tamara b

The following is a weekly update that I get about the development of the baby:
This week, your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds and is approximately 17.2 inches long. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and her bones are hardening. His skull, however, will stay soft until after birth, to make it easier to squeeze through the birth canal. You may be waddling a bit now, as your baby fills out even more of your belly. It may be harder to sleep comfortably, too.

What else is new at the Buitenwerf house within the past week or so???
I spent Saturday morning at the office instead of at home cleaning. It was so nice to earn some extra hours without all the distractions. I’d like to take 10 weeks off when the baby is born and currently don’t have enough hours so I’m working to earn the 27 additional hours I will need. I’d like to have some extra hours on top of that in case I have to go on maternity leave earlier than expected. That afternoon I stopped at the flower shop in Clermont (nearest town to our house) and ordered some flowers for a new couple in town. While there I picked up some farm animal beanie babies for the nursery for cheap. How many of you can go to the florists and get a free lunch out of it. Well, I did. I happen to go to church with them and Jeanie was done eating and had left over pizza so she gave it to me. Sweet deal! From there I hurried home to hang out with the Ellis girls. They’re in 4th and 6th grade and have a fettish with my pregnant belly. Since their parents would be at an all day track meet, they came over and spent the afternoon with us. After I fixed them lunch, we watched Princess Diaries 2. I fell asleep! After the movie, Ryan entertained the girls with video games and I fell back asleep. I woke in time to make supper and take them to Living Stone, a contemporary church service.
Sunday after church, I had the best lunch with my parents and Ryan. I helped mom make fried catfish, mashed potatoes and green beans. It was so delicious, I love fried catfish and mashed potatoes. Ryan had to meet a client after lunch and he went on his way. I stayed most of the afternoon though. Dug in the freezer for some gingerbread cookies, helped mom print off some pictures of her grandbabies for her bracelet and worked on the wedding quilt for a while. Oh, did I mention, I fell asleep for a few minutes while mom was on the phone with my sister. I left there in time to grab some milk at the grocery store before it closed and head home. Yup, when you live in the “sticks”, IF there is a grocery store in your town, its itty bitty and closes at respectable hours so they too can spend time with family. Anyway, got home with enough time to change clothes, cuddle my honey for a few minutes, water some dying plants and then we headed to Ryan and Renessa’s for supper. Yeah, its rough bouncing around from home to home getting free meals. We had a good time with the Z’s as always and headed back home well after my bed time.
Last night we planted a bunch of lilac bushes down the West end of the house. That was a fun experience and a good thing to get accomplished finally. I made Ryan a quick meal and just as he got done eating he had to go on a call. While he was out working, I was working on quilt block designs. Still haven’t cleaned the house, the kitchen definitely needs some TLC as does our bedroom.

One highlight of my week so far is a guy who came into my office yesterday. This Mr. Thiese guy, in his 60’s, came to the office to work on some of his program stuff. When I got to the counter he said that he felt like he knew me. Usually that would be weird except I thought that maybe it was the Thiese I’ve heard Ryan talk about. In the few minutes we worked out the counter, I learned that he has a brand new grandson, the first Thiese boy in 30 years. I shared that Ryan and I had the same thing going – the first Buitenwerf in almost 30 years. It was so sweet when he shared that he already knew that and told me that I’m all Ryan talks about. Ahhh, how sweet!