Whoa oh, half way there...

whoa oh living on a prayer...that's right we're officially at the half way point of this pregnancy. 20 weeks down, 20 weeks to go. If you do the math that each month is approx 4 weeks long, we're actually looking at 10 months of this. Where does everyone get 9 months from?

Anyway, I'm feeling kinda Sunday! If you haven't seen the State Farm commercial with this song in it, stay away. It's addicting and doesn't leave your head. Although, it has made my Sundays much more enjoyable.

Last night we went to what may be the last Yahoo! Holiday party, well maybe not the last, but a possibility if could be ours depending how the company fairs in the next year. As always it was a good time, this year Vegas was the theme. Since we were in "Vegas" we decided to renew out vows by none other than Elvis. Picture is to the left, it's a terrible angle - photographers should never be taken a picture at an upwards angle - so don't mind it I really don't look that large and in charge. Oh and that was a terrible choice of shirt, it didn't sit right on the hips. Oh well. But yes, I am proud to say I am still rocking my 4 inch stiletto heals for 4+ hours with no problem. Woot! I dread the day I cannot put them on. Luckily it's holiday party season, so I can get as much use out of them as my feet can stand!

My weekly email says that Baby Birkett is the length of a banana. Crazy to think about! We're still very excited to be having a boy, but can't seem to come up with a name we both like. There are a lot of resources on the web, but nothing jumps out at both of us.

Pictures!

Here are some recent snapshots of Baby Boy Birkett; we're lucky in the fact that our Perinatal group does 3D/4D ultrasounds pics for free. They're a litte freaky at first but fun once you get used to them.

19 weeks

quick update on our produce...see the post below for the exciting news!

Baby Birkett is about 9oz and is 6 inches long head to bottom. That's about the size of a large heirloom tomato. Fortunately his arms and legs are in proportion to the rest of his body now.

Holler then Swaller...

Yee-haw! Our new favorite phrase maybe just well be "Holler then Swaller". Bri and I traveled to NashVegas this past weekend to attend the wedding of our good friends Ashley and Trevor. We had a blast and the wedding was gorgeous.

It was a strange to go from 75+ degrees on Saturday the 15th, to about 30 or less degrees on Saturday the 22nd, but we enjoy experiencing all seasons in one weeks time. In our free time leading up to the wedding we toured the Ryman Auditorium - and took a picture that may have you thinking, wow, I could be looking at the next Johnny and June Cash! Sadly, no that is not the case. We just smiled and looked pretty. No singing. No one would want that! Our new catch phrase came from our time at Tootsie's on Broadway, as we Honkey Tonk'd. Apparently it's all the rage to Holler before you Swaller your beer (or water, if you're knocked up).

This upcoming week is going to be really fun! There are only 3 workdays (yeah!), that means 4 days to sleep in (double yeah!!), but we get to find out the sex of baby birkett (triple yeah!!!). We've decided we will in fact tell people, but we will not be sharing names - so please do not ask us. I'm finding it hard to maintain any privacy (which is REALLY REALLY tough for me) and this may be the only thing we can keep and not have to share with everyone, including strangers, and by strangers I mean people Bri and I do not personally know. We debate back and forth each day when we are going to find out the sex. Obviously we can find out (pending the cooperation of Baby Birkett) on Tuesday at our appointment, but we've also tossed around another idea.

A friend gave us the idea to get the sex written on a card, go to a baby store and pick out and outfit for each sex, go to the register hand them the outfits, the card with the sex and our credit card. Ask the cashier to wrap the outfit that matches the sex in the card and charge us. We would then pick it up at the store a bit later so we don't know. The idea is that we hold onto this for TWO days, and open the gift with family during Thanksgiving Day dinner. I'm not sure why but I toss back and forth as to what to do. I love the idea of finding out with family, but then again it sucks because it's not like we can find out with all of our immediate family at the same place - but instead have to choose who gets to share that moment with us. So I guess my tip is to keep any eye on the blog, we'll for sure mention it here.

Friday we hit 18 weeks - we're almost half way there...ohh ohhh living on prayer...whoops! :-) Baby Birkett is about the length of a bell pepper and weighs about 7 oz. Movements are much more frequent (although I haven't felt them too much), as he/she is flexing their little arms and legs.

Daycare: The Search Begins...

Yes, you read the title correctly. It's sad, isn't' it? We've officially started to research daycare options for Baby Birkett. I find it odd that we are researching and will need to get on a wait list so soon, especially since I can't even feel my child. Like all things in the Bay Area, this does not come cheap. There are several types of daycare to consider: Nanny, daycare center, daycare in someones home. The nanny option is well beyond our reach, well not so much if we want to live in our new car :-); so it looks like we will be exploring the in-home and center options.

The most unfortunate part of those options (besides the price tag) is the very long waiting list, one I checked out is 9 months (?!?)long for "priority" families. Brian and I do not have any priority. How do you get priority you may ask? Your employer. Neither one of ours has a deal going with any center. So we might be up a creek at some of the better centers. Isn't this fun? If you know me well, you know I function with a little more stress than some others, you may call me a worry wort...imagine me now? Luckily, I have the BEST mom in the world (eek I hope I can measure up!), who lets me vent and get it out without offering two cents or some crazy b.s. Thanks for your ear earlier this week mom!!

On to less stressful things!!! Bri will be traveling less through the end of the year, which is a welcome change right now. More time with Brian = happy Dawn and Evita! Over a month ago Bri lost his voice, and it's yet to return. He's been to an ENT who thinks it's a paralyzed vocal cord. Nothing too serious, more of an annoyance for Bri, as he has to repeat himself numerous times to be heard. We're awaiting some test results and another doctor's appointment to confirm, and then we can talk about treatment.

Today we're at 16 weeks (oh in case you haven't figured it out, we hit a new week every Friday - so I'm going to try and update the blog every Friday at least). I had a doctors appointment this week, and everything checks out ok. According to our babycenter weekly update Junior is about to hit a growth spurt, the patterning of the scalp is beginning and toenails are starting to grow. Right now, we're looking at a baby the size of an avocado. Mmmm makes me want some chips and salsa!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! This year Evita will be Zero from "The Nightmare Before Christmas". If you've haven't seen it, we highly recommend it. Definitely one of the best holiday themed movies made, right up there with "Love Actually".

In other exciting news, we purchased a new car last night and get to pick it up today! That's right our Jetta, Black Beauty, is going to the glue factory. Frankly, after struggling to even get he car to drive to the dealership last night we now know it was time to put her down. So look for us rocking out in our family friendly RAV4 starting tonight. Cross your fingers it will fit in our assigned spot in the garage.

Today marks the 15th week of our pregnancy. I can't tell if time is moving too fast or too slow at this point. Either way, there is nothing too exciting happening - from the surface at least. However, underneath the surface there is a lot going on! According to my weekly email, Baby Birkett now measures 4 inches long and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces. The kid can now sense light and is forming taste buds. A lot of baby books and website compare the children-to-be to fruit so you can get a real sense of how much growth is taking place. What started out as a sesame seed not too long ago is now relatively close in size to an apple!