what a great christmas!

Josh and i had such a great christmas, we hope you did too! We went to Tom and Ruthmari's (Josh's parents) house on christmas eve and stayed overnight. Christmas eve we each opened our one gift, which happens to be pj's every year. this year i got maternity/nursing pj's with a cool "boob flap" to make nursing a breeze once the little peanut is here.

Christmas morning Nathan, Ashley, Grace, Delsie (Josh's sister, husband and daughters) and my mom joined us. We had a delicous gingerbread waffle breakfast and got some very wonderful and generous gifts for the baby.

Josh's parents gave us this hip highchair which also comes with a tray cover and a cushy black seat cover.. i insisted on putting it together so i could play with it even after josh pointed out, the baby probably wont be able to use it until a year from now. what can i say, im excited!



The Lanigans (Josh's aunt and uncle) gave us our stroller..


And my mom generously gave us $ towards our hd video camera we want to get, hopefully we get it really soon and i can add video to the blog..


We also got some other fun things for the baby like a super soft baby blanket, cute diaper bag, and some fun toys. A huge thanks to everyone for the baby stuff!

We gave Tom and Ruthmari grandparents memory books. The books ask them a daily question about their childhood that they answer, then after a year they each have a book filled with memories to give to their grandchild. I love family history stuff so i am so excited for our child to have this! i know its a lot of work.. so get writin' nana and papa!

I also have to add that at the hunter/andersen family christmas party last week josh got a "man diaper bag". its black, non-descript and included a beer.. for josh, not the baby.. hehe!

im trying to get our last ultrasound pics on here but my scanner has decided to crap out on me.. ill get my favorite geek to look at it soon.

thanks again for the baby gifts, and i hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

21 weeks.. we are over 1/2 way!

Baby Andersen now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. His eyebrows and eyelids are fully developed. And you can certainly feel him move. He's oblivious to your schedule, though, so don't be surprised if he starts working out just when you're settling down for the night. If you're having a girl, her vagina is formed now, though it will continue to develop until birth.

20 weeks!

Baby Andersen weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. She's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom, and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, we use measurements taken from the top of the baby's head to her bottom — known as the "crown to rump" measurement. After that, we use measurements from head to toe. This is because a baby's legs are curled up against her torso during the first half of pregnancy and are very hard to measure.)

A greasy white substance called vernix caseosa coats her entire body to protect her skin during its long submersion in amniotic fluid. (This slick coating also eases the journey down the birth canal.)

Your baby is swallowing more, which is good practice for her digestive system. She's also producing meconium, a black, sticky substance that's the result of cell loss, digestive secretion, and swallowed amniotic fluid. This meconium will accumulate in her bowels, and you'll see it in her first messy diaper (although a few babies pass it in utero or during delivery).

its a spunky one!

i feel the baby constantly now, about every other hour for a hour it feels like the baby is doing tumbling practice. i think josh will be able to feel the baby too within a couple of weeks.. so cool!

19 weeks.. apparently the "pretzel stage"

Baby Andersen weighs about 8 1/2 ounces, and he measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large heirloom tomato. His arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of his body now. His kidneys continue to make urine, and the hair on his scalp is sprouting. This is a crucial time for sensory development: Your baby's brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. If your baby is a girl, she has an astonishing 6 million eggs in her ovaries. They'll dwindle to fewer than two million by the time she's born.

18 weeks!

Head to bottom, baby Andersen is approximately 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and she weighs almost 7 ounces. She's busy flexing her arms and legs — movements that you'll likely start noticing more and more. Her blood vessels are visible through her thin skin and her ears are now in position and stand out from her head. Myelin (a protective covering) is beginning to form around her nerves, a process that will continue for a year after she's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and Fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If your baby is a boy, his genitals are noticeable, though he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.