more space in the baby's room. We have also garnered a changing table and have a strong lead on a Pack and Play from Craigslist. Gotta love Craigslist.

Recently, Kathy's Dad Don and I took out a large portion of a wall separating our kitchen from our dining room in preparation for adding a breakfast bar in that wall. Tonight, we ordered new counter tops for our kitchen (including the new bar area). We are doing this now so that we are not worrying about trying to do major kitchen work with the baby around.

Alright, that's the update for now. Maybe more pictures will follow soon.

-Joe

More pictures

Well, here we are in week 26 (I think). We had another ultrasound on Thursday to take some measurements and whatnot. All is very well. Our girl was still pretty shy, keeping her hands in front of her face most of the time, but here are a couple of new pics which our tenacious ultrasound tech managed to capture.

Keeping that arm up

Closer

She still has her arm up here, but much of her face is visible.

We're off to a baby-themed garage sale right now, so more from us later!

Vacation in Florida

Hi all! We are 23+ weeks in now!!

We have not updated lately, so here are some pictures from our recent trip to Florida. It is especially nice to post pictures today, as it is snowing here in Chicago. The pictures are in no particular order (which is bad) but are accompanied by helpful notes and delightful anecdotes (which is good... right?).

Kathy at the Castillo de San Marcos
Isn't she lovely? This is in St. Augustine (more pics from there in a few... see what I mean about "no particular order?")

Kathy and Joe take in a Spring Training game.
My folks were there, too, and took the picture. Tigers lost to the Braves, and we were the only dorks there wearing Cubs apparel, but hey, we had good seats.

Kathy and Joe at the Castillo de San Marcos
Now back to the Castillo. This picture was taken by a random tourist at "The Fort" in St. Augustine.

Kathy and Joe on a the schooner "Freedom"
This picture was taken by a random English tourist

Tigers vs. Braves at Joker Marchant Stadium

It was great to be outside in Florida watching baseball. We got to see Kenny Rogers pitch (no jokes here). He is now on the DL.

Gators jockey for food at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm

The last thing that we did before leaving St. Augustine was to check out the St. Augustine Alligator Farm. I had been there before, but Kathryn had not, and this is the only place in the US to see all 23 extant species of crocodilians, so she was not about to miss this chance. Here, a curator is feeding alligators in the large swamp area of the farm. Kathy tried to get me to wrassle one, but I abstained this time.

Yo Ho, a pirate's life for Joe

Here I am helping to raise the Mainsail on a Schooner. We took a short cruise down the river in St. Augustine while we were there. I highly recommend it. We saw dolphins.

A seemingly content American Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) at the S.A. Alligator Farm
A happy croc.

Overall, it was a very relaxing vacation, and it will probably be our last "week off" before the baby comes. When she does come, she will have lots of new (pink) clothes to wear, thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Cheatwood's generosity (they fed us, carted us around, and clothed our unborn child. We're coming back next week, guys. Just kidding). Also, our good friends Mike and Robin gave gifts to our little peanut. Thanks, Fowlers!

The only stressful part of the trip was trying to pick out stuff we "need" at "BabiesRHalfoftheFederalDeficit." We made it through about 2 aisles before totally tuning out. Oh well, at least we know what the issues are for... gulp ... the next shopping trip?

OK, that's the update for now.