Week 24

Instead of taking pictures of my ever growing belly...I should be taking pictures of my poor swollen feet!  I'm hoping that because I was up a lot this weekend that's the cause but oh man, have they been sore.  On a brighter note...we are just about finished painting the nursery!!  YAY!  At first when we decided what we were going to do I loved the idea.  Then the first couple of colors went on the wall and I started having doubts about how much I loved the idea.  Now after seeing all of the colors on the wall I am 100% sure that I love our idea!  It is so much fun and so rewarding to see what all of our hard work is turning in to!  

Roper has been super busy this past week!  I can tell his kicks/punches/moves are getting stronger and stronger.  I can only imagine what those kicks/punches/moves will fill like in the coming 16 weeks!  I do know that his brain is growing rapidly and his taste buds are still developing. He is pretty lean at 24 weeks, but he'll soon be putting on some "baby fat" to fill out his frame and his wrinkled skin.  I think most of that filling out period comes in the third trimester.  He has begun to develop white blood cells. These cells are responsible for fighting off disease and infection.  MAJORLY IMPORTANT!  His lungs develop branches this week and his inner ear is completely developed. In fact, he has basic control over all of his senses: hearing, touch, taste, smell and vision!  Isn't all that ah-mazing?!  I just think it's the most ah-mazing thing EVER!  :)  I mean by week 24 his little ears and fingernails are finished!!  His little man parts are on their way to their future "home" and his little lungs are secreting surfactant.  I know, it's ok...I had no clue what surfactant was either!  It's basically a surface-activated fat that helps Roper's little lungs inflate!  By the end of this week he will be weighing around 2 pounds and be about 14 inches long!  He's just growing into a little man already!!

I've enjoyed seeing everyone's facebook pictures of their little ones on Easter Egg Hunts!  Although Roper might still be too small to do any hunting, how much fun is it going to be to get him all dressed up and super CA-UTE (shout out LWH) with his very first Easter Basket and dye eggs regardless of if he can hold on to them or not!!  Although we know that Easter is all about our Risen Savior, I still can not wait to have Roper here!!  Curt and I are eagerly awaiting Roper's arrival and all the fun stuff that is coming our way!!  Since he hasn't made his arrival yet...which is a good thing...here is one of our Family Easter Pics...in Roper's almost completed room!

"In pregnancy, there are two bodies, one inside the other. Two people live under one skin.... When so much of life is dedicated to maintaining our integrity as distinct beings, this bodily tandem is an uncanny fact. " - Joan Raphael-Leff