Jaxx is getting bigger!

Melissa's son, Jaxx, is getting so big! I can't wait for LBN to get here to meet his best friend :) He's so cute ... so is Isaac, of course.

Carly & Lindsay's Birthday Celebration

So, after the shower, my toosh was glued to the couch. Christine, Ann, Keeb, Lil, and I stayed back to order pizza and watch a movie - the rest of the gang went out to celebrate some January birthdays ...

Girls Weekend!

Ann and Lindsay threw me a shower this weekend and so many of my friends from Charleston, Atlanta, Columbus, and Savannah (& Statesboro) came into town for the event. I am so lucky to have such fabulous friends! This weekend made me so happy to see everyone in one room. Thanks, Ladies, for everything. I had such a GREAT time. Let me not to forget to thank you all for your very generous gifts. I truly appreciate you all!

36 weeks!

Maggie & I

Bryan & Sophia

Anna, Maggie, Aimie, & Carly

2009 - Year of the Gorilla

Anna & Sophia

Keeb & I ... Lilliputian & Brobdingnagian

Christine with Sophia and Kari with Caleb!

Everyone!
Kari, Caleb, Lil' Steph, Ashley, Lindsay, mom, Sophie, Christine, Anna, Jess, Jana, Aimie, Maggie, Ann, Keeb and Carly

Lindsay, Anna, Carly, Aimie, and Maggie

Exhausted after cake ...

Bryan & I

Happy Birthday, Lindsay!

Happy Birthday, Lindsay!

I tried to find an embarrassing picture of Lindsay for her birthday today - no such luck. However, Trish did share with me some fabulous pictures from 2000-ish. These are from Drawing II at GSU. Please note her belt buckle.

Oh how you've matured to a rip old age of 28. We're so proud of you.

Week 36: Crenshaw Melon*

LBN is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. He now weighs almost 6 pounds and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. He's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered his body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected his skin during her nine-month amniotic bath.

At the end of this week, LBN will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.)

*And please, if you've ever had a Crenshaw Melon, please raise your hand :)

LBN's Speak Peak

As much as I hate 4D ... these are kind of fun.

LBN was definitely NOT happy after being woken up from his nap to snap some pictures. He has the Fern Jenson Scowl already. LBN sucked away on his bottom lip, looked around a bit, and then fell back asleep. He has a head of a 36 week and 2 day fetus. (even tho we're at 35 weeks ... thanks, Neals.) He weighs 5bl and 11 oz which gives him a projected weight of 7lbs and 11oz on his birth date. Let's see how close that approximation is.

We also found out he's probably going to be a baldy ... not much surprise there.

Mr. Pouty-Pant's is head down and ready to come out! For the meantime ... he's going to stay in the oven and get plump!

John and Sean's Visit

Let me not overlook the fact that Sean and John came for a visit over MLK weekend. Bryan was ecstatic to have his boys in for the weekend. (I was, of course, too). They both arrived Thursday night. We went out for a quick bite to eat and then the boys took off for the evening. They had bigger and better things to do than hang out with boring preggo.

So I dropped them off to see Cowboy Troy. For those of you who don't know ... he's a pretty big deal. (Actually, no, he's not.)

I went home to bed.

2am strikes and the 'boys' come tearing into the house laughing and ranting about whatever trouble they got into that night.

I laid patiently in bed for them to quiet down.

Then, my bedroom door flies open, the cats scatter off of the bed in fear, lights turn on - I throw back my covers about to give Bryan hell for waking me up - and there stands poor John like a deer in headlights. He was looking for a bathroom. He apologizes profusely ... I try to assure him it's okay that he woke me up.

Then he gets a shit-eating grin and says, "Well, since you're up - let me show you what I got."


Anyone notice what's out of place in this picture? Let's start by the massive, tacky, belt buckle ol' city boy is wearing. Yes - that IS the Cowboy Troy's belt buckle. John should be ashamed.

He wore it the rest of the weekend with Bryan's camo Agri Supply hat. John looked like he was at home down here in Statesboro ... other than his city boy shoes with Matthew immediately made him trade in on Saturday for some Georgia Boots. There. All set.

We had a great rest of the weekend. Friday the Bryan, Sean, John, and the belt buckle went skeet shooting (pictures to come) and we headed off for a steak dinner in Savannah. We spent the day working in the yard and on the cars Saturday morning and headed to Matthew and Robbie's for our shower. Sunday we all stayed in comfy clothes and watched movies, football and ate El Sombrero.

Monday morning, Sean headed off for his long drive home. John and Bryan went golfing and then we took John to the airport.

He was still wearing his Cowboy Troy belt buckle...

Week 35: Honeydew Mellow ... yum!

LBN doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (really 5lbs 11 oz). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

Guys & Gals Shower

Robbie, Lauren and Whitney threw Bryan and I a Guys & Gals shower over the weekend - it was also part going away party for Bryan. It was a great time - good to see everyone as always and we received many generous gifts - so thanks to all - we had a GREAT time!

Bryan with his new bib ... I mean LBN's new bib.

Some jammies.

A gift-basket full of goodies definitely needed for a new baby.

The gals ... Jess, Jen, Robbie, Whitney, Lauren, Jess, Caitlin, me, Lindsay and Michelle

The guys ... Mike, Tom, Bryan, Russell, John, Nick, Sean, Matt, Josh, Jeb, and Matthew

And then Nick and I compared bellies :)

Week 34: Canteloupe

LBN now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds and is almost 18 inches long. His fat layers — which will help regulate his body temperature once he's born — are filling him out, making her rounder. His skin is also smoother than ever. LBN's central nervous system is maturing and his lungs are continuing to mature as well.

Holiday Pictures...

Wintery Tans. Lovely.

Cousin Lovin' on Christmas Day: Cousin Mike, Brother Derich, Hubby Bryan, Niesin (Niece + Cousin) Gracen, Cousin Brandon, Cousin Alycia, Drew, Steph, & Cousin Nia.


Gracen Rae on Christmas Day

New Years Eve - Lindsay and Steph.

Ringing in the New Year ... Much to celebrate in 2009 :)

Our new, bigger backyard...

Bryan and I hired a team to do 'vegetative maintenance' on our backyard over the weekend. They cleared our all of the thicket and underbrush. We knew it was thick, but not THAT thick. Bryan spent an entire afternoon trying to make a path but got about 3x3 feet done before realizing he hadn't made it far, at all. So we brought in the big guns. It was so thick, we couldn't even walk through it to tag trees to keep.

Before.

During.

It's a bobcat with a tree grinder of some sort on it. Let's not forget that I got to drive it :)

After.

Now we almost fully utilize our yard. It's winter still, so it doesn't look so friendly and green - but they said a nice green ground covering will grow once it warms up! We kept all of the hardwoods. There are designated wetlands back there as well - but the back of it is high, dry land where we hope to build a gazebo of a sort once Bryan gets back from Afghanistan. We even uncovered a tree that was used to collect turpentine (we kept it)!

33 Weeks: Pineapple

This week LBN weighs a little over 4 pounds and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

Merry Christmas, Happy Birthday - and a Happy New Year...

Bryan and I after opening up presents at mom & dad Arends.

So, we were offline for a moment. Here's a little catch up:

Bryan and I spent the holidays in Minneapolis with my family. We spent Christmas Eve at Grandma Alyce's house. I would have to say it was one of my favorites so far. We ALL sat in the same room, munched on food and played cards until 2am. Kent, Boni, and Mike were in town from Missouri as well - it was so great to see them ... they haven't been able to come to MN for Christmas for 27 years? Something like that.

We followed up Christmas Eve with a Christmas lunch at Beci and Chucks. Delicious, as always. Brandon, Nia, Gracen, Bev and Dale were able to swing through and say hello as well. We spent the evening at Derich's house playing Dark Blue (Trivia Persuit) until the wee hours of the morning. Brandon and Nia joined us along with Gerad, Danny, Joni and Erik. Fabulous seeing all of them ... and of course, the R came out. Let's not forget - Team Arends/Neal/Lighter won!

Bryan, Derich, R, and Brandon.

Me, LBN wearing the R, Danny, and Gerad.

Dark Blue wearing the R.

Bryan. He is having a good time.

Bryan, Me, Nia, R, and Brandon.

The 26th was low key; we were able to catch up with Laura and Aaron and play a few board games. But before that, I spent a lovely afternoon with Melissa, Laura, and Courtney for lunch a bit of shopping.

I turned 29 (holy cow - FYI: I will be 29 from here on out - I don't care what anyone says.) on the 27th. It was a g-rated day for the prego. It consisted of bowling and pasta. Can't get any crazier than that. But thanks to all of you who came out to celebrate with me. As always, I am so thankful all of you are in my life.

Bryan and I made it safely back to Georgia where we left the 12˚ weather behind for 75˚. Love the South :) I went back to work on Monday and Bryan took down Christmas decorations. We rung in the New Year at Robbie and Matthew's house with a group of fabulous friends ... Robbie, Matthew, Tom, Brandi, Lauren, Russell, Josh, Matt, Jessica, Lindsay and Jeb.

So here we are on the first day of 2009. Bryan and I spent it lying on the couch, fireplace cranked with a buffet of food. It's 10:45pm and I am still in my pajama's. We know it's pathetic; but we also know we won't have many days like this in 2009. (And Brenda - thanks again for the blanket ... we're all fighting over it - including the cats!)

Looking ahead this year - just this winter/spring, we will be adding a family member to our family of 4 (if you include our current children, Peanut and Mac) and Bryan will be deploying to unfamiliar territory. We are nervous, scared, and excited all at the same time. We'd like to thank all of our family and friends for their ongoing support. We wouldn't be where we are today if it wasn't for you.

Stay tuned for 2009 - it will definitely be a wild yet bumpy ride :)

Week 32: Jicama

(A jicama? yeah, because we ALL know what one of those are...)

By now, LBN weighs 3.75 pounds and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in my uterus. I'm *hopefully* gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to LBN. In fact, he'll gain a third to half of his birth weight during the next 7 weeks as he fattens up for survival outside the womb. He now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). His skin is becoming soft and smooth as he plumps up in preparation for birth.

*Jícama (hee-kah-mah), also Mexican Potato and Mexican Turnip, is the name of a native Mexican vine, although the name most commonly refers to the plant's edible tuberous root.