Third Trimester- Baby Crash Testing Begins!

Hi all- I'm posting first then will hand the computer off to Brian to post as well.

We are officially in the 3rd trimester!!!! Time has gone sooo quickly and it's hard to believe we've come this far and have so little time left to get ready! In some ways I feel like we just found out I was pregnant. In others, I'm ready to be done and ready to meet baby _____. (insert boy name here)

I have been avoiding looking at baby stuff for the past few months partly out of fear and partly because we just didn't have time but I managed to go to Babies R Us the other day and at least start a registry. If registering for a wedding is stressful, registering for a baby is 100 times worse. Not only are you trying to pick out things that look nice, but you have to factor in safety, durability, etc. The list they give you of everything you'll need for a baby combined with the sheer volume of product available made for a short and stressful trip. I've since learned that registering online is the way to go. I have a few books (given to me by a friend from church) with Consumer Reports guides to baby stuff and all the products with the highest ratings and those have been really helpful. So we're more or less registered but still need to add a few more things.

Over to Brian for more from the Roelofs family.........

Hello All,

Since I'm not able to actively participate in the growing of the baby - let's face it... hunter-gathering to provide for the pregnant wife just isn't what it used to be, and in our current family situation I wouldn't even deserve the title of hunter-gatherer, I've decided to prepare for our baby in another manner - crash testing. We've got a perfectly suitable baby model in Brina as I don't think we'll still be using the basinet or the stroller when the baby is 55 pounds, so anything that can hold her should be a-okay for him. This idea led to the particularly perturbed and annoyed look on Brina's face last weekend when I managed to get her in position to test the basinet with her red bone (in case our baby has a toy in there with him).

The basinet held up GREAT. Thus, one item has been cleared to go and the bedding is in the process of being cleaned (in case any mothers - grandmothers I guess - were upset about this practice). I hope Brina keeps being a good sport as we've got a stroller to test, two pack and plays and probably a crib coming soon too and I intend to fulfill my role as crash test coordinator.

I've spent all of my other time lately crawling around in the attic and pretending to be a handyman rebuilding our bathroom. We couldn't let well enough alone and just leave our bathroom expansion at just an expansion. We decided to gut the old portion and put in new tile, a new vanity, an exhaust fan and paint. So far, I've just demolished the old stuff and have just about finished the wiring of the exhaust fan and the light fixture in the expanded area, and put those two fixtures in. We've also got the drywall/greenboard to go up, so I hope to have that done by the end of this week - I'm going to post some pictures soon but I have none right now. If anyone feels like making a visit to do a little construction, we have an open invitation - I've got to get this done by October!

Well I hope you're all keeping well and that concludes my portion of the post. More to come on the crash testing and the bathroom building as it proceeds...

Update 2 of 2

Post #2!!

While I was away at Synod, Brian and friends from church started a home renovation project in our upstairs bathroom. For those of you who haven't seen our bathroom, it's barely big enough for Brian and I to stand in it together. So they knocked out a wall and we're expanding the bathroom to almost double the size. It'll be sooo nice to have some extra space! We took out a small section of the soon to be nursery, but there will still be plenty of room for baby. After the addition was built, we kind of decided "why not just re-do the entire bathroom??" So....all the tile came up, the drywall came out and we are in the middle of a complete bathroom renovation. Right now we currently have no sink, no toilet and no walls.

This past week we went on vacation with the Roelofs (Mom, Dad, Chris and Anne). We went down to the New Jersey shore to a beach town called Wildwood. We were in a beautiful house right on the boardwalk and less than a block from the beach. We were at the beach every single day and had plenty of downtime to relax, read and recover. We went to a wonderful nature preserve on Cape Ann and saw lots of interesting birds. We ate well (probably too well :) ), played lots of games and came back refreshed and ready for work again. It was great to hang out with everyone since we don't get to spend much time together. Thanks to Mom and Dad Roelofs for the much needed vacation! We had a great time!

We'll try and do a better job keeping the blog updated. Please pray for Brian, the other leader, Justin, and the 6 high schoolers who will be going to London, Ontario next week for our church's SERVE project. Pray for safe travels and a wonderful time of work and spiritual growth.

Have a great week everyone!

Update 1 of 2

Hi everyone

Sorry it's been so long since our last post! We've been super busy lately with lots going on and just haven't had time to sit down and post. So....since we have a lot to fill you in on, here is post 1 of 2.

Right after our last post, my parents came to Maryland for a few days. Just like Lyle and Laurie (Brian's parents), they worked really hard getting things done in our house. I'm realizing that our parents have far more energy than either of us do. It's quite impressive. Thanks to both sets of parents for all the work!!

Taking a break from work to play some Wii. I'm going for the knock out against Mom in Wii boxing and Dad is looking on enjoying the show.Mom and Dad rocking out in Guitar Hero

Anyway, after working for a few days, we took off for the Eastern Shore of Maryland. We stayed in an awesome bed and breakfast, ate great food and had a fun time together.

We rented bikes and biked around the town of Rock Hall.

After my parents left, I had a few days to get to work before leaving for the Christian Reformed Church's annual meeting of Synod, held in Palos Heights, IL. For all of you in the CRC, look for my picture as the "youngest delgate" in the July issue of the Banner (http://www.thebanner.org/). I also wrote an article with some thoughts about Synod that will be published in that issue. It was an amazing experience to attend and see the inner workings of the denomination. It made me realize how much I love this church and will hopefully serve it faithfully as long as I can. Some highlights- being seated on the floor of Synod and realizing how much of a "minority" I was: 25, asian, female and pregnant. I got to catch up with lots of friends and family both at Synod and on a short trip to Grand Rapids on our day off. It was definitely a nice to not catch the dreaded norovirus that plagued almost 70 of the 180 delegates. I don't know how I managed to stay healthy but counted my blessings. Would have been even better if I didn't get sick right when I got home......

Finally- I'll post a bit on Baby Boaz (as he's been so fondly named by our friends at church). He was in a strange position in the first sonogram so they didn't get to see everything they wanted to. We went back in again a week later to see if he would cooperate. They told us everything looks great and he looks healthy and is growing well!! What a blessing!

We also asked the tech to check one more time to make sure it was a boy. She did check and very kindly labeled this picture so everyone can clearly see that yes....he is a boy. Brian and I kind of laugh because when she pointed out his "boyness" we thought it was his leg....oops. We are happy to report that all is going well. He kicks like a champ and is growing every single day. He is growing...and that of course means I am too! Here is my 23 week shot. Over half way there!