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Hi all,

Well, with Mike gone for quite a while training, I have been a busy bee! Friends and family have all taken very good care of me so that I am not alone...I have also had a lot of time to work on the room!! I wish I could send better pics, but I can't find my camera! The few pics above are from my cell which obviously don't make for very clear pictures....I promise to find my camera soon!!!! Mike is away for training with his new company, Johnson & Johnson. He is still in medical devices selilng Ethicon Endo products - don't ask any more questions about what that means, I am lucky to just remember the name of his product line! Yesterday I went to Andrea's baby shower - it was so exciting and only made me that much more ansy to bring Chase into the world! Let's just hope I have my camera then so I can put pics of him up :)....

What's going on with Chase this week: Chase is still growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long, he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

Growing And Growing!

23 Weeks and the bump is growing! Proud nana meets the bump!

Now THIS is an Oregon tree (oh and Maria too)!

I know that the baby has been growing because I have been GAINING. However, it wasn't until the past couple of weeks that I actually felt like rather than having a muffin top, I have a baby bump! This is all very exciting to me because I have been waiting and wanting to wear my maternity clothes (ok, I wore the maternity clothes before I even needed them, but I have been SO excited!). I am also feeling the baby kick more regularly now and even though Mike isn't sure if he is feeling his heartbeat or the baby's kicks, I am pretty sure the baby has gotten one or two good shots in at him. The baby is finally feeling so real to me and I am loving it!

Over the past week, I got to drive my mom up to Eugene, OR to move to her new home. She has left her home in Mexico and has moved to the beautiful and quaint city of Eugene - I know she will miss being with the baby all the time but I think she had an ulterior motive when moving to Eugene - she knows I LOVE Oregon and will visit often! I then got to go up to see Gary and Maria who found Copper River Salmon for the Salmon lover in me - it was so good I wrapped a fresh cut up and brought it home to Mike! Mike turned the big 29 on Thursday and we were pretty low key - just a night for us before celebrating the 4th at the Pulliam residence. It was a great vacation week and I was sad to come home and go back to work!

What's happening with the baby this week: At 11 inches (I'm going to go away from fruits and veggies this week and say he is about the size of a ken doll :)) and almost 1 pound, the baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If we could see inside, we would be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside his belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.