Celebrating TWO

Can you believe our little 9lb 2oz baby is now a 33lb little boy? Believe it! Just had his 2 year appointment yesterday and he's 90th percentile in weight and 97th percentile in height. Our appointment came after a week of family fun...my parents and grandma got in on James' bday and were here until Sunday. It was so, so special to have great grandma here and always fun for James to see grandma and grandpa outside of the computer. We packed in lots of good times including a little Thomas bday party and a trip to Legoland. James' Aunt Kelly and Uncle Erik got in Saturday night and were in town until Wednesday. It was so great to see them and celebrate with the Cardiff Jansen's. We can never get in enough cousin time. Looking forward to even more this weekend as we celebrate Easter together. Then, next weekend the celebration continues with Tom's bday.

As I mentioned, James is growing like a weed. Such a big boy and full of energy...loving his trains and cars and anything that resembles a tunnel. He's talking up a storm and repeating absolutely everything we say, which is scary to say the least, but so fun and at times seriously hilarious. He's also starting to sing more and more and loves it when we make up songs. His Aunt Ro Ro gave him a Puff the Magic Dragon book that we sing quite often now and he's starting to sing along. He sings along to the CD I play in the car, too. It's so cute! And, we've read every Thomas book about a hundred times, so he's starting to finish the sentences in those stories and other bedtime books, too. He's doing great at daycare and making some sweet friends (mostly girls). He loves being outside and running around our culdesac. He cannot wait to get in the pool, so we'll be doing the community swim "classes" this summer again.

Well, that's about it for our little curious Jansen! Hope this finds everyone happy and healthy.

Lots o love,
The Jansen's

Comedian

So, another 6 months have gone by in the blink of an eye. We were just at a neighbor's first birthday party this afternoon that was held at the same park James had his first birthday party. It really does seem just like yesterday we were there singing happy birthday to James and here we are almost 7 months later.

Wow. So much has changed. He is walking and running and talking more and more. He is developing the funniest personality. He loves to tackle mommy and daddy. He has a few obsessions including, but not limited to: the moon, lights, sunglasses (although he won't wear them longer than 5 seconds), his bedtime bear book, trains, airplanes, helicopters, cars, trucks, balls...and the list goes on. He is doing a lot of imitating and making funny faces to see if we'll make them, too. If he wants to go do something and you ask him, "Do you want to go (fill in the blank)?" He'll go, "Oh yeah!" with the funniest voice. He constantly wants to be outside and unfortunately prefers the front yard to the back. It's a good thing we live on a culdesac because he's recently discovered the reaction he gets out of mom and dad when he runs into the street...and he thinks it's hilarious. We're trying to work on that.

We just had his 18 month appointment last Friday and he is still topping the charts. He's in the 95th percentile in height at 34-3/4 inches and 75th percentile in weight at 28lbs 6oz. His noggin is still off the charts...must be that big-brained Murphy in him. He's doing great at daycare and starting to learn more and more animal sounds and even some colors. Yellow and Blue are the front runners so far. He's very good at brushing his teeth and has his first dentist appointment in just a couple weeks.

He's making lots of friends with the neighborhood kids and he's made a best friend out of one little girl at daycare named Morgan. Morgan's parents were in a few of our childbirth classes and we saw them at the hospital when we had James. Morgan was born just a couple days after James. We didn't see them for a year and then they randomly showed up at our daycare. So...we figured they were destined to be together.

Anyway, we couldn't be more proud or in love with our little guy. Hope this finds everyone happy and healthy!

Lots of love,
The Jansen's

Birthday Boy

Half of me can't believe a whole year has passed and the other half of me can't believe it's only been a year. So many moments to look back on and smile. What a year it's been! We feel so blessed to have a happy, healthy one year old boy. J had a great birthday. We had a nice morning celebration last Wednesday before we went to work. Opened a few presents and sang happy birthday. It was really nice. So hard to bring him to daycare. I wanted to spend all day with him so badly. Luckily the day flew and we had a nice celebration when I got home. Noisemakers, party hats and all. After dinner, he got his first taste of cake. He was definitely more interested in the icing than the cake, mushing the icing between his fingers and shoveling it into his mouth. Had a bite of cake, but was quickly disinterested.

Yesterday, we had birthday party #2 at a local park with our neighborhood friends. Having had a little practice under his belt, the cake eating was a little more animated and much more colorful. Turns out he likes chocolate cake better than white. Blue icing everywhere...hair, face, and I found later...in his diaper (yuk!). It was a beautiful day and so nice to get together with everyone. We're looking forward to party #3 over Easter weekend. That will be a big blowout in Newport with two other little ones to celebrate with. J will have this cake eating thing down!

J had his 12 month appointment last Thursday. The doc said he looks great. He's 23lbs, 12oz and 31 inches. Long and lean...just like his daddy. He's crawling all over the place and cruising along furniture and anything else he can pull himself up on. Not walking yet. He likes to walk while we're holding his hands, but I think it might be awhile until he braves it on his own. We practice standing a lot and he thinks it's hilarious when he stands for a second and falls on his behind. I tell him he needs to "balance" when he's standing and he kind of puts his hands out and bends his knees...it's pretty funny to watch. He looks like a little surfer. He's into everything and has a very healthy appetite...just like his mommy : ). We're trying all kinds of new table foods. He's eating whole peas and cooked carrots, broccoli, zucchini, chicken, burgers, pasta...and when he doesn't like it, he's mastered the art of pushing the food out with his tongue. Which he also finds hilarious. He's got about 8 teeth now and is working on a few more, I think. He can't get enough of the outside. Loves to go for walks and now knows which direction the neighborhood playground is. He's pointing at everything under the sun and communicates very well that way. He can be very demanding with his finger. As long as he continues to use his first finger, I'm okay with that ; ). He does say mamma and dadda and babba, but we're not convinced he necessarily associates them with anything yet. If you ask him where his ball is, he knows to look around on the ground for it. And, if you ask him "where's the light?" he looks up and points at a light. So, I think he knows more than he lets on some of the time. He gives us high fives and is starting to wave "hi" and 'bye" more and more. He loves to dance and shakes his booty every time any kind of music comes on. He gives us lots of hugs and is such a little snuggle bug. We're embracing that now, because we know it won't last long.

Well, we should get moving with our day...lots of errands to run. Hope this finds everyone well.

Lots of love,
T, M & J

9 months and growing!

Christmas Day marked our little guys 9th month. It was quite a bit different than previous months, considering it was about 10 below outside. We spent the Christmas holiday with Tom's family in Wisconsin and had an absolute blast. Incredible hosts made our entire stay smooth as can be. Despite the freezing cold, we did make it out onto the Jansen lake for a little winter fun. J's reaction to the snow was pretty anticlimactic. We were all excited to get him out in it and I don't think he moved his face once (maybe it was frozen?). We did get him out on a sled and towed him around a bit on the 4-wheeler. Again, he was pretty disinterested, but I had fun!

Christmas morning all the kids woke up to lots of fun presents from Santa...it was so cool watching how excited they all got. The day after Christmas my parents drove up to stay with us for awhile. It was so nice to have all 4 grandparents together to have some quality time with J.

Of course with travel comes the inevitable illness which thankfully, I think we're all over now (knock on wood!). However, New Years Eve was probably the one of the lamest we've ever had...in bed by 10:30. We didn't even see the clock strike 12. Pretty sure that's the first time that's ever happened. I'm sure it won't be the last. Turns out...I kind of like being lame. It was so nice to wake up with a clear head : ).

J is doing great. He recently learned to clap on command and is so proud of himself every time he does it. It is incredibly cute and of course we do everything we can to encourage it. He's also waving "hi" and "bye". He's kind of starting to crawl...he can definitely do it when he REALLY wants to get to something, but usually he finds it too exhausting and gives up mid-crawl. Who can blame him? He is 21 lbs (and, I think about half of that weight comes from his head!). When he's not crawling, he's getting around one way or another. He will squirm his way to something he can pull himself up on or pull himself forward with. I know soon enough he's going to be going a million miles an hour, so I'm enjoying this not fully mobile stage as long as I can.

So far 2009 has been great. We're getting a lot of stuff done around the house and looking forward to all the new challenges the new year will bring.

Wishing you all the best in the New Year!
M, T & J

Happy 6 month old!

Hard to believe his six month appointment was just this last Thursday. Man, time flies when you're exhausted! Once again, we were blessed to get yet another clean bill of health from the doctor. He now weights 18lbs 13 oz (75th percentile), he's 27-3/4 inches long (90th percentile) and his head circumference is in the 97th percentile, which of course we attribute to the space required for his enormous brain. He was all smiles and giggles, showing off for the doctor by sitting up so strong and flirting with her with his inherited crooked smile. Then, the doc left and the big bad nurse came in and ruined his good time with four shots in his legs and an oral shot. One of which was the flu vaccination. Poor little guy was such a trooper though. Smiling again shortly after. Of course a good dose of Motrin will do that. He struggled most of Thursday and Friday with lots of fussiness and had a hard time getting a good nap in during the day. He is a much happier boy today.

Other things that are new with J...hmmm...his personality is coming out more and more. T and I are having a ball figuring out what makes him tick. We've found a few key tricks to make him laugh that seem to work most of the time. A good game of peek-a-boo will usually get him going. It is such an awesome sound. Never gets old. He is also starting to reach out for us now which is so cute. He loves to touch daddy's face. He is certainly in awe of his father. Every time T walks in the room he just lights up. It is so cool to watch.

This morning he was all smiles, especially after Skyping with Grandma and wishing her a happy birthday. He is finally taking a good long nap this morning which is very important so he can rest up for a night with is Aunt Mary Rose. She'll be babysitting while we head off to the wedding of some of our very good friends in Laguna Beach. We're really looking forward to hanging out with friends and celebrating such a great couple.

Halloween is just around the corner..the first of many for J. Not quite sure what he's going to be this year, but we'll be sure to post a nice pic on the blog. I'm sure he'll want to wish everyone a happy one. T and I are headed to a neighborhood party next weekend where costumes are required. We haven't dressed up in years, so it should be fun.

Well, I'm sure our little bubba is going to wake up soon, so I should make an effort to get a few more things done. I'll try to be better at keeping this blog updated more regularly.

Sending out lots of love...
M, T & J

Four Months Already

This picture was actually from his 3 month pics. I can't believe it's been a whole month since they were taken. Lots has been going on. Mom and dad were here for two weeks staying with J as I made my way back to work. It was SO NICE to have them here and to know J was in such good hands. It is definitely making the transition to daycare easier. They just left on Saturday. To say it was hard to say goodbye is the understatement of the year. I'm finding that having a baby makes EVERYTHING more emotional. The good news is that we'll be back in KC for his christening at the end of this month where he'll also get to see his other Grandpa and Grandma, so that will be exciting!

J had a great time with his Grandma and Grandpa Murphy. He decided to show off for them quite a bit, turning over from his back to his front their first week here and from his front to his back their second week. T and I missed both of these firsts, but were so happy mom and dad got to see it!

He had is 4 month appointment the first Friday mom and dad were here. The doctor gave him another clean bill of health. He weighs 15lbs, 11oz (70th percentile) and is 27inches long (97th percentile), so he's starting to thin out a bit. I think he's going to have his dad's build. He got some pretty painful shots, but was such a tough little guy.

Before mom and dad got here, we had two weekends in a row with great friends, so it was such a nice ending to my maternity leave.

Being back at work is going okay. It's been hard being away from James during the day, but it is nice seeing my co-workers and having some adult conversations : ). And, the drive home is so awesome. It is never quick enough, but getting in the car to go home immediately puts me in a good mood.

J has been smiling and giggling and cracking us up. He is so into his hands and feet and will study them with such great intent at long lengths. He is so vocal, constantly reminding his father and I that we are no longer in charge. To say the least, we are having a blast.

Well, I need to get to bed. Mornings are much earlier now!

Sending out lots of love,
M, T & J

Livin' la Vida

Life is good at the Jansen household. J is now 3 months old and cute as ever. I unofficially weighed him yesterday and he was a solid 14 pounds, 8 ounces. Just 4 more pounds and he'll be double his birth weight! It's crazy how fast he is growing. He's getting so long he barely fits in his 3 month clothes anymore. I have him in a lot of 6 month stuff now.

He's really interested in his toes these days and pretty much has his tongue hanging out 24/7. I've read that babies at this age start to really discover their hands and feet, so the toe thing seems to be right on track. Not sure where the tongue thing is coming from, but it only adds to his cuteness, so it's all good. He is getting better at lifting his head up and strengthening his neck muscles. Not rolling over yet, although he's rolled off his surf mat a couple of times, so he's getting there! I definitely am in no rush for him to grow up, so I'm totally comfortable with him taking his own sweet time with these developmental milestones.

He is "talking" more and more. It's so cool to see him discover new things throughout the house. He is obsessed with light fixtures and ceiling fans. It's cheap entertainment and they don't even have to be on, so it's earth-friendly, too! He is smiling so much and opens his mouth real big like he is going to just start cracking up. Every now and then he'll give us what seems to be a giggle, but I don't think it's a conscious effort to giggle, more of an accident. But, we take what we can get over here.

I hate to jinx it, but he's been sleeping really well. He's had several 8 hour nights, a few 9 and 10 hour nights and one 11 hour night! It was incredible. There were high-fives all around. He's also been napping pretty well, so overall, we feel very lucky to have such a well-rested little boy.

Well, I could go on forever about what an amazing, humbling, enriching, enlightening and sometimes frightening experience this parenthood thing is, but I'll spare you those details as many of you are already in the know. I'll just say this...we certainly don't deserve him, but we are so incredibly grateful to have him.

Sending lots of love out to you all,
M, T & J

2-1/2 months today!

So, it's been another month with this chunky monkey and he is doing so well! We are so proud of him. He had his two month appointment last week and weighed in at a whopping 13 pounds, 8-1/2 ounces and is almost 25 inches long! He is in the 90th percentile for weight and the 97th percentile for height. Apparently he gets his weight from this mother and his height from his father :). He also got 5 vaccination shots which weren't so fun, but he was a real trooper. The doc gave him another clean bill of health which we are, again, so grateful for.

He is smiling up a storm these days and we act like we just won the lottery every time we see it. It is awesome. He is also kicking like crazy. We've kind of made a little game out of it. He gets real focused and so intense and pushes his legs (one at a time, as if he was walking) against my hands. It is hilarious. He is so serious about it. He's also making all kinds of new noises. Just when we think he's about to cry or fuss, it turns out he's just talking and has discovered a new "word". It's so fun to encourage the noises and have conversations with him.

I'm happy to report he is sleeping pretty well. The past three nights he's slept at least 7-1/2 hours straight. It's close enough to 8 hours that we're considering it "sleeping through the night". It sure feels like we're getting more sleep, which is so nice.

We had a great visit from 4 of my college girlfriends over Memorial Day weekend. It was so great to see everyone and introduce them all to J. He made a good friend that weekend since my friend Stacy brought her little boy, Reid, who is only 5 days older than J. It was so fun for the girls to get to know the new men in our lives.

Well, J and I are about to run out for a bit, so I should get going. 'Till next time...

Love to all,
M, T & J

12 pounds of pure joy

I can't believe our little man has been with us five and a half weeks now. We've been quite busy with fun visitors and big events. He has been such a little trooper.

We had a great visit with Grandpa R and Grandma M. Now that their grandchildren have doubled on the Jansen side, their trips to CA have become even more busy. Cousin J had his 7th birthday party on Saturday at a park in Encinitas. We took J to it and enjoyed the magician that performed. It was so entertaining and the kids were so cute! It is hard to believe cousin J is 7! Sunday was A's baptism. We are so honored to be her Godparents...it was a beautiful service and both babies did pretty well keeping it together through the whole thing.

J had his one month checkup and is still going strong. As of last Wednesday he weighed 10lbs, 10oz and was 22 inches long. I just had him weighed today at a mommy group and he now weighs 12 pounds!!! What a chunker! The doc had said he is in the 75th percentile for weight, height and head circumference. She said it is really rare for a baby to be perfectly proportioned like that, so of course, I am just beaming with pride (even though I know it really doesn't mean anything). I am also happy to report he is sleeping for 3 to 4 hour increments at night now. He is still gassy as ever, but we've started giving him gas drops and that seems to be making a difference. I had heard that those drops are no more effective than water, but I swear he seems to do better when he takes it.

I finally did get a quick little smile the other day and it was the best thing that has ever happened to me. I can't wait until he shares that smile with all of you. The pic above captures the start of one, but the real deal is awesome. It is amazing how such a small little person can have such a huge impact on your life. We are looking at everything with fresh eyes and it is so incredibly wonderful. I am so in love with our little family.

Sending all our best,
m, t & j

Three weeks and going strong!

j is three weeks old today and just now coming down off the high of spending time with his grandma and grandpa murf, uncle michael and great aunt mrose. it was so nice to have my family in town for awhile. i'm pretty sure they were quite fond of our new little addition to the family. j was like a little hot potato between them all. it was great.

last doctor's appointment, he weighed in at a wopping 9lbs 8oz, well past his birth weight. we are thrilled he is eating so well. i'm really happy with our pediatrician. i bring her lots of questions every visit and she always makes me feel better about everything. the doc says he is looking really good. his one month appointment is next wednesday...he gets his first immunization shots. i'll probably cry more than he will.

j has definitely found his voice. while his cries are still pretty cute, he is very vocal when it comes to grunting. he makes these loud grunting sounds that crack up me and t most of the time, but every now and then they become concerning because he seems like he is in pain. i've asked the doctor about this and she said it's nothing to worry about. he is sleeping some during the night. every once in awhile he'll give us a good 2 hour stretch which is so nice! some days he is pretty alert for a good part of the morning and afternoon, but does take a few naps here and there.

i'm anxiously awaiting his first real smile. he gives fleeting fake smiles when he's doing some damage in the diaper, but i'm holding out for the real deal. his eye contact is getting better and better every day. it seriously melts my heart when he looks at me. he reacts to my voice and to t's, but doesn't necessarily follow our voices yet.

okay, i think that's it...let me know if i'm not giving you some info that you want to know!

lots of love,
m,t & j

HE'S HERE!

Born: Tuesday, March 25, 2008 (I was induced at 8:30am Monday morning at 8:30...you can do the math).
Weight: 9lbs, 2oz
Length: 20 inches

Wow. What a ride this has been. I've heard it over and over again from my parents and friends with young ones, but man, this kind of love just wipes you out. It is the most intense feeling I've ever felt. I find myself just staring at him in amazement of what a miracle life truly is.

So far, everything is going pretty well. Definitely some highs and lows, but that was expected. You guys who told me this was hard were right! It's been just over a week and I feel like we are learning new things every day and things we thought we had finally figured out are constantly changing. It's like a gargantuan, never ending puzzle. But the challenge is invigorating much more than it is frustrating.

J had a moderate case of Jaundice (very common). He was under the lights at the hospital for our second day. We had to do a phototherapy treatment when we got home. The home care unit of the hospital delivered this blanket of florecent lights that wrapped around him and plugged into the wall. He was wrapped in the blanket Thursday afternoon through Monday morning. He had to be in the blanket 23 out of 24 hours of the day. Needless to say, it was a little bit of a struggle having him tethered to the wall like that for so long.

Happy to report he is back to good health and now free to cruise around the house. His first doctor's appointment was Monday and the doc said he is looking good. He is already back up to 9lbs...thankfully he is eating well.

The past two nights have gone pretty well. I got at least two 2-1/5 hour spurts of sleep, which has been WONDERFUL. Thank God for adrenaline!

We are so excited to have my mom and dad visit this Saturday and my brother join us next Thursday. I can't wait to introduce J to the rest of his family!!!

Okay, time for another feeding!

Love to you all,
M, T & J

March 20, 2008

And...we're in the home stretch! Waiting on pins and needles for this little guy to make his grand entrance. Last Friday was my last day of work for the next few months. Such a strange feeling after working such late nights for so long. It's so nice having this time to relax and really think about the enormity of what is about to happen.

I'm still managing to keep pretty busy...trying to fit in last minute errands and organizing stuff while T is at work. It definitely makes the every day trip to Target a little more interesting when you could turn into Niagra Falls at any given moment.

My cousin S and her two girls are here vacationing-staying in downtown Carlsbad, just minutes from our house. We had them over for dinner Monday night and I met them for lunch today. So nice to have family around!

Last night T and I went out for a nice dinner and watched a movie. Advice given many times over from friends and family who haven't been able to do that for quite some time because of their little ones. It was really nice. T gets Good Friday off from work, so we are excited to spend the day together tomorrow.

Our last doc appointment was last Wednesday and the doc said everything looked good. It was also our last ultrasound, so we got to see his chubby cheeks one more time on screen (see above). I haven't made much progress in terms of dilation or effacement...still under a centimeter. Our next doctor's appointment is tomorrow at 4:45pm, so we'll see how things have progressed. If he doesn't make his appearance on Sunday, we will likely induce on Monday, but we'll see what the doc says tomorrow.

T's sister, K, gets into town Saturday to celebrate Easter and the eventual arrival of our little guy. We're also looking forward to visits from my Mom, Dad and brother the first couple weeks in April.

It's so hard to believe this little monkey in my belly will soon be in our arms!

Okay, that's it for now. Thanks so much for all the phone calls and the love. We'll keep you posted!

Love,
M&T

P.S. I love that me and Brad Pitt are tied for who the baby will look like in our little survey to the left :).

February 12, 2008

Just 5-1/2 weeks left and the countdown is on! I must sound like a broken record, but I cannot believe how fast this has gone. Today we had our 34 week checkup and ultrasound and once again we're so happy and feel so blessed to report everything is going really well. It is such a relief to know that it's not just me that is growing :).

According to the technician and the doctor he is still growing 2 weeks ahead of schedule and based on his measurements, he's weighing in around 6 pounds! We are so looking forward to meeting this little chunky monkey that keeps kicking and karate chopping my insides. The ultrasound not only proved he is and will be a big baby, but he's got a good head of hair, too. You can actually see his little whisps in the pic above. Seriously, so incredible. We'll go back in two weeks for another appointment to see how much more he's grown and find out if we'll need to schedule an early induction. (!!!)

It was a big day today as some of our furniture also arrived. Our glider (thanks M&D!) and the crib are here and the dresser should get here the end of this week so we can spend the long weekend preparing a nice little bedroom for our baby boy to rest his head.

Thanks again for all the love and support. One of the best parts of this whole thing is thinking about introducing him to all of you. He will be so loved!

I'll check back in after our 36 week appointmet to give another update.

Lots of love,
M&T

January 8, 2008

Today was our 29 week appointment. Can you believe we are already 2/3 of the way through this? T left for a short work trip this morning, but thankfully my aunt MR was able to join me. I'm happy to report it was another successful appointment. Our little prize-fighter is weighing in at over 3 pounds and measuring two weeks ahead of schedule! Apparently mommy is well fed :). The technician told us he has a rather large noggin, which is no surprise considering the massive brain he surely inherited from his brilliant parents.

All joking aside, we are so thankful for this incredible miracle of life and do not take anything for granted. Your thoughts and prayers have certainly guided this pregnancy and we are eternally grateful to all of you for your love and support.

Till our next appointment...
M&T

January 3, 2008

Here's to a happy, healthy 2008!

January 1, 2008

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

December 11, 2007

We just got back from our 25 week ultrasound. It was SO COOL! We are getting monthly ultrasounds to monitor the growth of the baby and as you can see by his flexed muscle in the pic below, he is growing strong. The technician we had was pretty hillarious, which always makes the experience that much better. She had me laughing much of the time which is just funny in and of itself because then the baby bounces up and down when I laugh and you can just imagine he's like "What the hell is so funny?".

The doctor said he is growing really well and is actually measuring at 26 weeks growth. We got a nice close up of his legs and it looks like he's in for some long Jansen stems. We also saw his eyelids move up and down which was just crazy. He was looking right at us and waving his hand. It is seriously the coolest thing!

I am finally feeling him kick and move around...such an amazing feeling! The technician was even commenting on how much he was moving around while she was conducting the ultrasound. He is definitely an active boy!

I also wanted to send a big thank you to everyone for all the cards, calls, emails and love on my birthday. It was a great day filled with baby furniture shopping and our company Christmas party. This year is bound to be filled with lots of exciting "firsts" and I am so grateful to have all of you to share those moments with.

Sending lots of love,
M

October 29, 2007

Today officially marks the beginning of our 20th week of pregnancy and I must say it is really hard to believe we're almost half way through this. It seems like just yesterday we were here celebrating the announcement with my family. Anyway, things are going really well. I feel great and am loving all foods and aside from a few emotional outbursts (poor Tom), I feel pretty normal. I've been asked several times for pictures of the belly, so here's a pic we snapped tonight. For those of you who didn't ask to see it, please feel free to avert your eyes.

We had our 20 week ultrasound this morning and found out we're having a beautiful bouncing baby boy...a cowboy my Dad hopes : ). Overall the appointment went really well. We saw some great footage of the baby's head, heart, femur bone and arm. Not to mention the cutest little picture of his foot.

We are absolutely thrilled and cannot wait to introduce the little guy to all of his amazing family and friends! What a blessed child he will be.

Okay, time to spend time with my other boy.
Sending lots of love,
M

October 21, 2007

So, we're officially 18 weeks into this new adventure (currently called pregnancy, soon to change to parenthood) and thought it was about time we started recording some of it and sharing our thoughts and experiences. I don't think I've felt the baby kick yet, but it's so hard to tell. I get rumblings in my tummy, but not sure if its gas or kicking. How do you recognize something you've never felt before? It really does make you question your ability to raise a child when you can't recognize it's foot from a bowel movement. I'm sure it will come, but I'm getting impatient...and nervous. Tom thinks I'm certifiably crazy when he watches me get into different "relaxed" positions to try and feel some sort of movement.

According to babycenter.com, our baby is the size of a small onion, but as our doctor says...the baby is much sweeter : ). It's hard to imagine a full human being that small. The baby already has arms, legs, fingers, toes, little tiny hairs, fingernails, eyelids, organs and some bone.

We did have a doctor's appointment last Tuesday. Just a regular checkup to hear the baby's heartbeat and ask questions. We're happy to report the heart is still pumping strong. Because some friends were recently faced with the possibility of twins, I wanted the doctor to confirm for us that he only heard one heartbeat. When he told us he heard two, my heart just about flew out of my chest. Turns out he was being "funny" and said that he could hear the baby's heartbeat and mine. He then informed us that my uterine arteries will soon become the size of garden hoses. Not the prettiest picture, but it's a pretty amazing fact. He then let us hear the differnce between the baby's heartbeat (soft, quick swooshes) and the blood pumping through my arteries (harsh, thumping pulses). It was incredible.

Shortly after that we heard a big THUMP. That turned out to be the baby moving...which was a big relief for me. It was so cool, Tom and I just started giggling. Then it was kind of hard to tell the difference between the movements and my giggles.

Our next big date is October 29...a week from tomorrow we find out the sex of the baby. We are beside ourselves with anticipation and excitement. Looking forward to sharing the news with everyone.

Lot's of love,
The Jansen's