30 Weeks!

Here is my 30 week picture. My belly is growing fast these days. Today I went in for an ultrasound and the baby is perfectly healthy and right on track for his growth. He also has a full head of hair! His position is head down too so I won't have to worry about a breach baby.

Oddly enough, time has been flying. I thought towards the end, time would go by very slowly -sort of like when you are a kid waiting for Christmas. Instead, time has been flying by. I think this is because we've really squeezed everything we can out of the last few weeks of "summer". Soon the weather will turn dark and rainy and we won't have much of a respite until we take our annual winter ski trip to Boise. Thankfully we've had a beautiful Seattle September so far. We've had lots of fun!

For Labor Day weekend we went to Couer D Alene to visit Katy Hess. Rachel Jones came with us and it was a super fun weekend. Rachel and I talked so much in the car that the 6 hour drive to and from Idaho flew by. Katy and her parents were great hosts. They took us out to dinner, boating, and played phase 10 (which I LOVE). Here are some pictures from the boat trip.

The following weekend was also action packed. My mom came to town to visit. Mary, Ethan, Caleb and I took Mom to the zoo. Baby Caleb loved his first trip to the zoo! Next summer I'll definitely have to buy a season pass. I foresee lots of sunny days with Mary, Baby Caleb, and Baby Calvin, admiring the animals. Woodland Park Zoo even has this great bird exhibit where you can feed the birds. Baby Caleb LOVED feeding the birds.

On the following weekend, Neil and I hiked up to Ebey's Landing. The hike was so much fun. I didn't think I could do the whole hike but I did! The best part was that it was raining cats and dogs on the drive over to Whidbey Island and we almost turned around. However, the weather here is so mercurial that we decided just to try our luck. When we reached Ebey's Landing, it was dry and sunny. Apparently Ebey's Landing is a microclimate on the island that is often dry and sunny. The views were spectacular. Napoleon especially enjoyed himself and chased his ball to his heart's content.

Now we are settling into fall. Starbucks has their pumpkin spice lattes available and I have been enjoying 1 or 2 each week. Molly is moving out at the end of the month and we'll miss her. Long Wong moved in Friday from Hong Kong. At first I was nervous about hosting a 17 year old boy from Hong Kong but he is very polite and mature. He'll be staying with us until mid December. As his hosts, we're obligated to offer to include him in our activities so that he can get a feel for American Culture. So far it has been fun and our friends have enjoyed meeting him. OK, well, enough about me. Here are the baby stats:

How far along? 30 weeks

Total weight gain: +12 lbs. Still on track!

Maternity clothes? Andrea McFarland - Rogers brought me a huge sack of winter maternity clothes. It is so nice not to have to worry about spending more money on these right now! Especially since I'm hot all the time and wear mostly tank tops.

Sleep: I've given up on "great" sleep.

Best moment this week: Watching Glee with Andy, Gloria, Long, and Rachel.

Movement: he gets the hiccups sometimes- so cute.

Labor signs: I have occasional braxton-hicks.

Belly Button in or out? In, barely.

What I miss: sleeping 8 hours a night.

What I am looking forward to: Seeing what a good Dad Neil is going to be.

This Week: