31 weeks

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Tom and I have so much to be grateful for this year: the love and support of family and friends, a good job and a good education, a lovely apartment, a happy marriage, and – of course – a healthy baby on the way!

To honor our many blessings, we spent the four-day weekend at home giving thanks with our relatives. It was so nice for Tom and I to get some time off together, to see and catch up with two of our extended families (the Leschkes and the Lyonses), and to eat lots of delicious turkey, mashed potatoes, and pies. Needless to say, Baby thoroughly enjoyed her first Thanksgiving ;)

…and not only because of the delicious food! At the Lyons family get-together, the Holtzes gifted us some early baby shower presents for Little Leschke: including an adorable sleeper with matching hats, an organic blanket book, a fleece sleep sack, and a BOB jogging stroller! We cannot thank them enough for their thoughtfulness and generosity. Then on Black Friday, my mom got some amazingly cute gender specific clothes for Baby! We found great deals on outfits for both boys and girls, and we’re close enough to D-day now that we’ll be able to return whichever we don’t need after our little one arrives. Baby Leschke is so fortunate to have such kind and supportive loved ones!

Our little peanut is over 16 inches long this week and is about the size of a coconut. She is already beginning to fatten up and is headed for a major growth spurt! She can turn her head from side to side now and is kicking and changing positions frequently. She is starting to take up so much room in my belly that my stomach doesn’t have its usual expanding capacity, making for some discomfort during/after meals. But I’m more worried about the damage she is going to do coming out than staying in. You guessed it: more horrifying videos at birthing class this week. Luckily, we learned some coping skills and pain management techniques for labor and delivery that will hopefully bring some comfort when the time comes.

Last but not least, we had our maternity photos taken over Thanksgiving break! We wanted to book a session while we were home for the holiday so we could use the same photographer who did our wedding. She has done such an amazing job capturing these special moments in our marriage and our life. Below is a sneak peak of our growing family! So much to be thankful for...