This has been quite the week.

We started with our baby shower on Saturday. Got lots and lots of amazingly generous gifts… Like I’ve said so many times, this baby is already so loved and we are so fortunate. We got pretty much everything we need at this point… furniture, diapers, bottles, a pack & play, more clothes than he will ever be able to wear, and so many books! We did the completely unoriginal thing and asked that people bring books instead of cards and got so many! I still have a few of my own childhood favorites to buy but he definitely has an established library!

Baby Eugene’s Grammy Ronda and Grandpa Hank headed to Florida this week and before they left, we wanted to get together for a 4D ultrasound. We hoped to do that with my dad as well so he could see Eug for himself but he got so sick so fast that we just didn’t get the chance. When we called to make the appointment they said they’ve had as many as eighteen people in an ultrasound at once so we figured we’d invite all of our peeps! Emily had another engagement so we knew she wasn’t coming and we weren’t sure if Grandpa Hank and PapPap would want to come so imagine our surprise when we walked into the clinic and found six people waiting for us! Emily surprised me and the guys came along and we couldn’t have been happier to share in our first real glimpse at our baby’s features! Here’s some of the images:

We decided that he definitely has Shane’s mouth, probably my nose but maybe it’s Emily’s/Dad’s, and – yes Kiplings – the famous Kipling cheeks! He also enjoys his feet – they hung out in front of his face for a good chunk of the session but regardless, it was a wonderful evening of sneaking a peek at this beautiful baby (and yes we confirmed it!) boy!

I’ve also gotten my first non-pregnancy related disease. My throat started to get scratchy early in the week and by Thursday, I knew I was about done. I stayed home on Friday to let it all rest and…I’m not sure I accomplished my goal because as of Saturday I’m worse than I was before but hopefully three days of rest will make for a healthier week. Week 30 was exhausting – we had the shower on Saturday, we bought and installed all new appliances on Sunday, I had a faculty meeting on Monday and conferences on Tuesday, we did the ultrasound on Wednesday and by the time Thursday hit, I was completely done. Not so shocking that I got sick!

Anyway – this week Eugene is the size of a large container of ice cream… or about 17.2” long and about 3.17 pounds…and he’s apparently headed into a growth spurt. 😳 (I love how the baby sites say that so casually like “no worries lady, you’re just about to get HUGE!”)

And here’s the progression since the first week of school, or 24 weeks pregnant:

I kind of wish I had the pictures from earlier in the pregnancy but I just couldn’t muster up the smile or desire to do so when Dad was so sick. Still hard but now that the bump is definitely out there, it’s become easier to document.

Ok – Week 31! Here we go!