Dear Bo, We had our first party...

29 weeks

Little one, we had our first party for you! We got together with our Oklahoma friends and family, and it was a wonderful time. I hadn't seen my law school girlfriends since graduation so getting together with them was a real treat. We also saw several friends from church and other friends and family in the area. We played games which was a hoot.
We smelled baby food and had to guess what each was (Daddy got zero correct). We both dread when you'll eat that stuff. It really stinks, little man. Daddy got swaddled by the winner of the baby food game. Then we split into teams and raced to see who could change diapers the fastest. I got swaddled by the team captain of the winning team.
We got lots of neat stuff: your pack n play, high chair, mobile, a camo bag with your name on it, and lots of other neat goodies from our registry. Christine was too thoughtful and even brought a bag of goodies just for Momma!
I have had terrible heartburn, but it's all better now that the Dr. put me on Prilosec. I have a painful catch in my back, up by my shoulder blade, but other than that, all is going really well.

You got some goodies in the mail from your Brown cousins: a sailboat for your room, some bath toys, and a little Aggie outfit (we hope the Aggies will be better in football by the time you get there, little buddy. They got really embarrassed this weekend):
Daddy's and my anniversary was Wednesday. Nine years. It hardly seems possible that we met twelve years ago and have been married nine years. To tell you the truth, when we got married, I thought we'd have our family finished by the time we reached our ninth anniversary, but we ended up taking a different path. I think there are trade offs to starting your family early vs. starting your family later. I know either way would have ended up great, but I'm glad it has worked out as it has. I'm glad Daddy got to work for a big construction company and move around with them. I'm glad I got to work for a couple of years before going to law school; it definitely gave me a little perspective. I'm glad Daddy supported my decision to go to law school (not to mention supported us financially while I was in school). I'm glad we've traveled and seen lots of places together. I'm glad we had time to work through those early years of marriage that were harder than either of us expected. I'm glad we've got to enjoy the "comfortable" years where our relationship has come more easily. I'm glad we really hashed and rehashed whether we wanted to start a family...that we struggled with it...that our luxury was that we were fortunate enough to really love our life with just the two of us. When we decided to try and start a family, we resolved to try for a couple of years, then if it didn't happen, march forward through life as two and continue to spoil our nieces and nephews like crazy. You see, little man, we didn't need you to complete us. We didn't need you to fix us or make us happy. We were full and complete before we ever started trying to bring you into this world. But...we did want you. We want to share our life with you. We're a pretty good team, and we want to parent you together. We know you'll be just one more dimension to a really satisfying life.

I hope you find a partner to walk through life with and that you find her sooner rather than later. I was just 19, and Daddy was 20 when we met. I'm glad we met early enough to avoid a lot of stupid decisions with other people before we were together. I think we're better for having grown into adults together.

Most of all, I hope you always know that we love each other. I hope we can model a good marriage for you so that you can enjoy healthy relationships in your life. I hope we treat each other with respect so that you see how to be respectful in relationships. And I really hope you know that while we will love you like crazy, we loved each other first. Of all the things we want to give you in life, one of the most important things is a Momma and Daddy with a healthy marriage.

I can't believe that next Friday we'll be 3/4 of the way there...30 weeks! Keep growing!

This is what you were up to this week:

You are rapidly growing at this point. You are continuing to gain weight, and your head is also growing. This is due to the rapid brain development that began in week 28. Muscles and lungs are also continuing to develop and mature.

You now measure over 14 ½ inches and weigh 2 ¾ pounds.

These were my prayers for you this week:

That the third trimester continues to go well. That somewhere out there your wife is a part of a healthy, happy family and being loved on and prayed over like crazy.

Love,

Momma