Week 22.

Dear carrot spaghetti squash,

we've had a couple of weeks now to ponder our lives with a little boy running around.

I'm sure you'll inherit your dad's root beer eyes and probably dark hair too.  But will you have fair skin like me?  Or maybe even be left-handed???  Will you like hockey and football?  Baseball and soccer?  Will you have your dad's drawing skills?  Or my eye for photography?  Will you be a reader???  Will you like racecars and animals and watching cartoons on Saturday mornings?  What about trains and fishing and playing video games?

We have started making some big changes around the house.  Your room has officially been moved upstairs, it's a fantastic room for you.  Lots of space to play.  And I've started coming up with crazy ideas for colors and decorations as well.  Your dad gave up his big TV room for you.  Isn't he great?!  As a result, the downstairs bedrooms are going through redecorating as well.  Your poor dad has been very busy and will be staying busy for quite awhile.  

You've been staying busy as well.  Lots more movement in the last couple weeks.  I saw my stomach move for the first time.  And tonight I'm pretty sure that I felt your little foot from the outside while you were kicking around in there.  Stretching out, getting bigger and stronger.

Between all the hustle and bustle we did manage to have a bit of fun though.  We attended the Chicago Fire game at Soldier Field--a friendly match with Manchester United.  It was HOT!  But your dad and I had a blast and he was thrilled that you were attending your soccer match.  We also saw the conclusion to the Harry Potter saga in theaters.  Can't wait to show you those someday.  :)

Keep growing, baby!

The Big Reveal.

Well, it certainly has been an interesting three days!

Monday, July 11, 2011.  Your dad and I are so excited!  It's the big day!  We got up and got ready as usual.  The weatherman was warning us about a massive storm approaching.  We heard them, but had no idea what we were in for...  As I was heading upstairs to get ready, your dad called me back down.  The winds were picking up and he was nervous about me being upstairs.  Over the course of the next 20 minutes or so, hurricane-force winds tore through our neighborhood.  It was scary how quickly the whole thing happened!  The lights flickered and then went out.  And then the storm was gone, just like that.  There was nothing else for us to do but finish getting ready.  I called the doctor's office to verify they had power and were open and we were on our way.  Driving through our neighborhood we realized that many homes were without power and there were a LOT of trees down.  I drank my bottle of water in preparation for the ultrasound and we arrived right on time, despite multiple traffic lights being out.  The only problem was that the ultrasound technician was stuck in traffic.  Our appointment was at 9:20.  I sat and waited and tried not to think about how full my bladder felt.  Finally, at 10:10, the tech arrived.  And then we saw you.  All squirmy and adorable.  The tech took her measurements.  We saw your spine.  And your little legs.  And got a picture of your perfect little foot.  And everything measured well.  As soon as the time came to get more pictures, you hid your face.  You certainly were not shy about showing us other parts though...  the tech asked if we wanted to guess your gender, but it was pretty darn obvious.  YOU'RE A BOY!!!!  And I could not be more excited!!!!  And of course your dad is too!  I have always said that I wanted boys, that's something your dad has known too.  Oh baby, we have so much fun in store for you!

The short version of the next 48 hours or so goes something like this... From the doctor, I went to work as planned (after several excited hugs and kisses shared with your dad).  Your dad went to Costco to buy a generator.  It was supposed to get HOT and he didn't want me (us!) to be without cool air.  So nice!  He managed to get the last one and got it running by the late afternoon.  By the time I left for home I had heard a bit more about the magnitude of the storm.  Pretty much everyone I know was without power.  Even the University I work at didn't have power in all buildings and ended up closing early.  We had faced winds in excess of 85 mph and there were over 850,000 homes reported to be without electricity.  It took me two hours to get home from work thanks to traffic lights being out.  By that time, the minor sinus/allergy issues that I had been dealing with had turned into a full blown sinus attack and I could hardly breathe.  In 90+* temperatures, I took a hot shower in the hopes of getting some relief, by candlelight of course.  It didn't help much.  We slept on the couches in the living room, the only room that had A/C thanks to the generator.  I didn't sleep much.  There may have been some frustrated tears.  I was so miserably ill and yet so happy about our day at the same time!  Despite the power outage!  The university was closed the next day so I got a surprise day off.  I probably would've stayed home anyway considering how I was feeling.  Your dad headed to work and I stayed home and kept an eye on the generator.  What a noisy beast!  I still felt pretty bad and was a bit bored without any power.  I spent the day looking through our baby name book picking out some favorites and day dreaming about all the things we would do with you in the future.  We spent another night on the couches.  I slept better.  Sometime during the night, the generator ran out of gas and shut itself off.  Your dad whispered to me at 4:45 am and we noticed that the power had come back on.  Just shy of 48 hours without power.  It was quite an adventure.  The aftermath of the storm is still affecting a lot of people though.  Thankfully, temperatures have cooled considerably and we will be able to sleep with the windows open and in our own beds tonight. 

I should've realized that nothing about this process was going to be without some sort of drama!  :)  I wouldn't have changed any of it though.  We can't wait to meet you, baby boy!

Week 20.

Dear heirloom tomato(?!?) banana,

today we hit the 20 week mark.  Wow.  That means we're about halfway to your arrival.  That is unbelievable. 

This past week has been a busy one!  We celebrated the 4th of July.  You dad and I took the week off and did some tasks around the house.  Well, mostly your dad...  I did a couple things, but nothing too strenuous.  HE, on the other hand, put up the tile backsplash in the kitchen and is working on the trim as well.  He's turning into quite the handyman, which is good considering the list of projects we have in the works still.  On July 8, your cousin finally joined the world!  Charlotte (Charley) Dorothy Lanser was born at 6 lbs. 8 oz. and is absolutely adorable.  Her big brother Tyler seems to be completely enamored with her...he even tried to feed her a cracker when they first met--oops!  We did visit them in the hospital.  Your aunt Cassie said that labor was much easier the second time around.  I'll confess that this is a bit scary to me, but I feel like I've been reading and learning a lot and that whatever comes our way your dad and I will be better prepared to handle it. 

On Saturday we celebrated your Great-Aunt Cookie's 60th birthday with a surprise party!  That was a lot of fun.  It was the first time that a lot of the extended family and friends on your dad's side had seen the "baby bump" and everyone was very amused.  I admit that the attention intimidates me a little bit.  I've always been a private person, but everyone seems to want to talk about babies and pregnancies!!!  And it is a happy thing to discuss, of course.  :) 

This evening we spent a good deal of time at your Great-Grandma Ellie's house.  Your Great-Uncle Rich and his family are visiting from Arizona and we all got together to spend some time with them.  We spent a couple hours looking at all the old slide photographs of the three Holthusen boys growing up.  I love that kind of stuff.  Family history.  It's good stuff. 

And tomorrow is a VERY big day.  Tomorrow we have another ultrasound appointment.  This could be THE DAY that we find out if you are a boy or a girl.  Ohmygoodness.  Either way, it's going to be amazing.  I think we have settled on at least first names either way and I love them both.  I've also got some nursery ideas that I'm considering...  fun stuff.  I have to say, I don't really have a feeling as to which gender you are!  I think some of our family has their theories though.  We'll see when we see...  I can't wait to find out more about who has been kicking me in the belly.  And just to see you again is going to be quite the thrill.  I bet we'll actually be able to distinguish some features this time and everything!  :D  *sigh*  If I weren't exhausted from such a busy weekend I probably wouldn't sleep tonight, but as it stand now I bet I won't have a problem.  Haha. 

Keep growing, baby.  See you soon.

Week 18.

Dear avocado turnip bell pepper,

18 weeks old.  I cannot believe that we are almost at the halfway point.

You attended your first wedding in the last couple weeks.  For our friends, Todd and Stephanie.  It was a heck of party.  :)

In just a little over a week, we will (hopefully!) find out if you are a boy or girl.  Ohmygoodness!  We haven't told our families or friends the date of the big reveal because we're hoping to just revel in the excitement ourselves for at least ONE day.  Your dad and I have been discussing names and I think we're actually close to making a final girl and boy choice!  We're also talking about the nursery...I've got a couple ideas already, again, depending on you!  But we're still trying to decide whether the nursery will be upstairs or downstairs.  There are pluses and minuses to both.  I have no idea which one will win.  Decisions, decisions.

Meanwhile, we have a number of projects to get done around the house including finally finishing the kitchen remodel, painting, replacing doors, designing a nursery!!!!  So much to do.

We, well mostly I, have also been seriously considering cloth diapers for your little bum.  I'm really excited about this idea even though it has already been met with resistance from the grandparents.  Heh.  Things have changed a lot since the last time they would have looked at cloth diapers!

This week you have been having quite the party in my belly.  I have been feeling a lot more movement.  I've been trying to get your dad to feel it, but I'm not sure that he has caught it yet.  I joked with him that you are stubborn already... kicking away until he tries to catch it.  Of course, his response was that you *were* my child.  Harhar.

Next week your dad and I are both going to take vacation days so we'll be working on projects around the house all week.  And probably relaxing some too.  :)

Keep growing, baby.