It's official! We're having a...

Today Melissa and I went in for our 20-week ultrasound. We've been so excited for this ultrasound because we've been anxious to find out--as my sister-in-law Lynsey put it--what variety of Peanut Melissa has been growing. The ultrasound technician began at the head and worked her way down the body. This was a little bit frustrating because we were anxious to see the other end, but we saw all sorts of cool things along the way! First we got some great profile shots and saw both the nose and mouth. We got a fantastic view of the heart, seeing all four chambers pumping away, and even getting a glimpse of the tricuspid and mitral valves in action. The heart beat was so strong that the tech actually had to turn down the volume! We got some cool views of the spine as well (what can I say--my attention is instantly drawn to serially homologous structures).

Peanut's Hitchcockian profile

Eventually, we got down to Peanut's--ahem--business end. At first, we weren't quite sure what we were looking at, but once a certain little something showed up on the screen, we didn't need too much help with interpretation. The tech simply labeled the photo as follows:

If you would like a little help with what view this is, here's a labeled version. It's basically like Peanut is sitting on the ultrasound transducer.

Lastly, we got a peek at Peanut's legs and feet. Here you can see a little foot right in the middle (toes pointed to the left).

Overall, the technician said everything looked fantastic. She kept repeating how cooperative Peanut was being, giving her great angles/views of everything she was looking for. We are so happy that the pregnancy is progressing nicely, and we can't wait to meet our little boy! His due date was originally estimated as November 18, but today his measurements suggested a due date of November 20 (which happens to be the birthday of my sister Britani and my sister-in-law Kim). I'm personally hoping he holds out until November 21 (which is my birthday), but no matter what day he decides to enter this world, I can't wait to hold him--I wouldn't even mind if greeted me by peeing on my chest, just like I did to my dad.

A 19-week bump-date

Here's Melissa at just past 19 weeks. We find out whether we're having a boy or girl on Wednesday! Can't wait!

 I bet Duncan is thinking, "What in the world is going on in there?"

Yes we'll be using cloth diapers, and no we're not crazy

When most people think of cloth diapers, they usually think about pins, plastic covers, and large rectangles to fold. Things have changed in the last couple years, and being in Ann Arbor, we have been exposed to numerous options that we probably would not have been introduced to otherwise. We have now had many friends already try cloth diapers with their kids, and after hearing about their experiences, Ryan and I have decided to use cloth diapers for a number of reasons. First, we've been trying to live "greener" in our day-to-day lives, and we feel like using cloth rather than disposable diapers is another way for us to do that. Secondly, when you buy cloth diapers, the estimated savings over disposable diapers for one year is usually over $1,000. So when you have multiple kids and numerous years using cloth, the savings can be fantastic. The new cloth diapers usually adjust sizes as your child grows so that the same ones can be used for years. This really makes the initial investment worth it. Also, cloth diapers often encourage kids to potty train earlier, or so we have been told, and the colors and patterns are often very cute and just plain fun!

The cloth diapers that we are going to be using are the BumGenius 4.0 diapers. They come with both Velcro and snap closures (snap for when Peanut gets older and tries to remove said diaper). We also enjoy being able to support a local business here in Ann Arbor (The Little Seedling; you can see our registry here), though they can also be found at a store owned by my Aunt Sharon's boss in Holland, MI (Tip Toes).

Following the advice of friends, however, we will be using disposable diapers for the first month or so for several reasons. Peanut will still be too small for the "Bums" initially (unless he/she is as big as Ryan was when he was born--I hope not). We will also be going through so many diapers at first. Plus, we want to be able to easily fold the top of the diaper over for the umbilical cord to heal. Lastly, the first poops (comprised of meconium) are often really sticky and wouldn't be too kind to the cloth. But even during this time, we are still going to try and use more of the "green" diaper products, like those made by 7th Generation.

A bump update and Duncan's brush with nature

Melissa is now just over 18 weeks pregnant, but we realized that we never posted any of the bump pictures we took of her last weekend. So here you go!

Melissa at 17 weeks pregnant

On a completely unrelated note, Duncan had a bit of a brush with nature last night. As has been the norm lately, Melissa went to bed early, leaving Duncan and I alone in the living room, where we were watching highlights of the day's baseball games. All of sudden, we heard a little something on the 10-inch ledge outside of our 2nd-story slider. Duncan hopped off the couch, poked his head through the vertical blinds, and starting barking like crazy. I jumped up to quiet him down, but when I pulled open the blinds, I didn't see anything at first (it was pretty dark, after all). So I grabbed my Maglite, shined it outside, and what did I see? Well, this:

I felt bad for our little Procyon lotor friend, as he looked young and pretty scared. But in order to hush Duncan up (thereby preventing him from waking up Melissa and all of our neighbors), I shooed the little guy off the ledge. Sure enough, however, he came right back within the next five minutes, prompting another round of barking by our little watchdog. Eventually, I went to bed, hoping Duncan would just forget that the raccoon was out there. But, of course, he couldn't! I eventually had to close all of bedroom doors to prevent Duncan from going out to the living room to see if his distant carnivore relative was still there. Again, I couldn't help but feel bad for the terrified little 'coon on our ledge. Look at how cute he was!

Summer Reading

Work lately has been so busy that I have been finding myself really starting to look forward to a little down time before "Peanut" arrives. If you don't already know, I love to read and always have. One genre I love to read is Young Adult fiction. Often they have amazing stories, drama, and romance without all the raunchy material found in adult books. Over the past years I have really enjoyed all the Harry Potter books (we'll be seeing the final midnight showing with friends on July 14!),

the Golden Compass Series,

the Twilight series,

the Percy Jackson series (and other of Rick Riordan books),

the Abarat series,

 and, my favorite lately, the Hunger Games Trilogy

So this summer I was not really focused on any specific new series until I finished reading a recent issue of Entertainment Weekly, which had a list of the "Hot" new YA fiction that will be coming out. So what did I do? I went on the Ann Arbor District Library website and requested all of the books that were recommended! So now I have a large stack of books that I need to read in the next 6 weeks before I move to Bourbonnais. One book that I had already heard and read about was "Matched," which I highly enjoyed

Now I am looking forward to the second book "Crossed," coming out in September

I love recommendations, and maybe I will even try to read "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" again after struggling through the first 100 pages.

Its Been A Big Weekend!

So it has been a little while since we last posted, but there has been a lot happening and hopefully a lot still to come. Friday last week my parents came to help with painting our apartment back to white and go to Bourbonnais to help us find housing.

Friday was off to a great start, I got out of work early and my parents came into town early enough so that we could all go to watch Ryan and our church softball team. It was a great game, including an amazing catch for Ryan in right field, but did not end happily as our good friend Melissa K. took a softball to the face, cutting her lips and moving her two front teeth.

Here are some pictures from the Softball Game...

Ryan taking some practice swings

 Melissa K. making a great connection

Ryan throwing in from the outfield

Ryan at first base

Vic connecting with the ball

Kellie up to bat!

Ryan with another great swing!

Saturday morning Melissa K. and I were going to hit up the Ypsilanti Garage Sale, but after being up late, a lot of medication for Melissa, and the heat, we decided it was not the best plan. Instead my mom and I ran errands, including doing some mommie clothes shopping. While Ryan and my parents painted, I packed up the more fragile house decor while we listened to our Children's Mix on my iPod. Ryan was less than thrilled with the amount of Disney songs he was stuck singing all weekend because of this selection.

Sunday morning we headed for Bourbonnais and Olivet Nazarene University. Here are some picture from the visit.

Ryan and I posing by one of the school signs

The administrative Building at ONU

The clock tower

ONU's dining hall and student center

The new chapel at ONU, when we were here in December we were able to go to the last chapel service in their old chapel.

After we walked around the campus, we met with a few of the professors from the Biology Department for a chicken dinner in one of the labs, yes we ate in a Biology Lab! We then took a tour of the building and shown a few highlights, including Ryan given his keys and his office.

Ryan's name on the Biology Department roster

Ryan is his new lab coat standing by his office

Ryan in his office after they (not me) rearranged all the furniture

Finally after a long trip and looking at many different places, even having a no-show landlord at one place, we were able to finally find housing! There are still people living in the condo, but they were kind enough to let us look around the home on Sunday. The condo has 2 bedrooms, a laundry room, and numerous closets on the 2nd floor. There is a 1 stall garage, a large living room, dining room (that will become an office) and kitchen with a bathroom. There is a slider out the back to a very small cement patio and a small yard for Duncan. The best part is that our neighbors on both sides are also Olivet staff. We are going to be a short 5 minute drive/10 minute walk to campus and are close to a really great park. Now just to finish packing before we move!

Our new home starting July 30th

15 weeks, 5 days

So just got back from another doctor's visit and Peanut is doing well with a strong and steady heart rate of 150 beats per minute. Our doctor also said that we need to set up the ever fun and anticipated Ultrasound at 20 weeks. I thought that our appointment coming up on July 6th would be the ultrasound, but this has to be set up as a separate time. The fun part is that it will be earlier, June 29th at 1:30 in the afternoon. Ryan and I are both excited to find out if we are going to have a boy or girl, but this little Peanut will be loved no matter what.

Goodbyes and hellos

Ann Arbor is a great place to live. It's a vibrant, intellectually-stimulating town, full of fabulous people. But one of the downsides of Ann Arbor is that many of its residents are simply transients. People from all over Michigan, the Midwest, and even the world come to the University of Michigan for graduate study, and then, after they finish their M.S., Ph.D., M.D., or fellowship, most of them leave. Melissa and I fit right into that mold. Yet, even though we'll be moving away in a little over two months, it's still not easy to say goodbye to friends moving away before us. Yesterday we spent much of the day helping our dear friends Geoff and Ashley move out of their Ann Arbor residence. Our time with them here was relatively short, but our friendships with them will be long lasting. We will really miss you both, Geoff and Ashley!

But while we must say goodbye to friends, we can say hello to other things--most notably, Melissa's baby bump! She is now 15 weeks pregnant. Her days are still touch-and-go, punctuated by moments when she feels pretty good and then later by moments when…well, she doesn't. We're hopeful that she'll continue to see improvement in the coming days. After all, we'd really like for her to begin to actually enjoy growing this Peanut!

Tough Little Peanut

So still not feeling well and I will be 15 weeks on Friday. Unfortunately I have another bacterial infection and have to start round 2 of antibiotics this morning which tends to increase nausea. My doctor also encouraged me to increase my fluid intake while I take said antibiotics. So I literally have a timer to tell me to drink every hour and my bucket next to me for the increased nausea. My little Peanut is one tough little kiddo.

A grand old time in Grand Rapids

Last weekend, for the second consecutive year, my parents Bill and Cheryl and their friends Bob and Pam met us in Grand Rapids to participate in the Fifth Third River Bank Run. This year, my sister Britani and her husband Charlie joined us as well. After a delicious and filling pre-race meal at Pietro's on Friday evening, we woke up at around 5:00am to a cool, drizzly Saturday morning. Those of us running the 5k at 7:00am endured the heaviest rain of the day (mostly during our 1st mile), but it pretty much rained all morning. Here are some photos from the race:

5k runners warming up indoors

Dad and I during the last mile of the 5k

I was clearly enthused...

...as was Britani

Pam and Mom lining up for the 5k walk

 All of the wet and tired racers post-race

After the races and some warm showers, we all headed out to Frederik Meijer Gardens for the afternoon. We had a delicious lunch in their Taste of the Gardens Café, and we enjoyed seeing all of the exotic plants. (As always, my favorite area was the Carnivorous Plant House.) We spent a good deal of time goofing around in the Lena Meijer Children's Garden, before taking an entertaining (though cold and windy) tram tour of the outdoor sculpture park, featuring an older gentleman, who liked to put his foot in his mouth, as our tour guide. Here are some of the highlights:

 A pitcher plant in the Carnivorous Plant House

An artificially blue orchid

Britani and Charlie in the tropical conservatory

Red-legged honeycreeper (Cyanerpes cyaneus)

Melissa and I in the tropical conservatory

Britani posing in front of a statue that resembles her as a child

Brit and Dad

Brit and Charlie creeping in the mini hedge maze

Pam and Mom next to a sleeping dragon

Charlie and Brit on a cool suspension bridge in a tree house

Mom and I on the same bridge

Scary-looking giant beaver with a sharp implement

We're already looking forward to River Bank Run next year, and we hope that everyone else is too!