23 weeks - Jase's 1st Plane Ride

A few months ago, I started secretly planning a trip to Denver to visit Lindsey for her birthday.  I got in around 8pm last Friday night and caught a cab to her house.  Since Justin was the only one who knew I was coming, we thought it would be HILARIOUS for me to just walk in their back door unannounced (assuming Lindsey didn't have a heart attack).  Turns out the joke was on me when what should have been a 20 min cab ride turned into an hour in bumper to bumper construction zone traffic *sigh*  When we got to Lindsey's street, the cabbie stopped at the second house on the right like Justin advised and got my bag out.  After about 5 minutes of walking up and down the street looking for the right house number with my cab driver still in tow, a nice lady came out of her house and asked if she could help us.  She kindly informed us we'd never find the address we were looking for because, wait for it....we were on the wrong street ha!  We were only 1 street off so a few minutes later I was quietly sneaking into the back yard.  The look on Lindsey's face when she realized it was me standing at her back door and not a burglar setting off her motion sensor light was nothing short of priceless!  I wish I would have counted how many time she said "I can't believe you're here!"

After staying up too late, we had a relaxing Saturday with Jack & Justin.   

I dug through Jack's baby clothes and brought home whatever I could fit in my suitcase!  The Kamis family came over to complete the Pontiac reunion for dinner & dominoes that night and I still can't get over how much the girls have changed.  Ailey wasn't even crawling the last time I saw them and now she's a walking & talking person!  And I seriously think Ava grew 2 feet.  They are absolutely beautiful & such well behaved kids.  I'm beyond disappointed in myself for not getting any pictures.  Regardless, it was great getting to spend the evening with all of them since our 10 year class reunion was going on back home....don't feel like I missed a thing!  And for the record...I had no idea dominoes were so much fun to play!

Sunday, Lindsey & Danielle had a date for early birthday pedicures so I got to tag along and get pampered too!  We had a quick lunch before Lindsey had to take me to the airport where we got a little sidetracked catching up and I still can't believe I made my flight home.  But the anxiety was totally worth it...I had a great time catching up with the girls :)

25 years of friendship right here!!!  Two days doesn't really seem like long enough when you only get to see each other a few times a year (once a year in the Kamis' case if I'm lucky), but I'll take what I can get!










I assume from all the kicking during take off Jase wasn't a big fan of the pressure, but it didn't take long for him to calm down.  I got a little uncomfortable on the return flight, but I had my kindle so I just focused on my book and before I knew it, we were landing in Bloomington.  

23 weeks

Your baby's the size of a grapefruit!

At about 10.5 to 11.8 inches and about 12.7 to 20.8 ounces, baby's not just getting bigger, she's getting even cuter. 

• She's forming little nipples (yeah, really!)
• Her face is fully formed now -- she just needs a little extra fat to fill it out.
• She's listening to your voice and your heartbeat -- and even to loud sounds like cars honking and dogs barking.

Kiel started climbing school for his apprenticeship this Monday, October 1.  He goes to Decatur Monday - Friday for 4 weeks.  Lots and lots of climbing!  Seems to be a little harder in his 30s then it was in his 20s!   Since Ameren pays for hotel rooms, he's been driving home Monday & Wednesday nights and staying Tuesday & Thursdays.  Getting up at 4:30am and driving 1.5 hours 5 days a week would get old so this breaks it up a little for him.  Every 6 months for the 3 years he's an apprentice he'll go back to Decatur, but the rest of the time it will only be for 2 weeks at a time.  Here's to hoping the next 3 weeks fly by so he can get home and back into a daily routine!   

-Nicole