It didn't really matter that I waited about 45 minutes to see the doctor today for a visit that lasted about 60 seconds. That was all the time it took for her to look at my recorded weight and blood pressure, listen to the baby's heartbeat, measure my belly and announce "Perfect." At the lab, the drink tasted exactly like orange soda (not my favorite, but not bad) and for the first time in years they stuck me successfully without using a butterfly. During the wait between drinking and drawing blood, I was able to check out Monique's fabulous new home just 2 miles away - it is really awesome!

"Baby 411" arrived yesterday and I'm keeping busy buried in this newest book.

Back to work after a "girly" Sunday - catching "Under the Tuscan Sun" in the middle of the day, then lunch and shopping (at Central Market!) with Kate in the afternoon. Pretty great day, overall.

The next two days are filled with baby stuff. Tomorrow includes a heartbeat checkup (every two weeks now, until month nine when we go weekly) and glucose testing for gestational diabetes. (I've heard this can be a bit gross.) On Wednesday we go the hospital to fill out paperwork and get pre-registered, then the event which we've been looking forward to for such a long time now: our 3D / 4D ultrasound! Baby Boy Leach will be 28 weeks along in development, so it's the preferred time to take some images now that he has started to store some fat (more baby chub, less alien) and before things get too much more crowded inside when his face might be obscured by a foot. We (and by 'we' I mean 'Jim') will work to get some images, still pics and possibly some video clips, out on the website shortly afterwards.

Happy New Year! We've been off to a pretty fine start so far. During Friday night's service we saw the new rabbi for the first time. Jim and I tried to guess where she was from by her accent. I initially thought Chicago area, but as soon as Jim said Michigan, I knew he was right on. During her sermon on Saturday, she relayed a personal story from "summer camp in Detroit" and we smiled at each other.

After services on Saturday, we celebrated with a meal at the Zoll's. Knowing we would meet up there afterwards, we had parked at their place and walked back and forth to temple, which was quite wonderful. They are the most gracious hosts, regularly including us in their family's holiday celebrations. The food was wonderful (we took home some noodle kugel - yum!) and so was the conversation. We especially enjoy swapping tips and stories with another family friend, Michelle, who is expecting her first baby just two weeks after us. Having only sisters and female cousins - all of whom had given birth to girls, Michelle told us that she too was expecting a girl. Jim and I were almost embarrassed when her father came over to say hi and her first comment was "they're having a boy!" We learned the Zoll's daughter, our friend Jen, will be flying back from Zurich to deliver her baby boy here in the states in a little over month from now - how exciting!

Seems that everyone is pregnant now - I don't think a day goes by that I don't see at least one other pregnant woman. It's possible I just wasn't aware of it before, but part of me thinks that pregnant women are magnets for each other.

The home stretch is upon us: the third trimester is officially underway. Today is the 26th and our due date is exactly three months from now. One of the online pregnancy calendars I was reading through described my feelings pretty well, as a mix between feeling like I've been pregnant for a really long time now, and a bit of anxiety knowing that the event of the birth isn't too much further away.

My new favorite TLC show "Clean Sweep" has me very inspired to put some of their organzational suggestions into practice. When Jim and I moved in nearly 5 years ago, we expanded to fill our house. Having to clean out one room entirely for our new bundle of joy has made us realize that we simply do not have the space to store items that we no longer need.

Two other guys on my hockey team are also expecting, but both are in the "any day now" time. We all got instructions last week to listen for the cell phone on the bench to ring. And it was on the bench again this week. I guess that when I get into that situation, I'll have my cell phone there too, and no more car pools to hockey. Even still, that day can't come soon enough for me.

Girl's Night tonight at Mia Bella - yum! Unfortunately, their bellinis came out of a big machine, and with no blender behind the bar I couldn't enjoy a virgin version. Oh well. Food was awesome. I'm so full right now - just relaxing here on the couch. We said goodbye, for a month at least, to Kim who leaves for Dubai on Monday.

Well, I am officially starting to outgrow some of my maternity clothes. Popular opinion was that even though my jeans cover my belly just fine, the shirt I wore today didn't quite come down far enough to not look silly. Sigh. In fairness, it is one of the tops from Wendy's generous contribution, and I had her beat by a good 6 inches and 25 pounds pre-pregnancy, so I guess I shouldn't feel too bad about no longer fitting into this top. But it's frustrating nonetheless, especially with so much longer still to go.

The first of the "October babies" arrived on Friday. Janet & Rich welcomed daughter #3 into their lives: Halle Ann Sanders. How exciting!

Last night's dinner, a version of penne ala vodka from Rachel Ray, was quite yummy and we agreed that it will definitely be made again.

Man, our craft fair adventure really sucked. Too pathetic to really put into words. We sold next to nothing (ddin't even make back the booth fee) meanwhile folks who were selling crap (literally crap - windchimes made from soda cans, painted wooden lawn ornamnets saying "welcome bunco queens," etc.) were staying constantly busy. Bari decided this whole event would make an excellent mockumentary like "Waiting for Guffman" or "Best in Show" and we kept ourselves occupied through the hours of idle time by compiling a list of outstandingly bad and cliche things from the day. We definitely need to seek out a different (i.e. less trashy) location for the next event.

Following such a depressing morning and afternoon, I would have really enjoyed a beer at Chris and Katie's that evening before we went out to the Rice v. UT game, but had to pass. Pat was so sweet to bring a baby gift! And I couldn't believe that she would not let anyone pay her back for the tickets either. It was very exciting to be at the game in person at the stadium, too bad the final score wasn't less embarassing.

Jim and I got to say hi to each other around 2:30am on Saturday, and again around 6 something this morning. Between the craft show, football game and hockey tournament, it's just one of those weekends with out of sync schedules.

Plans for my day include searching for a sewing machine. I know I've been talking about this for about a month now, but it's time to take action. I found a class to sign up for in October (which Katie would like to take too) but we have to bring our own machines to the first session. I've still got enough time to get one, but definitely need to make a decision pretty quick. I've heard Wal*Mart is a good place to shop for a basic model. If it ever stops raining, I may try to get over there today.

Time to get ready for a busy weekend in the Leach house! B & B Creative will have a booth at St. Timothy's crafts fair on Saturday from 9-4. If you live in Houston, come check it out - no admission fee! Bari has been a sewing fiend lately getting ready. And Jim is playing in a hockey tournament all weekend, on a team hand-picked by GM Audra. Plus, Rice plays Texas in football on Saturday night. Katie's dad secured tickets so I may be wearing my Rice hat in the UT section. Can events of 1994 be repeated?

Not much opportunity for baby stuff until Sunday and we're bummed about missing Chloe's 1st birthday party tomorrow as well.

Kim is engaged!!! Last night Katie, Heidi and I met her out to look for a wedding gown. I have to confess to giving the first saleslady a bit of a hard time asking if they carried any wedding gowns in my size! (They didn't.)

What a year - now I'm referencing Baby Bargains daily, and last night I was telling Kim how I was living by Bridal Bargains last year. Both great books, for anyone needing info on either topic.

"Textbook" was the word my ob used to describe my progress at yesterday's appointment. All measurements were exactly in line with where they should be for my weight, shape and fetal heartrate. That made me feel good.

Later today, as you can see on the right, we are about to hit the 100 days 'til our due date mark. That also means that we are just about in the 3rd trimester (aka: the home stretch). We are doing pretty well on getting things done, and crossed off of our list, and one of those things that is done is settling on a name. Now, while we do maintain the right to change this at any time and we love to hear what you think about it, we are pretty happy with the name. I also added a link to the sidebar. If you cant see it, let me know and I'll help.

We're back in Houston now after a great long weekend in NY. Saturday all of the family came up to celebrate Grandma's 90th in great style!! It was a truly elegant affair at La Panetiere with amazing food. I don't think that grandma could have been any happier, and definitely got a bit misty when the cake was presented with "we love you, Evelyn" written on top. It was so great to see all of the cousins who made the trip and also see how much the "little cousins" have grown. Alex was telling about her girls' night in Knoxville, where they take turns hosting & cooking every month, unlike how our group in Houston chooses to eat out all of the time! 6-year old Sophia is quite the artist, and in the year since our wedding, Ethan seems to have turned from 3-year old toddler into 4-year old boy. He seemed excited to learn that he would soon have his first boy cousin to play trucks with.

On Sunday we attended another fabulous party to honor Adam & Ariana before their wedding later this year. It was a magnificent brunch at the Red Oak Mansion in the Westchester Renaissance Hotel. What a difference a year makes - in September 2002 Jim and I were finishing up the final details for our upcoming wedding which Adam & Ariana attended as guests, boyfriend & girlfriend. Now we are coming up on our one year anniversay, expecting a baby a few months after that, and they have since gotten engaged and have their wedding to look forward to in November. Whoa. Among the 150 or so guests were dozens of old family friends Deena and I knew from temple growing up. It was so much fun to re-connect with "the best of Bet Torah" (as one person put it!) and catch up on the past decade or so. One got a bit choked up to see "Bonnie grown up & married & pregnant!" Jim made fast friends with Ariana's family who had traveled from Pittsburgh (the Steelers tie was the giveaway!) and he passed along score updates from the periodic text messages he was getting from Karl! Fortunately, the Steelers were still winning when the party ended.

I think the single funniest part of the weekend was on Sunday morning when we went to pick up grandma for brunch. It was a repeat plan from Saturday when we picked her up for her own party - meeting in front the main entrance to her place to ensure that everyone would see her all dressed up. On Sunday morning's pick up, grandma had just gotten into the car when a friend of hers came out to say hi and asked "are you just getting back home now?"

Continuing to eat very well up here, which can always be counted on when coming to visit the family in NY. Including home-grown tomatoes from pop's garden with breakfast. It was great to see grandma tonight for dinner before her big celebration tomorrow! Baby Boy Leach cooperated afterwards and gave a few good kicks when she felt the belly. Grandma has already received a couple of letters from Bide-A-Wee thanking her for contirbutions which friends have made in honor of her birthday.

We have now settled in at mom's house and are getting ready for bed after a day of travel. Pop picked us up from LaGuardia and treated us to a special dinner at Peter Luger's. "It's not every day you get to have dinner with your pregnant daughter!" On the drive up from the city we saw that NYC again created virtual twin towers with light beams shining into the night. Many aircraft hovered overhead keeping watch on the city, and Jim added that many more were standing by on the ground, if needed.

Time for bed, lots to do during our short trip here this weekend.

I just finished the floor in the baby's room, and am pretty pleased with it. As promised, there are new photos added to the Baby's Room page showing the latest work...

For some reason, I don't want to think of myself being a victim of the "classic" pregnancy symptoms. I still knock on wood everytime someone asks about nauseau and I can say that I got to skip that one. Yesterday Jim said that I was guilty of having food cravings and I didn't like hearing that. Truth be told, I have definitely had a yearning for something sweet after each meal. Last night, coupled with laziness of not wanting to drive back to the grocery store, I made this macaroon recipe to satisfy my sweet tooth because I had everything on hand. (Although I did adjust the recipe down because I only had two eggs in the house.) They did the trick, but they were a bit too crunchy on the outside, and didn't follow the classic formula of making a merengue base first. I think nothing is as good as the recipe in Rosie's cookbook - Bari's personal favorite, for sure! And, truth be told about another pregnancy symptom, I have been victim to heartburn occasionally in the evenings. Sigh. I think I was definitely unprepared in just how many different ways my body would change, beyond simply getting bigger.

I don't know why I am still a bit bothered by this... because I know there is little to no thought put behind the hostess and waitress asking: "smoking or non-smoking?" or "would you like to start off with a margarita today?" It's obvious that these are perfunctory questions, but one might think that perhaps they would not be asked of an obviously pregnant woman. Or, sadly, perhaps it is because there are many pregnant women out there making different choices, and restaurants can not assume what the answers to these questions might be.

OK, as promised, here is a link to a page that I will maintain that shows the progress on the baby's room... The room and the page are both Under Construction. The video on the page may take a while to load, so be patient... Today I plan to rip out the carpet since I'm told that the new flooring material will be in Monday. So, depending on how that all goes, expect more updates to the page by mid-week...

Looks like the weekend will likely not be as productive as I might have hoped. The materials for me to install a new floor in the nursery have not arrived, so it looks like I'm not going to be able to work on it, and the rest of the room is dependent on the floor being complete. Oh well, I'm still recovering from adding all of the stars to the ceiling, and I am free to go watch the Steeler game Sunday...

I'll be adding a link to the webpage I am building to allow everyone to get a look at the nursery as I work on it. That should be up this weekend, be sure to check it out, I think its coming along quite well. We are going with a stars and planets theme complete with (600) glow-in-the-dark stars and planets on the ceiling...

OK, after a night of dinner made from whatever I could create with what was already present in the fridge using this recipe I found on epicurious.com and dessert from the same M.O. (yummy Dagwoods from Rosie's cookbook) - tonight we're heading out to Heath & Kim's. Isn't it wonderful when you're wondering what the heck to do for dinner and friends call and invite you over?

New belly pics taken tonight - I'm not sure I'm really pleased to see how others see me...

Last night, we got to bed a little late, and I guess it was time for the baby to wake up because he was really moving all over the place. To me , when I feel it, it seems like it's a twitch or a muscle spasm, but I'm sure to Bonnie it's more like a full on kick...

I've never been a tan person, pretty much among the palest of my friends. But now that I'm pregnant, I am even more aware of the blue-ness of my veins as my body steps up the bloodflow required to support both me and the baby. We're finishing up week 24, so that's about 60% of the way through. But, of course, this is all very hard to calculate when the end date is unknown.