Big Ultrasound Day!

We just had our ultrasound last Friday, so I thought I would add some pictures. It was a really cool appointment, since we got to see pretty clear pictures of little baby Monroe. The room was packed tight with a total of 8 people in a small dark room. (Eugene, Josie, Pili, Marv, Linda, Staci, Mike, and Chris the Tech.) The scanned pictures are not as clear as seeing the live video, but you will get the idea. The first picture is a profile shot of the baby's face, and it was looking up...

The second picture is a direct view of the Baby's face. The center of the picture is the Baby's mouth, and a little up and to the left is the Baby's nose. Stare at it long enough and you will see a face. This one was really cool, because just before this shot, the Baby opened it's mouth as if it were yawning. This is when Grandma Monroe got really excited...

The last picture is a 3D view of the head, and the baby is looking to the left. The picture kind of makes it's look like and Alien, but we still thought it was pretty cool to see.

As far as we could tell the Baby seems to be healthy and normal. We were also able to get through the appointment without finding out the gender. Staci and I are very excited and happy things are going well so far. Well, I have to get to Hockey pretty soon, so I will sign off until next time. Wish me luck, we are in the playoffs!

love,

Mike & Staci

Mommy's Transformation

Just thought I would add some "belly" pictures, so you can all see the transformation that is happening before my eyes. On the left is the first picture that we took on Feb. 11, and Staci was about three months along. I was trying to get her to pull her shirt up the rest of the way, but she was just being a big party pooper.

Then we took another picture on March 28th, and what do you know, she's bigger. Staci has been doing really well, and I have been feeling more baby movement. It seems to be pretty active in the morning when she lays on her back. It's really wild to feel little thumps and rolls inside my wife's belly. As far as I can tell Staci is still acting pretty normal, despite the hormones that are rushing through her bloodstream. I am always on the lookout for some major mood swings, but everything is still running on an even keel... :^) If you don't see another post soon, I might have been terminated by "El Prego".

We are going to have our BIG ultrasound this Friday April 6th. This is the one that takes a lot of pictures of the baby, and confirms how far along we are. We are really looking forward to seeing the baby, and hope the surprise of the gender is not ruined. Our friends Megan and Kirby had their ultrasound two weeks ago, and it sounded really cool.

We also spent last weekend up in Portland with them, and had a day of baby shopping. We spent some time at Segals Baby Store, and got to see the price range for high end stuff. Then we made the trek over to Babies-R-us, and about passed out at the door. This place is enormous! Not to mention, you will probably never see more pregnant woman in one day, than you would over there. We finished up on our registry, and picked out our crib and dresser. It was a great day, and we had loads of fun. It was great to have another couple there to talk things over with, and help with decisions on the big things like strollers, and cribs. Kirby and I golfed 18 holes the next day, just to get our manly chemistry back in balance, due to the previous day of estrogen...

Well, I guess that's all for now. I will post the ultrasound pictures soon, and hopefully I will have our new crib put together as well...