Kicking...It's not just for mothers anymore!

While Cortney has been feeling Raspberry doing all kinds of tricks for the past week or two, Jon has been left widely in the dark (except for when Cortney jumps up mid-TV show and exclaims "I'm being kicked," the first occasion of which greatly confused Jon, whose feet were firmly planted on the ground).  Well, all of that changed about an hour ago.  Evidently Raspberry has gained enough strength and size to make his or her presence known to the outside world.  Raspberry's kicks are now not only visible, but are also externally tangible, making it possible for Jon to take part in all the fun (although the fun doesn't wake Jon up in the middle of the night).  Raspberry has also gotten a little more regular, acting up every hour or two throughout the day (and night).  And, Raspberry likes church - he or she was very active during the middle of the service this morning (or, at least that is Cortney's excuse for not having paid more attention to the sermon).

Mexican jumping... Raspberries?

Raspberry is now nearly 19 weeks in, well, prenatal age, and it is generally around this time that a baby begins to make his or her presence known.  Cortney has been feeling "butterfly tickles" ever since the new year, but it has been, for all intents and purposes, a little anti-climactic.  Then finally this week - real kicks!  They are still not strong enough for Jon to feel them, or to be noticeable externally, but we are pretty sure that is what all those little pops, pulls, and pushes are.  In fact, Raspberry evidently prefers to be on the move, so whenever Cortney is still for too long she ends up getting prodded.  Right now she is able to ignore those little pokes, but we think nervously of the day that they will become too strong to ignore!  Ah well, since we have no other real sign of Raspberry's health, the kickes are a reassuring daily reminder of his or her presence.

Coincidence? We think... probably!

What are the odds that two friends who grew up together would end up getting pregnant and being due only one day a part without ever discussing the matter?  Normally one would assume the answer here to be "slim to none," but since we are asking the question, you know there's a trick in there somewhere.  We went out to dinner last night with Nathan and Diane and, low and behold, not only are they pregnant, but they are due on June 20, one day after Raspberry is slated to join us in the world (for whatever a due date is actually worth).  Nathan and Jon grew up together, and were in each other's weddings, and this was just wonderfully exciting news all around.  So, congrats to Nathan and Diane!  We are sorry that you weren't just a few months earlier or later so that we could have passed clothing back and forth, but, actually, not all that sorry.

In other news... Cortney was ordained as a Deacon this morning at our church (we are both excited about that, as it will be a job we both partake in).  And tonight we had dinner with another of our long lost friends, Andrew (another pre-college friend of Jon's).  We had a great time catching up and will have to do it again some time soon, as we get in our final months of social freedom!

And... we have a thumb sucker.

We had our third doctor's appointment this morning.  Most of it is just becoming routine - they check Cortney's blood pressure, weight, and measurements, then they answer questions and, finally, listen to the baby's heartbeat.  This morning's appointment was not so routine when they were unable to find said heartbeat with the doppler.  The doctor was very reasuring - she kept telling us that she could clearly hear the baby moving around, but it all sounded like the ocean tides to us.  Evidently they fully understand the heightened concerns of first time parents, though, because she brought in the ultrasound machine on the wheely cart and, because Raspberry had been into playing hide and seek, we were treated to a very special second look.  The doctor kept pointing out locational characteristics, saying "here's the head...there's the tummy...see the strong heartbeat," but the changes between the last ultrasound (at eight weeks) and this one (now at fourteen) were awesome and no tour guide was needed.  At eight weeks we thought we had a tiny bean named Raspberry... at fourteen we now have a fully formed human, complete with thumb sucking!  In fact, we have a stubborn thumb sucker.  Every time the doctor would push against Cortney's tummy with the wand we could clearly see Raspberry get agitated and push back with fully formed arms until the wand stopped moving, at which time all settled and the thumb went back in the mouth.  We will stock up on pacifiers now.

Announcing Raspberry

It's official: we are bursting with love and pleased to announce that we are expecting our first baby on June 19th! We're at 12 and a half weeks, and according to the development guides we've been reading, our child is the size of a lime. Back when we first confirmed the pregnancy, though, the guides told us we had a raspberry-sized bundle of joy, and Jon loved the nickname so much it stuck. We even got a new ornament for our tree engraved with the name Raspberry. We'll have the real baby name after we find out the gender in January. There's plenty of excitement to come. Watch our progress in our "Nine Months" photo album.