In search of the perfect baby mobile

About 5 months ago I found this great mobile, but it was a little too early to pull the trigger and purchase it.  Now we're having trouble finding one...luckily we still have about 4 months.  Momma often thinks Poppy goes overboard with Badger pride, but she thought this was uber cute.

Identity Crisis

Liz's bellybutton is clearly having an identity crisis as her belly grows...it doesn't know whether it should be an innie or an outtie. We're expecting it to "pop" like a turkey timer any day now.

Liz is looking so precious as the belly grows.  It is literally getting bigger everyday, and the rest of her is staying the same size...completely adorable. 

Baby HJ is a ...

...boy!  Yep, we're having a little fella.  Our ultrasound appointment was last Friday, May 7.  Our first tech was new and training.  We'll leave it at that.  She was having all sorts of trouble getting the shots they needed, plus she told us, on several occasions, that she thought we were having a girl.  She was having real difficulty getting a shot of HJ's profile, so a new tech came in.  Liz decided to call her the "Fetus Whisperer."  She worked magic.  She was very hands-on and moved HJ around inside Liz's belly to get the desired shots.  Not only that, but she also got a definitive shot of HJ's "twig and berries," and solidified the fact that we're having a boy.  Below are some of the ultrasound pics. 

This is a profile picture of lil' HJ and a picture of his little "junk."

This is a picture of HJ's left foot.

Here is a picture of HJ's orbital sockets.  If you look closely, you'll see where the second tech had drawn glasses and a baseball hat on HJ.  The second picture is of HJ's feet.  You'll notice that his second toe is longer than his big toe...he gets that from Momma.

To help you get your bearings with this picture, HJ's chin is facing the lower right and he has his mouth open.  Above his open mouth is a the underside of his nose.  The little fella was sleeping at this point.  Momma made some smart remark about how she's seen Poppy like this on several occasions when he's napping.

This is a shot of HJ's million dollar legs.  We're not exactly sure how his legs will become worth a million dollars, but we're pretty sure it will have to do with some athletic endeavor. 

We've also got some exciting 20 wk belly pics, for those of you who are into that.  

To top off our exciting week, Liz and I registered for baby gear.  Talk about exhausting.  We spent about 3 hours at Babies R Us for most of the goodies.  I was also able to sneak to REI to register for some HJ active adventure gear.  We were smiling through the entire process as we envisioned little HJ using his swing, attempting to escape his crib, and boldly exploring while being pulled behind Poppy's bike. 

OHHHHH, and Liz has started to feel HJ moving around his palatial womb.  She's all grins.  

Baby's First Trip to WI (sorta)

Taking advantage of the last week of break, baby and I decided to go on a road trip to Wisconsin to visit all of our friends and family that we miss so much but have not been able to see during the crazy semester. Nathaniel had to keep on educating tomorrow's future :), so we hit the road alone.

First we stopped by the Parisi's-perhaps one of my favorite parts was when I lifted my shirt so they could see my belly, and Tia's response was, "WOOOOOOOOOO." Tessa also invented a new way to find out if you are going to have a boy or girl by counting any freckles on your belly. Then, you just go boy/girl/boy/girl until you run out of freckles. For the record, by Tessa's count it will be a boy, but by Tia's count it will be a girl :) Susie made sure that I had lots of wonderful baby girl items to take home with me-looking at the clothes brought back so many memories of when Tess and Tia were younger. She also gave me an adorable little bassinet-we can't wait for little Hj to sleep in it. It was just so wonderful to spend time with my "second" family. Thanks for the goodies and the yummy meal!

My resting spot was back home, which was nice because my brother Chris was there as well. So, every evening, baby and I had some down time with the fam, and knew for sure that there would be a scrumptious meal to indulge in. Mom and I were able to get some good mother daughter time in as well!

Monday we ventured off to Neenah to visit the Anderson family. Summer is 34 weeks pregnant, so it was so fun to have our bellies bump when we hugged. We talked baby talk and snacked all day long-nothing like having a pregnant eating partner who is hungry when you are! Her two little boys, Ben and Aiden, were so precious and hilarious. Ben has correctly predicted the sex of 3 babies. He says that we will be having a boy...we will see if he is 4/4! Mike came home on his lunch break to catch up and snap a picture of the two pregnant mommas.

Tuesday, Hj and I set off for Belgium to visit the Katte family. They have three sweet girls- Jocelyn (5), Ainsley, my God-daughter (3) and Maddie (9 months). It was a busy day of gymnastics, tumbling and errands. I loved seeing the girls in their little leotards! And little Maddie-I could not get enough of kissing her cheeks and scrumptious arms!!! The girls also showered me with tons of yellow baby clothes, maternity clothes, and baby books. It was like Christmas day! Thanks for all of the goodies.

Later that evening, I stopped by Doug and Julie's place to catch up after way too long. Their little princess, Lyla, will be 2 in July, and Julie is pregnant with TWINS! Once again, we talked baby talk-it is hard to believe that Julie has two little ones in her belly! Absolutely amazing. Lyla kept me laughing-especially when they asked her if she wanted some custard. Her face lit up and she did a full body excited shake. I can totally relate to getting that excited about eating frozen custard:)

All of the visits were just way too short, but we loved every moment we were able to spend with so many people we love. Thanks for the hospitality!