Any Advice?

What an awesome privilege it is to be entrusted with a little baby girl. Kristin and I are so excited to be parents. I am sure that there will be good times, bad times, hard times, and fun times. At this point we are still trucking along in our well ordered lives and I have a feeling that our lives will look much much much different in about 4 months. If any parents out there have any advice that they would like to leave here as "comments" we would love to read it.

21 Weeks!

And here's a picture of me at 21 weeks! I am feeling well and enjoying my growing belly (which is an attention point of many conversations with the ASU college girls). They're really excited and quite interested in our growing baby. They also offer lots of suggested names of our little girl. Lately, I've heard Dottie Periwinkle, Paisley Bubbles and of course, everyone thinks their own name is a splendid idea... Brandon and I have discussed some names but aren't near a decision. And we're also thinking that we're going to keep it a secret until our little girl's debut.

It's a girl!

Well, here's the answer to the last blog's question... it's a girl! We had our ultrasound on Tuesday and it was really fun to see our little girl kick and move. Brandon wrote these two refrigerator magnet-phrases after our appointment. And a picture of the sonogram picture isn't as clear as it is in person, but we're sure you'll recognize her incredible beauty even with a glance. It's pretty amazing to know that God has given us a girl as our first child.

Boy or Girl?

I was recently inspired to try and make little baby booties. I'm a beginner sewer (seamstress?) and that is a favorable way of describing myself. But my friend has a blog which gave me the idea and a link that gave me directions (with step-by-step pictures) on how to sew these little booties. I made one pair for a little boy and one for a little girl. And although they're not perfect, I have to say that I'm pretty proud of them! We have our ultrasound next Tuesday so we'll let you know if our little one will be wearing the blue ones or the pink ones.

18 weeks and counting...

The word on the streets is that I'm in the middle of the easiest and most fun part of a pregnancy. And I would agree - it has been fun! I feel good and am excited for all that's ahead. Here's a picture of me by our orange tree in our backyard. I think I look pregnant and Brandon notices my belly more while hugging me; but strangers still might not guess that I'm pregnant. I've been doing a lot of reading lately about pregnancy, labor, exercises - these library books will keep me busy for awhile.

This morning, I read Matthew 2, which tells the story of the magis' visit to Joseph, Mary and Jesus. Some time after their visit, God warns Joseph in a dream to leave for Egypt to escape Herod's killing of young boys. They move to Egypt and then eventually to Nazareth. It doesn't say if they knew anyone or had any family in either location. It encouraged me and reminded me to trust God as we plan on moving to Riverside in May (before the baby). God is indeed the One who will lead and provide for us - all three of us. There is much to wonder and consider and dream about between the lines of the story in Matthew 2. What did Mary think of Joseph and his dream? How their families missed them and wanted them near. Was Joseph scared to lead his family into a new country? How was their marriage affected? And how did Jesus grow up with all those transitions? God led and ruled over it all.

Large Onion

The little one is officially the size of a large onion. We are not talking about a small onion, a green onion, or even a medium sized onion. We are talking about a LARGE onion!

This whole pregnancy thing sure is an educational experience for a guy. For instance I had no idea that a little baby could be compared to so many different fruits and foods. I have also learned the benefits of squatting during pregnancy to help in child birth. Many things I have learned would probably be inappropriate to share on this here blog.

Avocado-size baby/growing-belly

Here's picture #1 of me, the mommy-to-be. My belly is growing and at 16 1/2 weeks, people who know me would say I look at least a little pregnant. It's kind of strange to have a growing tummy and I'm happy to be done with nausea and extreme exhaustion. I'm on to better things now like headaches and ache-y hips. But I am thankful for all of it. And the second trimester has been quite lovely, I'd have to say. It's fun to be pregnant and it's fun to be pregnant with Brandon. He seems to enjoy my growing belly as much as me. We go for the ultrasound appointment in one month and I'm looking forward to it. In the meantime, we will talk about names and weird aches and wonder when I'll first feel the babe's movements. Kristin

From fig to lime

Yes, it is true... the little one who was once the size of a fig is now officially the size of a small lime. Kristin is nearing the end of the first trimester, but she isn't out of it yet... she got to see dinner twice last night.

She has had sickness off and on but amazingly it has come at the most opportune times. We were in CA for 8 full days... riding in a plane, 1300 miles in a car, walking on campus, in meetings, staying in friends houses... and she didn't get sick even once. If you ask me, I think that God had something to do with it.

10th Week

Kristin actually heard a tiny little heartbeat inside of her a couple of days ago. We are getting more and more excited as time moves on. So far, I haven't experienced any morning sickness... just one of the benefits of being a man I guess. Kristin, however, hasn't been so fortunate. It certainly could be worse, but she has had a few days of feeling bad.

Baby Crouch on the way!!!

It's true, we're pregnant! Actually it is mostly Kristin who is pregnant, but you know what I mean. We are expecting around June 24th. We are hoping that it will be a boy or a girl. I have read that in the 5th week (now) it looks more like an extra small tadpole than a baby and it is the size of a sesame seed. Pretty wild huh? We serve an amazing God.

Psalm 139:13-14
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well.