I think there is something in there....

Have you ever held a tiny frog or toad in your hands and closed them around the little guy? The toad kind of jumps around in there a little bit, bumping and pushing on your palm. Well, that is the closest I can come to describing the sensation of the baby moving in me. What a strange and surreal experience this is! I started feeling it Saturday night while watching a movie and every time I hold really still in a reclining position I can feel the little wriggles very faintly. At first I wasn't even sure of what I was feeling, but being on day three of those same sensations I am pretty sure it is none other but Crane Jr making his or her presence known.

The winter we thought would never come has finally taken hold of us with its frigid fingers. This is the first time that I have seen the stream in our neighborhood freeze completely over. It hasn't gotten out of the low twenties in quite a few days now. Every once in a while the sun will beckon Dexter and I outside, but the windchill in the single digits drives us back in just as quickly. Well, drives me back in, Dexter is unphased by the cold. If anything it just makes him jump around in a more hyper fashion than usual. Yesterday I resorted to exercising him inside in our basement with the laser pointer. It worked out quite well, I could sit on the couch and watch TV while he would run around in circles and up and down the hall after that elusive red dot that he just can't seem to grab. I know these cold days will pass pretty quickly, only about a month and a half until the warm spring comes to our area, but for now we feel a touch of cabin fever.

All that I want...

Grapefruit...oh, they are so delicious I cannot get enough of them. I could eat ten a day (don't worry I'm not). I guess this is my first true pregnancy craving, at least it is a healthy one!

The Countdown

He is learning karate already

Yesterday Bill and I heard our baby's heartbeat for the first time. The doctor put the doppler heartbeat moniter thing on me and found it right away. As we were listening the little guy (or girl) started kicking. The heartbeat was like woosh woosh woosh woosh and then there would be a thump then another one. It is amazing to me that the baby is only about 2 inches long and weighs less than an ounce and has such an amazing capacity for action. Another cool fact we learned: I can't feel the baby moving yet because my brain thinks that the movements are digestive tract movements and makes it so I am not aware of them. I guess if we were aware of all the moving in our guts we would be very distracted people. I still have a few more weeks until the baby's movements are enough that my brain lets me feel them--I can't wait!

More Pictures of our Puppy :)

Welcome home Dexter!

Dex is a 9 month old, 70 pound male black lab that we adopted today from the Labrador Rescue Society of the Potomac.

A New Year with Lots of Changes

Can you believe it is 2007 already? Happy New Year! I have been absent from blogging lately because I was so busy with the office shutting down and some other important goings on in our lives that I couldn't keep up! This will be a bit of a catch-up post, as well as a look ahead to the new year.

This new year holds some major changes for Bill and I: the most major one being that I am pregnant! I apologise if you are finding this out by reading my blog, I tried to tell everyone in person or on the phone, but I am sure I haven't gotten to a few people yet. Our baby is due July 25th which makes me 11 weeks pregnant tomorrow.

Secondly, tomorrow will be the first day that our office will be no more. After we lost re-election I have been very busy helping pack up the office and transitioning everyone on to new prospects. Since we found out that I was pregnant only 11 days after the election, I haven't worked too hard on finding a job for myself. I am still looking at part-time or work from home options--ideas are certainly welcome! I know that I will be incredibly busy once the baby is born, but worry about going crazy staying home without a job up until that point.

Which brings me to another new thing for this year--we just filled out an adoption application with the local Labrador Retriever Rescue Society. Call me crazy, but it is lonely in a house without a dog!

Another most welcome change the new year will bring is that Bill will finish his MBA in June. It has certainly been a challenging project, especially for him, to give up 99% of his free time to get the degree. We hope (and believe) the reward will be worth it.

Also in the news: we bought a new (used) car! I knew for sure I would go crazy at home with no car, so now we are the proud owners of a 2002 royal blue CR-V. Lots of room for a baby and all the stuff that goes with a baby and a big dog too. :)

So, as you can see we are in a huge time of transition. It is very exciting, and more than a little scary, as we face these changes in our life. Most importantly we are seeking God's will and direction for us and we are thrilled to see where He has us going!