> 8 Months

So...to appease multiple requests...here are some Jen's Belly pictures!

I am a little more than 8 months along now. I adore this little fellow who is wiggling and growing inside of me. He has been pretty settled in a head down position for a long time. He likes to wiggle his bum, feet, and knees around against my belly. He is about the right size and seems healthy and happy!

I'm now going to my midwife appointments every week. They continue to be very uneventful. I don't have any major complaints. I feel really big and awkward, but for the most part I am content. By the end of the day I am a bit sore, swollen, and tired--but I have a very supportive husband who encourages me to get a full night of rest every night.

This is my last week of work! Hooray! A few weeks ago, my co-workers threw me a surprise baby shower. It was super fun. Then, last week, the student tutors (that I supervise at the college) threw me another baby shower. This was the cake my co-worker made. It was HUGE and super yummy (raspberry/whipped cream filling). Plus also, it was super cute with the little blue feet (sugar cookies).

Yup. I'm huge. Even my maternity jeans are getting kinda snug.

We've also been working like crazy to finish the recording on our album before baby arrives. We were hoping to be done recording AND mixing...but we would settle for just finishing recording.

Monday was a fun night...we recorded vocals for one of our favorite songs (River). We used Eric's new fancy microphone: a ribbon mic with two sides. We sang into opposite sides of the mic at the same time (on one track). It was really different and fun. But, as you may know, Alex is a bit taller than me (6'2" vs. 5'4)...so I had to stand on a stool. The guys were very nervous that I would fall and they would get in trouble for being the dumb guys that made the balance-deficient pregnant lady stand on a wobbly stool (I managed quite well--I haven't fallen yet!)

This is the one major source of stress in my life. It's supposed to be the baby's room / guest room. I think there is a floor under all that stuff somewhere. This room has served as a place to put stuff as we have slowly unpacked from October's flood. Now it has a few odd boxes of stuff and a whole mess of hand-me-downs and shower gifts for baby.

Okay. I just deleted 4 long boring paragraphs. Basically, this room is stressing me out. But, I think I have some ideas on how to make things work until I have the time to get it in order. After all, the only thing baby will need the first few weeks of life is mom and a diaper. Actually, baby doesn't really need a diaper...but I would prefer it that way. Otherwise, baby doesn't care if his clothes are clean or he has a crib or his cute little lamp set up. Seriously, it's not that important.

So...I'm taking a deep breath and moving on with the week. I haven't had much time to breathe, let alone blog. But, look at that...I found a moment to blog. Now I'm going to go kiss my sweet husband (who is doing the dishes) and go get some sleep.

Grandpa Paul Harvey

I used to think that Paul Harvey was my grandpa.

Really. My Grandpa Dwayne Case was in the talk radio business (in the 70s?) and has presumably been heavily influenced by Paul Harvey. Some of my earliest memories of my grandpa involve his recording studio (and the intriguing green foam ball on the microphone). Throughout my life, my grandpa has created mixes of comedy and music, all narrated by himself. His voice, his cadence, his laugh, and his radio personality are all a familiar and integral part of he who is "Grandpa".

And, to me, Paul Harvey sounds just like my Grandpa.

Now that I live far away, I don't see my Grandpa as often. We correspond through letters and on the phone...but...when I want a little touch of home, all I need to do is turn on the AM radio to "Paul Harvey News & Comment" or "Paul Harvey and the RRRRRRest of the Story!" and I am back in pigtails playing in grandpa's recording studio.

And so it is that I feel a bit sad today after learning about the passing of Mr. Paul Harvey because, for me, he has been like a Grandpa-over-the-mains. (I do believe my Grandpa is still alive. I plan to call tonight and make sure--as I have never been entirely certain that they are NOT the same person).

Anyway, thank you Mr. Harvey. May you rest in peace...and...Good Day!

Blog Wordle

This is a Wordle of my blog. It looks at your RSS feed and makes a picture of the words in your blog. Bigger words = used most often. Little words = used less often. You can also create a Wordle from a block of text.

Kinda fun (=

http://www.wordle.net/

Previewing Our Upcoming April Release

I work at a college. So, when people ask me if I have registered yet, my automatic reaction is, "for Spring term classes?" I finally figured out that they meant: "have you signed up for a baby registry yet because I want to buy you gifts but I don't know what you need."

I feel kind of weird signing up for a baby registry. Partly because I feel like I'm dictating what someone should buy for me as a gift. That seems sort of demanding. But mostly, I feel weird because I don't really know what I need! What I really need is parents to give me a short list of their "Favorite Things." (Where, here, "Favorite Things" is capitalized and in quotation marks because I am referencing Oprah's "Favorite Things.")

Don't get me wrong--I totally appreciate gifts. I welcome them. But even more so, I welcome any ideas of what things you just couldn't live without and would recommend for a new, clueless parent. (Feel free to comment and tell me your favorite things!)

Anyway...I'm registered at Target now.

Also, while we were walking up and down the aisles scanning cool stuff, we saw a prenatal baby eavesdropping device. It's cool, because it was cheap and isn't an ultrasound--so no controversial waves are bombarding baby. It's kinda lame because it was cheap and isn't an ultrasound--so it's kinda tough to hear the heartbeat. But, it does come with 2 sets of earphones and a recording cable. Which, of course, we took advantage of right away. So, you can preview our upcoming April release at our website:

www.myspace.com/kalaloch

It's not the first loudish bumps, it's the very soft, quick, regular ticks in the background.

Running out of Room...

Here is our little fellow all squished up and happy at 31 1/2 weeks ("7 months")! The ultrasound went great today. The placenta is definitely out of the way...so no problems people! He is (as he has been for months) head down and snuggled in tight. Here are some super cute pictures of his face:

I know...it's tough to see. But in the picture above, you see his head (turned sideways) and his face is looking right at you. His eyes are the two dark spots and you can see his nose and mouth. His head isn't round-looking in the picture because he is really snuggled down there--so you can't see his whole head.
This is from the same angle as the last picture, but his little mouth is open wide in a yawn.

So cute!

And there's his little foot. It was pushed right into my side, so you don't get a real clear outline...but there it is!

Everything is going very well with this pregnancy. I'm a little sore--but for the most part I have no complaints. I got a whole 8+ hours of sleep last night...I know those days are numbered, so I'm trying to enjoy them! Mostly, I just love growing this little guy inside of me. (=

"Unnecessary"

"Thank you" to Mr. David Shelley for linking to the "blog" about "unnecessary" quotation marks. I "laughed" so hard at work today that I had to stop reading...out of fear that my office mate would think I was completely "crazy."

So...find a moment when you can laugh in "private" and "enjoy" the site! (I highly recommend reading through the older posts as well. Some of my favorites are not on the first page)

http://www.unnecessaryquotes.com

Blessing in Brookings

Last weekend we carpooled with Alex's mom and my brother-in-law's mother down to Brookings, OR--a little beach town right on the CA/OR border. We went down to see Gavin & Amy (our niece & nephew)'s new baby girl blessed. Emily will be just around 4 months older than our little guy...I imagine they will be the best of friends (=

I had a lot of fun and REALLY enjoyed the peacefulness of the beach. I do admit though--I was a bit whiny. The 6 hour drive down, 2 nights on HARD hotel beds, and the 8 + hour drive back really took their toll on my sore hips and back. Still...I wouldn't have missed seeing that baby girl and I'm glad we went!

Here is sweet baby Emily and her mama Amy with Gavin in the background.
Four generations. See the sun?? It was SO beautiful! It felt like spring with sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 60s. We had a campfire on the beach and thoroughly enjoyed the weather.

My niece Greta was wonderful! She painted mine and Amy's toenails. I really needed that! I've been wearing flip flops for the last 5 months and my feet were looking pretty sad!

Alex had a great time wrestling with his nephews. I'm so excited that we are having a boy! Alex is going to be such a fun daddy. I know he is looking forward to having another guy around the house (=

Here we all are! Top row: Jen & Alex, Joyce, Lon, Amy w/ baby Emily, Gavin, Laura, Marva, Glenn & his fiancee Megan. Bottom row: G & A's friends (David, Kathy, Aaron, Ryan), Garrett, and Greta