Showing yet?

I have been asked if I'm showing much. I figure a picture is worth a thousand words. Silas took this picture of me at 20 weeks pregnant.

First Day of School

Silas started preschool today! I think Zeke wanted to go with him too. Silas was so excited. He said he didn't learn anything new today, but he had a lot of fun.

What's in a name?

Our daughter has a name! It will be Keilah Anne Rauch. If you read 1 Samuel 23 you will find where we got the name Keilah (kay-lah). The name means "citadel/fortress" and King David rescued the city from the Phillistines. I think Chris likes the idea of her being a fortress against future suiters. Anne is a family name. It is the first half of my mother's name (Annette) and it is the middle name of myself and Chris's mom. Anne means "gracious".

Our Projects

Chris and I have been working on some big projects this summer. Chris cut down about 15 trees on our property and cut them into pieces. Then I collected the pieces and piled them near the street to be hauled to the dump in Chris's truck (except for the Oak which we kept to burn in our stove). We have also been working hard to replace an old wood retaining wall with a concrete block wall, which also includes replacing the columns supporting the porch. It's a big project and it's about 80% done.

..............Before ..................................................................After

Finally, thanks to the generosity of the boys' Grandparents Dugan and Rauch... we have a play set in the back yard. Chris and I took boulders from our property and built a retaining wall. I backfilled it, assembled the play set, levelled everything, and spread mulch. Who says a pregnant lady can't do anything?! Now we just need to plant grass in that dirt "construction zone" and it will be done.

It's a GIRL!

That's right, we're having a girl - no doubts left in the ultrasound. Chris and I would have been happy either way, Zeke doesn't care, but Silas is so Excited to be having a sister!!! If you've had girls... hand-me-downs are welcome. Otherwise I'm going to put flowers and sequins on my boys' clothes and call it good. :-)

It looks like the due date is still the end of January. It's too bad we'll miss the 2008 tax cut, but it's a blessing that we'll be able to account for the medical expenses in the new year's Flex Benefits account.

If our track record holds we'll probably have a named picked within a couple of weeks, so check back periodically.

Isn't she beautiful? :-)

Genius Toddler

A mommy brag moment. Without any coaching or practice on our part, having only read the occasional counting book, and hearing Silas count... Zeke decided to count to ten. Chris and I were astonished! So of course I had to capture it on video. :) I should remind viewers that Zeke is only 23 months old.

Another Trip

Chris is on another business trip, this time to Alaska for 2 weeks. I'm afraid they mistook him for game, but I'm looking forward to mounting him on our wall above the mantel.