Names and Faces

Hey Everybody! Here's a picture of my beautiful wife!

And here's a picture of my beautiful baby boy! Two, actually.

Isn't he great? That's my boy! And I bet you have all been wondering what we are going to name him. You ready? Here it is: Nathaniel Hays Valentine! He's currently healthy and extremely active. Kylie just grumbled, "Nathaniel, go to sleep. I love you, I appreciate that you're and are letting me know that you're alive, but. . . *sigh* . . . you are making Mommy a little sick and unable to sleep." It's bedtime. He moves all the time, and isn't as shy when I put my hand on him. He gets the hiccups a lot, according to Kylie, which is, I imagine, an odd feeling for her. I just love how pregnant she is now! And how big he is! He was 3 lbs 12 oz last Wednesday when we went to get this ultrasound, with all sorts of good signs. In fact, he was big enough that they said that he is on track to be full sized nine days earlier! Yeah! But his due date is still the same. I guess? I don't know, I'm not a doctor.
   I am, however, a CPhT! That's a certified pharmacy technician. I passed the exam the other week, so now I'm just waiting to be transferred into the pharmacy. I'm super excited to try that out. I think I'll enjoy the new responsibilities and change of pace. It's gonna be different, that's for sure.
   Well, I think that'll be it for tonight. It's bedtime for Daddy, too. We have our birthing class tomorrow (I love going to it!) so I wanna make sure I'm full of energy for it! I am praying that you all have a wonderful week and a spectacular Thanksgiving. Remember to show that gratitude every day, to yourself, those around you, and to the Lord! It just makes everything so much better when you have an attitude of gratitude. Enjoy!

Week 29

The Baby is now the size of a butternut squash!

He is a little over 15 inches long and about 2 1/2  pounds. His brain is hard at work developing this week and his skull is expanding to give it room to grow. He's also using a lot of calcium this week to harden his bones and will continue to do so in the coming weeks. He's also building up the fat so he can look nice and cute when he comes out. He has already moved to the head down position so that his legs are up near my rib cage and sometimes when he gets a really good kick in it feels like he hits a rib (though I don't think he actually is). He is getting pretty strong. I think he had the hiccups today, too. I had a lot of little rhythmic twitches in my lower abdomen.

Chris has discovered that the baby likes low voices singing. He was listening to some Japanese music and first we listened to a woman singing, no reaction. But as soon as the next song came on, which was a really low male voice, our little boy started dancing away. So, of course Chris spent the next 20 min or so experimenting with what music made our little guy move. His favorite song so far is Zoo San. Which happens to be a Japanese children's song about elephants.

28 Weeks

Our little boy is now the size of an eggplant.

 He is about 2 1/4 lbs and about 14 inches.

His eyesight is developing enough that he can now see some changes in light that filter through the womb. He is also getting VERY active. The doctor said I could start counting movement this week, that I should feel at least 10 movements in an hour after eating. But not to worry about how long it takes to get the movements. I might get the movements within 20 min, instead of taking the full hour or it might take an hour and a half to get that last movement. Our little boy wants us to know that he is definitely healthy. I get ten movements within a minute or two. He just gets going and likes to keep moving around. Unless Chris puts his hands on my belly. Then he will stop moving for a couple minutes until he gets used to the hand being there or forgets about it. He seems to be a little shy. Once he's used to it though, he gets right back to moving up a storm.

My newest pregnancy symptom is leg cramps. They finally hit. People have been asking me for weeks if I'm getting them. Well, now I am. Haha. Not too bad though. I've definitely had worse. I'm just really conscious about drinking a lot of water and stretching often. I still feel pretty good as a whole. Enough energy to get me through the school day and I don't feel sick. In fact its really only my legs that seem to be feeling the pregnancy. I occasionally forget that I'm pregnant. Until our little boy kicks me or I have to get in and out of  a car.  : ) 

Happy November

   I got Kylie pretty good this morning. I got home at 9 o'clock and noticed that the clock hadn't been adjusted, so I crawled into bed with my barely-awake wife, put a note of panic in my voice, and asked "Aren't you going to get ready? Church is in an hour!" She woke up pretty quickly after that! Lucky for me she was still sleepy enough not to get mad.
   Announcement number one: We now have the internet! We finally broke down and decided that it was almost a necessity of life, especially considering that she uses it for school and I will use it for school come January. So I am writing my first ever blog post at my house! Comin' at you live from apartment 14. And what was the very first thing I did when I woke up and saw that we had internet? I watched a slow-mo video of popcorn popping. It was incredible! This interweb business is fascinating.
   Announcement number two: We now have a bed frame! Courtesy of my father for my birthday, it hits two stones with one bird by also serving as a dresser, with four drawers built into the bed. Nifty, huh? Got it at Ikea, which is, by the way, one of my favorite restaurants. Swedish meatballs! Got a pizza cutter there as well, but whatever. Anyway, here's a picture of the bed.

   It looks really small in this picture. It's a queen, but to be honest, it feels a little small with the way Kylie sleeps. She likes to scootch toward me, but I can't touch her leg because it hurts, so I end up scootching away. It's a vicious cycle. I think it's payback from the time I bloodied her nose in my sleep. She likes to hold grudges like that. Ain't love a kick in the head?

   Announcement number three: Kylie now has a cane! She's been limping so pathetically that I finally convinced her to go to the thrift store with me and buy a used cane. This thing is a beast! It's a recurve or something, I don't understand. I've never seen a cane like it. You'll just need to see it, I can't explain.

Weird, huh?

   I've been to boxing class more. I love it! I'm sore all the time, haha, but I can feel myself getting better and stronger. It's so fun. I'm excited for when I'm experienced enough to spar for real, but I'd just get hurt if I tried now, haha.

   We've been really blessed the last couple of weeks. I got 9 hours overtime last paycheck, 8 this one, and we aren't ever allowed overtime. It's just an example of the Lord blessing us for paying our tithing (10% of our income) by getting me more hours to support us with. It's awesome! we're promised in Malachi that if we pay tithing that the windows of heaven will open right up and blessings will flow, so much that there will not be room to receive it. A few hours of overtime is a good start. It helped us pay for the tire that exploded on us the other day, haha. Dad is always saying I'm pretty lucky; I'm just blessed. : )

   Our son is now the size of a cauliflower (whatever that means; I hate these vegetable references) and a LOT more active. When we had our Halloween date night (Corpse Bride and themed dinner; pics below) he was jumping around the whole movie. Kylie always forgets to watch, but she wants to see him move her clothing while teaching or something. Freak out the kids. He is also, according to babycenter.com, sleeping regularly with more brain activity. So here is my beautiful wife with our beautiful baby in her beautiful belly. And our calendar.

   Well, it's bedtime for me, after our post-church Red Baron pizza (it's a weekly tradition). Sunday is not always my day of rest, what with work at night and church in the day, but it's not that bad. I'm just an hour behind in sleep today, so I hope I sleep well . . . and that the kid downstairs won't throw any screaming tantrums today. Don't forget to put your email address in the box to the right if you want an email every time we post. Love you all! Good night! : D 

Ribs and shrunken heads (potatoes) and some bloody guts