These are a few of our favorite things...

Well, we thought we'd share some of our favorite (and not so favorite) things to hear these days; we'll leave it up to you to decide which are our favorite and which are not...

1. "We currently estimate your baby's weight to be 8 pounds, 4 ounces. At birth, baby will probably weigh a little over 10 pounds."

We had our weekly appointment this past Wednesday with the doctor. The ultrasound technician did the measurements and estimated that baby weighs 8 lbs, 4 oz at this point. I was 36 weeks, 3 days pregnant when did the ultrasound, and baby's head was measuring 41 weeks, 5 days! And the abdomen measured 40 weeks. She also measured the legs, which of course were right on target - 36 weeks, 5 days. So much for the long legs from the 20 week ultrasound - All these measurements put together, places the baby in the 98th percentile. Aaron keeps telling them that we're going to hit the 100th percentile yet -

They also did a 3D ultrasound again, but baby was napping, so it wasn't quite as exciting. We still think that baby looked pretty cute though - you can judge for yourself!

When we talked with the doctor; she shared with us what the "plan" would be. If at 39 weeks, I'm "ready" to deliver (in other words, if I've started to dilate), they'll induce me so I can try a natural birth. If I'm not ready at that point, however, they'll wait until 40 weeks and reevaluate; at that point, we'd probably have to do a C-section as there's a chance that even if I can get the head out that I wouldn't be able to get the shoulders of this little butterball out. So that's what they're thinking.

We'll continue to visit the doctor weekly (the secretary now says hi Mandy when I go in!) and they'll do the same two tests - biophysical test (with the ultrasound) and the non-stress test - in addition to an internal exam. They won't actually do new measurements, however, for another 3 weeks.

2. "You're hired!"

Aaron was recently offered a job by Wachovia in their Retirement Services division. This part of the company actually goes by another name - WyStar - but it's part of Wachovia. After a few unsure days on our part with all the talk about Citigroup and Wells Fargo buying them out and how this would impact the job, we were reassured that the job was his. He starts on Tuesday, October 14. His title is Senior Compliance officer, what that means exactly, he'll have to tell you...I think it's kind of like what he did at Ameriprise though. Aaron is quite excited about the new job; he's glad to hear that he'll be busy, but I think what's most exciting to him is that he'll be less than 4 miles from home. He thinks he'll come home and have lunch with baby and I when we're here.

3. "You don't look pregnant from the back." "You look great!" "You're getting so big!"

I've been hearing a combination of all these and slight variations on them over the past few weeks. It makes me feel good that people think I look healthy, and it makes me hopeful that the pregnancy weight will magically disappear since it's all out in front (I'm sure this is wishful thinking though!). But I'll be ready for people to stop telling me how big I am - I've been hearing it for a few months now, but I just smile and say that's because I'm carrying a big baby!

4. "You're invited to a baby shower!"

Over the past few weeks, we've had two baby showers with our friends. My friend Naomi threw us a shower, complete with Brazilian food, so we could celebrate with friends from the Spanish department. The shower was to start at noon, and we laughed because at noon, only 4 of us were there - the four Americans. By around 12:45 or so, the rest of the guests showed up, right on time for the Hispanic culture. It was definitely a cultural experience and Aaron may have even learned a few more Spanish words from hanging out with all of us!

And then our friends, the Olberdings, threw us a shower for our other friends. Everyone had a great time catching up and playing baby games. The consensus seems to be that the we're going to have a Halloween baby (to share a birthday with Naomi!) and that it's a boy. I do have to say that we (or at least I) wasn't so excited when someone predicted an 11 lb, 5 oz baby!

And after all the showers and because of the generosity of our friends and family, I think we've got everything we need for baby. Although I don't know that we'll ever by ready, I think the house is, and I know we're excited to meet our little one. We're even thinking Roni is excited for baby. He has been following me around a good bit lately and is quite affectionate and cuddly. He sometimes even curls up and throws one of his paws over my tummy; baby kicking my stomach doesn't seem to phase him either. I think as long as we still play with him and he has his favorite window perch, he'll be fine...

So, that's the latest from here in Bloomington, MN. As we continue to know more, we'll keep you updated. I'm sure as we meet with the doctor and they continue to monitor baby, we'll have some updates. But really no matter what the doctors think, we know that it's out of their hands and ours; we trust that God will let the baby know when it's his/her time to be born and know that He'll continue to watch over the three of us as our due date approaches. In the meantime, we're learning patience and enjoying all the sleep and quiet that we can -