Getting Bigger!

Wow... is it really 31 weeks already? Wait a second, what am I saying... it feels like I've been pregers for years now! Anywho, besides the occasional heartburn and sciatic pain, I'm feeling really good. So far my kidney stones have been "cooperating" and are still lying dormant (hopefully) waiting for Allen Jess to hurry up and pop out already! But I can totally see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel now... with my brother's baby boy having been born last week, I know my time won't be too far behind... and I'm totally getting excited about it! And speaking of getting excited, my baby shower is next week and I get to see a lot of family & friends... not to mention get a ton of stuff for Allen Jess, so the end is near and Alec & I are doing our best to try and prepare for the grand appearance. But ask if we're mentally prepared yet... well that's a whole other story there!

This week Allen Jess should be around 3 pounds and 17 inches tall. And speaking of weight... we can apparently expect our little miracle-gro muffin to gain about a half a pound of weight per week from now until about two weeks before birth! Yikes!!!  Little Allen's developing immune system has made some serious gains over the past weeks getting them in full gear to face our disease-ridden world o' wonders. Allen's cute little noggin' (which could already be covered with luscious locks or just purty peach fuzz) is still soft because the skull bones have not yet fused to together.  But as disturbing as having an infant with a soft cracked skull sounds... it's pretty much a necessity for passage through the birth canal during labor! So amongst other things, little Allen Jess is certainly growing and getting bigger... and so is my gigantor belly!

Picnic at the Beach

I had to work on Saturday (bummer!)... but when I got home that afternoon, my lovely wife surprised me with a picnic basket filled with food and two chairs and said, "Come on, we're going to the beach to have a picnic and watch the sunset!" That certainly wasn't the norm around here and awfully spontaneous & romantic, but I thought it was a brilliant idea and was totally into it! 

We left the near 100 degree heat in Elsinore and crossed over the mountains on my favorite highway, the Ortega! It was such a beautiful day that it was hard not to stop for some pics.   

An hour later and about a 30 degree difference (it was chilly!), we were at Capistrano Beach praying for the sun to come out!

 

It was cold and cloudy... but the food was good and the sound of the waves crashing on the beach made it all worth while! An absolute perfect way to end the day!

Jei even made some chocolate covered strawberries for dessert...

 ...which, as you can tell from the chocolate smeared all over our faces, 

 were pretty darn delicious!

Wishing we were back at New Smyrna Beach!!!

Monkey See - Monkey Do

For a while now, Jei has been on my case about us taking some "naked" belly pics before the inevitable ugliness of stretchmarks suddenly appear and destroy the beauty of her cute big belly!  So the other day she walks in with her laptop and shows me a few pictures of some cute bare bellies she found online.  I of course am no professional photographer by any means... and only own an out-of-date crappy little point-n-shoot camera, but we got our creative juices flowing, turned lemons into lemonade and managed to come up with some pretty good shots.

Allen Jess's handmade blanket courtesy of Momma Soch!

I know what you must be thinking... "Why Cookie Monster?"  

Well first, our options were limited at the store and he looked so funny & cute!

And second, we both love chocolate chip cookies... so I thought it was a perfect fit!

 Looking forward to trying this bare belly photo shoot again 

sometime in the near future! Until then, enjoy Week 28!

Name of Honor

After considerable deliberation and going back and forth with a lot of second guessing, Jeilene & I have finally decided upon a name for our first child! We've decided to name our son after two great men whose time expired far too early.  

I never got to meet Dad-Oh's brother, Uncle Allen, but if he was anything like his father, Deda, or his brother, Dad-Oh, I have no doubt that I would've thoroughly enjoyed his company! Uncle Allen's birth name was Hampton Allen Etheridge III, named after his father and his grandfather... but everyone called him and was always referred to as Allen.  

Like his father, Allen joined the military where he became known as "Captain" Hampton Allen Etheridge III. Allen was incredibly bright, smart and intelligent... but more than anything, I believe Allen was amazingly brave, courageous and patriotic, for he made the ultimate sacrifice and died in Vietnam fighting for his country.          

The one uncle I did get to meet was Moe-Joe's brother, Jess Ferrell.  Uncle Jess was larger than life to me... and that's pretty much how I thought he lived his life. With me being so young, and the fact that we didn't get to spend a lot of time together, I unfortunately can't recall too many memories of us together. But of those that I can, I just remember always being so happy around him and thinking how much I wanted to be like him when I grew up!

Uncle Jess had a big personality, but had an even bigger heart that was filled with lots of love. He loved his family and loved living life to its fullest. But in the end, it was that big heart of his that just couldn't handle all that love. After having problems with his old heart, Jess received a heart transplant... but after a short time adjusting his aged and seasoned body to his new younger heart, it just wasn't meant to be and Uncle Jess past away shortly thereafter.

 

So in honor of these two great men who meant so much to so many, who loved as much and as best as they knew how, and who gave up more than they should have... Jeilene and I feel privileged & honored to name our son after them.  May he be brave and courageous like Hampton Allen Etheridge III was, may he live life to its fullest with a big heart and lots of love like Jess Ferrell did, and may he never forget where his name came from.

Allen Jess Etheridge

 ...a name of honor! 

  

2 down - 1 to go

Woo-hoo!  Not only did we inch yet another week closer by entering number 27 this week... but we also finally slipped into the third trimester as well!  The days & weeks are getting smaller now, but baby is undoubtedly getting bigger!

 

We had another doctor's appointment this week and all went well.  My glucose test results were finally in and I passed with flying colors!  Once again, we got to hear our little baby boy's heartbeat and it sounded healthy & strong.  I also ended up gaining four pounds... which was a lot less than I thought it was going to be!

   

Lately I've been feeling super tired... especially right when I get home from work, so afternoon naps have been pretty common.  The doctor told me I now have to start doubling my water intake... so now I'll be peeing every ten seconds instead of every twenty! I've also had a lot of heartburn, but according to the doc it's pretty normal during pregnancy.  Nothing my trusty bottle of 'Tums' can't cure though!

   

Enough about me already... let's talk about baby! So our not-so-tiny-anymore baby (2 pounds and 14.5 inches long!) is slowly rotating in preparation to “head out” for the grand entrance on their birthday!  Now obviously, this doesn’t happen overnight, but apparently when I start to feel a new sort of pressure "down there", I'll know I’ve got a fully flipped locked-n-loaded womb-fruit waiting for the countdown to launch!

Baby Boy E's lungs are already capable of breathing air as his vascular system can now handle oxygen/carbon exchange and his brain stem can now regulate rhythmic breathing as well as his basal body temperature!  Cool huh?  And finally, Alec & I have got to remember to talk to our little baby as often as we can... for reading stories and singing songs have been shown to slow the baby's heart rate.  He can also definitely recognize my voice now and will hopefully calm to it later after birth. And if that doesn't work, I've giving him to Alec to deal with!  =)  

The last trimester (big sigh)... here we go!!! 

Etheridge Beach Week

After what felt like an eternity during our time out in Roswell, and then coming back to SoCal and having to go straight back to work for over a month... a week-long vacation at the beach in Florida was ecstatically welcomed with massively open arms!!!   

Not only did Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh invite us Californians to relax and enjoy the hot Florida sun and play in the warm Atlantic waters all week long together... but those crazy Coloradans were invited too!

 Yep, that's right... one big happy family at the beach!

The sand and the waves kept Hamp & Sammy entertained all week...

but there was no way we were going to let them have all the fun!

 So we helped dig, shovel, tunnel, sculpt, and mold in the sand...

And helped jump, swim, surf, and relax in the water!

This of course was the first time any of the family had seen the baby bump up close & personal.  Needless to say, we had to limit how many times Moe-Joe could molest Jei & her belly!

Our little guy was kickin' & pushin' and showing off for Moe-Joe... so we called Sammy over to see if he could feel him.

When the sun wouldn't let us play out on the beach and in the ocean anymore, we had family game time... which always provides excellent entertainment and lots of laughter!

Moe-Joe & Sammy teamed up together and pretty much dominated our game of Apples to Apples!

There were some intense moments and a lot of persuasive techniques used by big brother... but Sammy stuck to his guns all game long!

According to Hampton, I was a great partner to have for the game... but apparently not good enough to win! 

And the winner was... well, it certainly wasn't a secret! 

Everyone was surprised when two of Moe-Joe's friends gave us extremely thoughtful gifts for the baby that week.  Three months out and already have quite the collection going!

After an incredibly long day in the sand, surf, and pool... there's nothing better than a pre-bedtime book read by Moe-Joe! 

And then the next day we were back at it again...

on the beach playing, tanning, and relaxing!

Here's Mandi & I playing our favorite family beach game: keep-away from Sammy! Actually, we were enjoying a nice game of 'Pro Kadima' when Sam decided to be "Monkey-in-the-Middle!"

All that playing on the beach leaves a man tired & parched... 

Thank God for beer, lounge chairs, and the pool!

Speaking of which... when the sand & ocean wasn't providing the entertainment, the community pool stepped in and did a fabulous job! 

A certain little somebody even learned how to snorkel!

It's a fish!  

No, it's a shark!!  

Actually, it's just Sammy exploring the great barrier pool

with his new found snorkeling skills. Way to go Sammy!!!

One of our favorite evenings came when Dad-Oh treated all of us out to dinner at 'The Garlic' one night!

 

The scenery, atmosphere, weather, and of course the food was nothing short of spectacular!

The company wasn't too bad either... but awfully friendly!

Did I mention the food??? ...and how amazing it was?  I tell ya what, if you ever find yourself in New Smyrna Beach, Florida... you've got to go!  Naturally, we couldn't let dinner proceed without taking a picture of Dad-Oh and his enormously and abnormally large "Bocce Ball"!!! 

With all the delicious and abundant food and the tasty adult beverages around the table... it was hard not to smile and have a good time!  (Sammy had plain ole' chicken strips and french fries, with no tasty adult beverage... hence, no smile!) 

On the other hand... the men of the family had quite the opposite!

We literally almost shut the place down (thanks to me & my heavenly chocolate cake!), so by the time we finished up with all our drinks & desserts... it was quite obviously time to go!

 Thank you Moe-Joe for the wonderful dinner idea...

and thank you Dad-Oh for paying for it!

It's going to be hard to forget that night!

Our family beach week finally came to an end... and although we really didn't want to leave and have to say goodbye to both the beautiful beach and the wonderful family... it felt good knowing that we had as much fun as we possibly could have had, and I don't think we would've changed a single thing! Thank you Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh for such an incredibly fun and relaxing week!!! 

For more great pics from our week at the beach, click here!