Three Weeks and Counting ...

 It's hard to believe that we're in the final stretch before baby comes! We've been trying to get last minute baby- and house-preparations finished and trying to spend as much quality time with Ian as we can. :) 

 Kim and Ian went to visit our friend, Mrs. W., in the assisted living home one more time before baby comes. It's so cute to see Ian and Mrs. W. interact. Some of their favorite things to do together are reading books and doing simple puzzles. Another activity that seems to work really well is bringing along a few photographs of what our family has been up to. They're great "prompts" to get Ian talking, and they can help Mrs. W. get to know Ian a little better.

 We also went to Daddy's school to visit Daddy ... and to see some other special "friends." A teacher there, Mrs. S., hatched some chicks!

 Ian was thrilled to be able to hold a chick himself!

 The same day we went to visit the chicks, one of the high schoolers' fathers had brought their show cows to the school, too. Mr. W. helped Ian feed one of the cows a banana.

 Then, they brushed the cow together.

 That night, we hosted a baby shower for some friends. As usual, Ian latched onto our youngest guest, Philip, and did a good job of playing with him gently. :) We're hoping the interest and the gentleness continues when we bring Ian's little brother or sister home!

 On Saturday, we went to the zoo for a final time as a family of three (our zoo membership expires at the end of April). Toward the end of the visit, we decided that it probably wasn't the best place for someone in her 9th month of pregnancy to go with all of the walking required, but we still had a good time together. :) Some big hits included seeing the meerkats,

 seeing the cheetah,

 and even seeing a special movie ... Dora and Diego's 4D adventure!

 This was Ian's first experience in a "theater" of sorts, and he thought it was great! Matt and I had never attended a 4D movie, and we thought it was pretty cool, too.

 We've enjoyed having to wear jackets some of these recent mornings with the cooler temperatures!

The baby continues to grow! It's getting to the annoying part of the pregnancy where EVERYONE (even random strangers) feel the need to comment on Kim's size and/or how it appears like she's going to pop. One lady even asked if Kim was sure she wasn't having twins. (Um, yeah, pretty sure!) God bless those sweet people who compare the baby to "a little basketball under your shirt" or just say that Kim's looking great. When you feel as big as a barn, it's nice to have a little encouragement. :)

Kim is thankfully still feeling well, and aside from the tiredness and the increasingly more intense Braxton Hicks contractions, has few complaints. Thankfully, her feet and ankles aren't swelling nearly as much as her pregnancy with Ian! Her weight gain is about the same as with Ian's pregnancy, but her belly is a little bigger. (The night before she had Ian, her tummy was 41" around the biggest part. It's already now 42" around. It'll be interesting to see if it gets any bigger or just stays the same.)

At our last OB appointment, the doctor said that Kim isn't dilated at all, so we're hoping that the baby stays inside for at least two weeks longer until Kim's family arrives! We'll go into the doctor again this week for our ultrasound to help guess what the baby's current weight is.

As we get closer, Matt is guessing that this baby is a boy, and Kim is guessing the baby's a girl. Ian's vote changes depending on the day. What do YOU think? Vote in our poll along the right column of the blog.

This baby doesn't seem to move around as much or as forcefully as Ian did. But, this baby gets hiccups WAY more often. Below is a cool (though some might think creepy) video of the baby with hiccups. You'll also notice a few larger baby movements in addition to the regular belly "jumps."