Watching things grow

It seems like we had to wait so long this summer to see our plants grow and flowers blossom, but finally things are blooming. For so many years, I didn't understand how individuals could become what seemed like obsessive about their flower gardens. But this year, it became obvious to me. Waiting for the perennials to peek through the ground, grow, and then blossom tested my patience, but to see the beautiful colors now was worth it.

In a lot of ways, I'm feeling the same way about my pregnancy. On one hand, I feel like I can't possibly have to wait three more months because I feel like I've been pregnant forever, but on the other, I feel like screaming "Eek - we only have three more months!" And I can't wait to see/meet our little one and watch him/her grow. Although I'm hoping the baby's coloring will be a little different than that of the flowers, I'm sure we'll be enamored by him/her nonetheless.

Even though we can't see the details of baby's development, we can tell he/she is growing bigger by watching my belly grow, and we can also tell by his/her movements, which are becoming more frequent and stronger. It's fun to have Aaron be able to see my stomach vibrate and feel baby move. The other night, I was resting my dinner plate on my stomach and I swear the whole plate shook! I'm now 26 weeks pregnant and my weekly update said that baby is 9.25 inches long from head to butt and weighing about 2 pounds on average.

We've been learning a little more about how baby's develop and grow after they're born from our friends who have recently had kids (Ken & Dawn, Jeff & Erin). Being able to see the small changes from week-to-week or month-to-month is kind of cool - watching them learn to smile, begin to grasp onto things, and learn to walk. I'm sure there will be many more milestones that we'll notice with our own little one. One that I'm really looking forward to is watching Aaron change his first diaper - maybe we'll have to take video to share with all of you! I'm sure he'll do just fine though.

We'll be preparing the house for baby's arrival starting in August (once I get done teaching the summer institutes) while we're both home. Aaron has begun the job search process and is really dedicating himself to doing a good job, he's perfected his resume and is now sending it out to a variety of places. Some of the positions really appeal to him, so we're saying our prayers that he'll find one that he enjoys. We'll keep you posted on this area of our lives as well.

In the meantime, enjoy the recent photos and keep checking back as Aaron is planning on sharing his thoughts one of these days. We look forward to hearing from all of you (either in your comments on our post or in an e-mail) and we can't wait to see many of you in about two weeks!

And we have...

movement! That's right Baby Menke is moving all over. Each day the little bugger moves around a little more, poking me all over. Although at times it feels like little bubbles, at other points the movements are stronger. I was a little freaked out when I realized that if I lifted up my shirt I could see the movements - little vibrations. Much to Aaron's delight, he's also able to see & feel these movements, although he doesn't always have the patience to wait between movements as they're not always the most regular. It never fails that the minute he takes his hands away, the baby moves! But for the first time since they started monitoring the baby's heartbeat, he/she stayed in one spot long enough to get a good reading on the first try!

I had my 24-week appointment today, and they did the screening for gestational diabetes. My fruit punch flavored drink was quite sugary and by the end it didn't taste so good, but my results came back good. They want the count to be less than 135, and I was at 67 - so nothing to worry about there. I asked the doctor about my weight gain because I feel like I'm sticking out, and I've head a few people comment on how big I am already, but she checked, and I've only gained 12 pounds, so I'm right where I should be to gain the typical 25-30 pounds. She just said because I'm shorter, there's not much room for me to grow except out. So that's the latest update from the doctor. When we go back in another month, they'll do another ultrasound to monitor the baby's growth, we'll keep you posted with pictures of baby and mama's growth!

Aaron and I enjoyed a road trip this weekend to Aurora, IL to visit Aunt Karen & Uncle Jim. We enjoyed our time visiting with them, and it was fun to actually see some of my family and see how excited everyone is for our new addition; although I think it's killing Aunt Karen that she won't know if it's a boy or a girl and that we won't share any names. We're holding firm to our resolve; so far, no one has been able to break us. We'll see if we can keep it up another 16 weeks!

California

What a trip! We just got back from 5 days in sunny California, and it made me wonder why I live in land-locked Minnesota. Aaron, however, was reminded why he doesn't want to live on the west coast.

We arrived in San Diego on Thursday evening to meet up with Brian, Renee, Ellen, Sarah & Kristine after a Twin victory against the Padres. After a few beers (waters for me of course!), we called it a night. Friday was our day to tour San Diego - we visited the Hash House where we shared a pizza-sized pancake, sausage waffles, and french toast between five us, only to have left overs. Then we headed to Coronado Island for a walk in the gold-flecked sands and a glimpse of the historic Hotel Coronado. After that, we were off to Old Town San Diego where we saw some of the original establishment, and then to Mt. Soledad and LaJolla for some seal watching. We stayed in Anaheim Friday night so that Saturday morning we could begin our star watching in Los Angeles.

We visited the Farmer's Market for breakfast, drove around the Hollywood Hills, through Beverly Hills, and then down Rodeo Drive all before heading to Santa Monice Pier. We then walked to Venice Beach for some people watching, which paid off as we some strange ones as well as a famous one - Wesley Snipes. We figured he was enjoying a day with the family before heading off to jail for his tax evasion! Finally, we headed to Hollywood where we walked along the Walk of Stars, saw the Kodak Theater and Garman's Chinese theater and lots of celebrity imposters. We capped the evening off at a bar/restaurant with an bucking bronco. None of us dared to ride it; I was the only one, however, with a valid excuse.

On Sunday, it was off to Newport Beach where we took a boat cruise in the harbor and saw the million dollar homes. The taxes on the property alone are more than our houses, and the plots weren't that big. Then we walked along the pier and watched some of the fisherman. We weren't sure what they were catching, but they sure didn't want to touch them. They kept everything - even the small ones! Then it was time for one more drive in the hills near Laguna Beach. Aaron decided he couldn't live there knowing that part of his house was on stilts, but the views from these places were just amazing- high on a cliff that overlooks nothing but ocean - breathtaking to say the least!

By Monday, everyone had gone back to their respective homes, but Aaron & I. We traveled to Long Beach where we visited the Aquarium of the Pacific and had lunch with a good college friend of mine, her husband, and one year old. What a treat! Then it was off to work for me as I had a conference that evening. Tuesday was the big day at the conference as I had to present. About 75 people or so turned out for my 90 minutes presentation, and only one of them intimidated me as he's a big name in the field. I was presenting about students with language and/or learning disabilities in immersion classrooms. It was to be with Tara Fortune, a professor at the U, but she wasn't able to attend due to a broken foot, so it was just me. Luckily, no one booed me off the stage.

And now, here we are back home in Minnesota. I had my first physical therapy appointment for some back soreness, and the therapist thinks it all just a result of my tendons stretching out, so I have some stretches & exercises to do, and next week they're going to fit me with a belt that should help provide some extra support - let's keep our fingers crossed!

Baby has started to move a good bit more regularly. Aaron gets a little disappointed that he can't feel it yet, but I'm sure that will come in due time. Just a couple little movements here and there - kind of strange to think it's a baby in me making those movements, but kind of cool at the same time. We're taking it easy today for the 4th, doing some housework and schoolwork before going to see fireworks somewhere tonight. We hope you all have a wonderful 4th & we'll keep you posted -