23 Weeks

What is the baby doing...

She is more than 11 inches long and weighs over a pound (about as much as a large mango). Her skin is red and wrinkled. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare her for breathing. Loud noises heard often now- such as Titus barking- probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb (crazy that she can already start hearing Titus and everyone's voices).

How is the Mommy doing...

I am getting really tired of being sick! It stinks that I have been sick three times since January and I am really praying that after this round I can be healthly. Please pray for my cough and runny nose heals soon and I can stay healthy until Avery comes. I really want to avoid taking anything that even has a possibility of hurting the baby so please pray that I will be healed without having to depend on medicine. It is comforting though to feel her move all week even though I feel so bad, it reminds me that she is doing fine.

Other than being sick this week has been pretty calm which has allowed me to get to bed earlier and try to rest and get better. I ordered a butterfly mobile (see picture to the right) to hang over the changing table area as well as some little nylon butterflies to put on the shelves for the nursery. I also ordered a rug online which should be here this week. I can not wait to get the last few things out of the room and get it painted so we can start putting everything together. I love decorating and it is even more fun when it is pink and butterflies! We have finally decided on a crib and now just need to go and order it. I never thought it would be so hard to pick out a crib. I am choosing between two different paint colors and hopefully John will have time to paint the room soon and we can start putting in the crib and putting everything together.

I am excited about having Memorial Day off tomorrow and also starting summer Fridays this week which means only three days of work for this week! Work should be a little more busy this next two weeks as we are preparing for a big event in Iowa the first weekend in June. I will be busy wrapping up details this week and then flying out to Iowa June 3. Pray that I remember my limits and not push myself too much with this upcoming week and then traveling/working at the event.

My sister, her dog and her boyfriend all came into town on Thursday and left today. She has a chocolate lab named Max and him and Titus became the best of friends. They had a blast playing with each other and even decided to go on an unplanned adventure yesterday running away and coming home covered in mud (we took a picture of them before the bath). I was so relieved to see both of them even if it meant two bath times. Titus is pretty sad today that his friend left but hopefully Ashley will find a job down here and we can see her and Max more often! It was nice to catch up with her and Hardy and spend some time with them!

Praise that our friends Robbie and Sarah Shelton welcomed their healthy baby girl Emma Grace on Friday! We are so excited for them and are hoping to get better soon so we can meet their new addition!

• Next Doctor's Appointment: June 9
• Total Weight Gain: 16 pounds
• To Do This Week: Visiting the first day care on Friday and resting for my work trip next week

How is the Daddy doing...

Huge praise! The air conditioning in the Mustang is fixed! John is so excited about getting it fixed and now doesn't have to die in the summer heat and it is starting to get really hot in Houston! On Tuesday we were able to get together for dinner with a college friend of John's, Timon, and catch up which was really nice. John is also sick but getting better. Please pray that he gets over this last little bit and feels better. Praise that John was able to feel Avery move this week!