25 weeks

Pete and I are looking forward to our first Bradley class tomorrow evening!

Normal

Well, Pete and I are officially moved in to our new home in Normal, IL. We are in the middle of unpacking and organizing, meeting neighbors, and getting to know the area. So far we really enjoy this town. Pete also finds great pleasure in making jokes about the name.

I just made an appointment with our new doctor for next week. Our baby has grown a lot in the past couple of weeks. She is about 9 inches long and over a pound and a half!

It has been fun moving in to our new place because both of us are thinking about how soon we will have another person here. Soon we will start decorating and setting up the baby's room. :)

Everybody has been asking me how I'm feeling physically considering the move and everything: I feel very well. Despite some sore and swelling feet and a slightly achy back in the midst of those hectic few days, I really don't have much to complain about. We are SO thankful to the many people who came to help us move (both in Evanston and Normal)!!! It made it so much easier for us. We have been able to rest and settle in to our new place over the past couple of days.

Baby Shower in Evanston

This past Sunday some good friends hosted a baby shower here in Evanston. It was such a fun surprise that not only Pete's mom, aunt, and sisters could come, but my mom as well! I really enjoyed seeing everyone and felt so encouraged by people's words and prayers. Here are some photos:

First, Here is a picture of me and Pete before the shower.

Here I am with two of the hostesses, Alicia and Keyna, who are both Crusade staff wives with me. The shower was held in Alicia's home.

Me with my good friends Sarah and Siobhan.


Pete's mom, my mom, Aunt Teresa, me, and Pete's sisters Margaret and Elizabeth. Somehow we all managed to wear blue.

Here I am opening the gift from Pete's family: A laundry basket full of "laundry"! All the clothes were pinned to the laundry line- it was very cute. :)

Thank you to all those who came to the shower, gave gifts, gave advice, and prayed for me! It was so special and fun for me to be able to spend time with good friends and family.

Busy Times

Hi Everyone! So sorry we've been slacking on keeping this updated lately. We have been experiencing one of the busiest (but exciting!) times of the quarter. Last weekend was our Fall Retreat which was a huge success. These past three days the staff has had to attend an event called Cross '09 where we have been engaging in different cultures- Pete and I got to do some really neat things in Chinatown and IIT university with Chinese people and students. So with preparing for fall retreat, going on retreat, and then putting in a few 12 hour days with Cross '09, we are, needless to say, a bit tired. :)

I had my monthly prenatal appointment this morning. Sadly, it was our last one with Dr. Herndon. We are moving in about 2 weeks (the weekend after Thanksgiving) so we are in the process of finding a new doctor in Bloomington-Normal.

Latest pregnancy updates:

• I've been feeling the baby kick a lot lately! It feels more like little flutters most of the time, but sometimes there's a more forceful one, which Pete has also had the chance to feel.
• One not-so-great thing is leg cramping that wakes me up in the middle of the night (nobody knows why, but it is common in pregnant women).

Here's a picture of my belly growth at 22 weeks:


And here's a picture of me and Pete at Fall Retreat with most of the Loyola group that went. Pete is in the very back and I'm on the very right hand side.

20 weeks + Halloween Fun

Michaela at 20 weeks:

Michaela dressed as a cowgirl:

Pete dressed as Buddy Holly:

We had fun this weekend catching up with friends at various Halloween gatherings after such a busy fall so far. This was one of the only free weekends we have before we move at the end of the month to Bloomington-Normal. Next weekend is our fall retreat- we have over 100 students signed up to go!

Our baby girl is around 11 or 12 oz right now which is apparently pretty big. In fact, the ultrasound technician moved our due date up a few days to March 17th.

Some other good news is that we think we've found a new doctor and a Bradley instructor in Bloomington-Normal!