26 WEEKS!

Baby Declan's ears are better developed and much more sensitive. This means that now he can hear Jonathan and I talk back and forth, also this means he can hear when his mommy has conversations with other people! He is breathing in small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is important for his developing lungs. He continues to put on more baby fat. He now weighs somewhere between 1 1/2 -2lbs, and measuring about 14 inches long! Also important, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum.
So how is mommy?! I am hanging in there, I am having more difficulty sleeping. More so because I am just uncomfortable. I can be comfortable in a position but it only lasts about thirty minutes. I may be exhausted but I have been known to pack lunches and do laundry at 3:00 in the morning. The only thing that I feel really bad about is when it messes with Jonathans sleep, which is why I have tried to slowly sneak out of bed and out of our room.
I had a really great brunch with my friend Nancy this Friday! It was so great to see her! She has been back and forth between Albuquerque and Wisconsin to be with her mom, who had been sick for awhile. Unfortunately her mom recently passed away and it just breaks my heart. She was a wonderful woman, who raised a beautiful daughter. In December, Nancy is due to have a baby girl! The day before Christmas actually! Nancy and I had a wonderful time giggling about pregnancy and we even had an 82 year old woman come over and tell us that all we needed to know about being a mom was to "just love our children." It was a perfect morning! I also got to spend the afternoon with my sister. We haven't had time to spend with one another in such a long time!
It has been really nice to be able to spend more time at home and spend more quality time with Jonathan. This spring and summer was a little crazy with trips, weddings, other big kid responsibilities. Next week is Jonathan's 30th birthday! We rented a house in Angel Fire for the weekend to celebrate and it should be a lot of fun!
Here is my little rant about flu shots...because our little munchkin is being born in the height of flu season we are asking those people who would like to be part of his first few months to get the flu shot. Jonathan and I got ours today! Jonathan made sure that I knew he hadn't gotten one in years, but that he would do it for me and our baby. For those of you convinced that it makes you sick and gives you the flu I can't change your mind but here is a resource : http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/flushot.htm

Remember Baby Kyle?! I got to babysit for him last week and we had lots and lots of fun! Thank you to his mommy Rachel and Grandma Celia,  for letting me watch him!

It's Jonathan - If there is one thing I with I could ask our baby it would be "WHYYYY are you insisting on laying on your Mommy's spinal cord?!"  She has been having a hard time sleeping because Declan has decided that he likes sleeping on her L1-L5.  When she has a hard time sleeping, we all have a hard time sleeping.  We have tried rice packs and just last night bought magnesium.  My Aunt Lona said it did wonders for her restless legs and other muscle aches. 

Baby activity has been high and all in all it's been a good.  Lots' of walking and we even hit a Mother Load sale at Clevland Middle School.  We didn't find much baby stuff but we did have a good time meeting our friends Rachel and Kyle, Nancy and Linda.  In fact I got to take the old Moby Wrap for  a spin and carry Kyle around for the whole time we were there!  The second best thing of the Motherload sale was finding a $10 pair of Tubb Snow Shoes.  I've started building a collection so we can take our family and friends with us when we hit the trails. 

We'll end with a picture from our friend Lindsey's Birthday Party.  She celebrated with friends at the St. James Tearoom.  It was a good time had by all!