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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.

Daddy's Corner Part 2

Its been a while since my first post, but since the most wonderful thing has happened in recent weeks I feel a need to boast and show my happiness on paper (or keyboard). After many anticlimactic and sometimes agonizing OB appointments the hard work and commitment of attending these things has finally paid off. For those of you that have not had the experience of attending an OBGYN appointment with your significant other let me quickly tell you what I mean by agonizing. First of all the waiting room... Annoying kids and crying babies and no other men in sight (I must be the only baby's daddy to be in Las Vegas that cares, or maybe some of these expecting mothers in town don't know who the daddy is considering the office is by UMC). With no men frequenting the waiting room the magazine selection is horrible. Expectant Mother, Marie Clarie, Your fetus and You, and Gardasil pamphlets are all that litters this place and it gets worse once you go into the Doctors office and he begins his work. How is it that this guy (OBGYN) gets to do things to your wife that any other dude would get dropped for immediately after he says "Hello Mike, I am Dr. Spoon" and shakes your hand? Right away this guy goes to second and then third base if you know what I mean. Not to mention that our particular Doc is in his early forty's, not bad looking, in pretty good shape and has a tan! What happened to an old German lady being your OB? Nice choice Carrie. And she has been seeing this dude for years! Sure its cool when you hear the baby's heart beat, but what you have to do in the first trimester to get to that point is even worse than second base. Its like stuff you see at your Buddy's bachelor party or at a bar in Thailand. But I digress. And for the record I have never been to Thailand, but have heard stories. All of this pain and heart ache during four months of appointments was worth the most recent result. During our last visit the distinguished Dr. was not present. This appointment was with an ultrasound tech who was female. And funny she new how to get a great visual of the baby by using a different ultrasound probe and putting it on Carrie's stomach. And the lovely ultrasound tech found something that Dr. Spoon never found. A PENIS. MY SON'S PENIS. This great gal proved with one swipe of her magic ultrasound wand what I have been hoping for all along. A little boy that I can teach all manly things to like fishing, and golf (as soon as I figure out how to play), and how to throw a football, and to tie a tie, and to shoot whiskey, and choose the right hair product... er OK that's enough manly stuff. He is going to be such a stud. Oh and for those of you who want to know how to do it I have the answer. #1. is a positive mental attitude and visualization #2. is probably to PG13 even for this post, but if you really want to know, you have my number.

The Pulliam Wedding - And A Baby Pic Too :)

Now that we know the sex, work has finally begun on his room! Goodnight Mr. & Mrs. Puliiam

Married almost 5 years....and we still feel like newlyweds (I do speak for myself :))

First Kiss as Mr. & Mrs. Maids for a Day!

Nervous? No Way!

Big Texas Hair in the Making!

Even Hey Reb showed up for some fun!

Wow! This summer is filled with nuptials of some of our nearest and dearest friends. Mike and I were both lucky enough to be a part of Ryan & Stephine's big day. The weekend (although a hot one in Vegas) was absolutely perfect...from pottery for the girls to golf for the boys to a gorgeous night for us all, the weekend was non-stop fun. I am so excited for both Ryan & Stephine to start their lives together - I truly believe they are meant for eachother!

I also got the chance to start on the baby's room. I of course ordered the bedding the minute I found out it was a boy. Then last night we picked out paint and started on the accent painting (I kept the room the chocolate color that I originally painted when we moved in). I just want to add a few more dots to back the wall and I think the painting will be finito! Can't wait to send more pics when I am done!

What's Happening with the Baby This Week: The baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 7 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel (about the length of a banana :). He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and we'll see it in his first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).

IT'S A BOY...REALLY, IT IS!

Another face shot - kind of creepy looking!

Profile...He's so cute!

Somewhere in this one is his little male part - I'm glad the technician could see it because I sure can't!

Proud Grandpa & Grandma

Waking up this morning, I have never been so excited to go to work! Ultrasound (D-Day) had finally come and we were to get confirmation of whether our little one was a little boy or girl. The hours, minutes, and seconds could not have gone by any slower...I couldn't wait for my appointment! Mike and I were there early so they brought us back and literally the minute she pressed the ultrasound machine to my belly, she saw it was a boy!!! Grandma Elizabeth came in a little bit later to see for herself that the baby is indeed a boy (no more fairy princess dreams....she'll have to save those for the next baby!). Now that I have the real confirmation, we can finally start shopping for the nursery and adding all of the boy items to the registry. Speaking of the registry, we did that on Saturday and it was seriously one of the most fun days I have ever had...I am truly a dork! Babies R Us was like a baby wonderland for me - all of my hours of studying finally paid off when I got to point and click to all the little things that our little one will use someday. So much fun! Mike was a trooper too and I think he even enjoyed himself a little bit...although 2 1/2 hours in he was ready for a nap in the glider! Hopefully his first father's day present made up for all the work I put him through registering!

What's going on with the baby this week: The baby's sensory development is exploding! His brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that he may be able to hear my voice now, so we are talking up a storm and listening to classical music - I end up with a headache, but hopefully he will be smarter for it :). He weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 7 inches now. 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. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on hit skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid - ewe!