30 Week Appointment and Belly Pic

We are now far enough along in this pregnancy to have a prenatal visit every two weeks! It's hard to believe that we only have about 10 weeks before we finally get to meet our little guy. Everything looked great at Friday's appointment--Nugget's heartrate was between 140-150, and my weight and blood pressure are right on track. We had the first appointment of the morning, and apparently Nugget, being his father's son, did not like being disturbed that early in the day by the doppler heart monitor. He kept kicking it and moving around, so the dr had to work a bit to get a consistent heartrate!

Here's the latest belly pic:

Homecoming 2008

This weekend was Kalamazoo College Homecoming. For the first time in several years, I was actually in town for the weekend (in the past it has conflicted with my admissions travels or quilt retreat weekend) and there was a great group of people who were also able to make it to town for the celebration. Saturday morning Jenn, Annalee and I braved the chilly weather and walked the 5K run/walk event. We had a great time (see pics below for our victorious crossing of the finish line!) and it was a good way to start off the day. After showers and coffee we all went and toured through the gorgeous new Hicks Center before heading over to the football game. We met up with the Wades, Podolners and Hilliards at the game. We actually almost won the football game--we lost by 1 point in the last minute of the game. While we lost, which was a bummer, historically we lose by 30-40 points instead of just one, so it was an improvement. Todd and I left after the football game to have dinner with the family, as his grandparents were in town on their way to Florida for the winter. Sunday morning we all met up for brunch at Colonial Kitchen and then hung out at our house for a little while. All in all, it was a great weekend!

A new sister!!

Friday night we got the exciting news that Todd's brother Stuart proposed to his girlfriend Erin, and she said yes!! Erin is an amazing person, and the two of them make a great couple. We're so excited to have her in the family; and I'm thrilled to have a sister! :) On Sunday night they stopped in Kalamazoo on their way from Ann Arbor to Chicago, and we all had dinner together. Stuart asked Todd and Jordan to be his joint best men, and Erin asked me to be a bridesmaid. Let the wedding planning begin! :)

Kal-Haven Trail

I've got some catching up to do with my blogging and picture posting! Here are some pictures from October 19, when Todd, Deuce and I decided to take advantage of the gorgeous fall day and explore the new section of the Kal-Haven trail.

Home Sweet Home

Well as of Wednesday, I am officially done with fall travel season! Woo Hoo! I always like the work I do during travel season, meeting the students who I'll be working with each year before I read their applications. However, by the end I am definitely ready to be back home and on a regular schedule. The pace of the day on travel season is always a little odd, and it is difficult to eat meals at normal times/intervals and downtime comes sporadically throughout the day rather than in the evenings. I found this particularly challenging this year, as I get tired and hungry unexpectedly, and the needs of my body appear to be changing every day.

I'm so happy to be back home with Todd and the animals, and I'm pretty sure they've been missing me too! :)

A walk in the woods

Yesterday Dad and Deuce and I met at Yankee Springs Recreation Area (drove right past Oakleigh, where so many wonderful Hooker Family Fourths were celebrated!) and enjoyed the incredible fall day with a hike and picnic in the woods. We took a beautiful trail loop through the woods, and then explored a camp area that was closed for the season. It was a great way to get some exercise, enjoy some time together and take advantage of living in a place with four seasons.

28 Week Appointment

We had our 28 week appointment yesterday, and we met with a new midwife. Well, new to us; she just returned from maternity leave after having twins. She was really nice, and also told us that they just hired another midwife, so they are back to a full staff. I was really happy to hear this. Even though I've really liked all of the OBs at our practice, I would ideally like to work with a midwife, and it seems like that will work out for us now.


Nugget's heartbeat was 145, and I am measuring right on track with uterus size and weight gain. I could just listen to that little heartbeat forever! Apparently Nugget doesn't agree, as he kicked the monitor when the midwife put it on my belly! :) I passed my glucola test with flying colors, which means that I do not have gestational diabetes. I'm really happy about that, not only because it keeps my pregnancy in the low-risk category, but I also don't have to give up ice cream!


Here's a 28 week belly picture: