Wow, time really goes by quickly! I can't believe it's been a whole month since we last wrote! I (Beth) am WAY bigger now and entering my 7th month of pregnancy this week. I'm also entering my third and final trimester. November 5th feels like it is coming very soon and simultaneously is very far away. Here I am in all my most recent pregnant glory!

Since our last entry we have been busy spending time with dear friends and spending time with our daughter-to-be. Our friend Danielle Akert and her two beautiful children have been visiting from Switzerland so I have gotten the opportunity to play mommy's helper with a two year old and a 4 month old. Good practice for the future! We also had the joy of celebrating the second birthday of Ari St. Louis, our friend Shannon's son. We gave Ari a little wooden train and a book called "Everyone Poops" all about exactly that. ("Everyone Poops" included drawings of different animals pooping). Our presents got quite a response! Shannon said it was a great gift because she was potty training Ari the next day. Ari is the little boy in the middle holding the little train we got him. His mom, Shannon, is pointing towards the camera.

In the baby department, our most recent excitement has come from learning that the baby's eyes have now opened and she can see light. According to the baby books, babies at this age will respond to a flashlight placed on the mommy's tummy. So we tested this out and, boy, did it ever work! She came right up to investigate this weird shiny light thing. We decided we had to take it to the next level and throw her a baby rave. We started playing her some of her favorite music (Andy Hunter) and flashing the flashlight on and off in time to the music. She found this very exciting and danced in rhythm while following the light wherever it flashed! Our baby is a regular PARTY ANIMAL!! Like her momma and daddy!

We have also been blessed with an abundance of baby items starting to come in. Family has been sending us baby blankets, clothes, stuffed ponies (thanks, Ovelina ), and so on. Some of the items have been hand made, others were handed down from previous generations. All of them have been very special. We have also been receiving donations of baby items and furniture. We now have a crib, a changing table, two diaper bags, a bassinet, and a jolly jumper that hangs in the doorway, as well as some little baby clothes for 0-3 months. Our apartment is officially being babyfied!

On a side note, something very strange happened to Jon last night. Through a strange combination of chemical reactions, Jon's hair first became streaked platinum and then turned Atlantic Blue! Such a rarity of natural occurence is quite remarkable. (We may have helped mother nature a bit!)

By popular demand, we present photos of Pregnant Beth! Note the large belly. She's pregnant, and she looks good doing it.

Beth and I have had an eventful few days. On Sunday morning, I decided to try to see if I could feel Baby Bunsen kicking. I was rewarded with a solid little thump right in my hand! We should have tried it sooner...

On Monday, we went to have our sonogram. Beth was convinced her bladder was going to explode, and complained bitterly about how miserably difficult it is for a pregnant lady to hold her urine to begin with, never mind with that much water in her system! The baby spent a while hiding from the sonogram lady before being cajoled out into the open by Beth's pacing and coaxing. And then we got to see that...

We are having a daughter!

She takes after her mother in that she stayed nicely posed for her picture, but only until she got bored... We got to see her from many angles, and even watched as she did a flip! In this picture one can see the profile of her head and face looking up, and her torso to the right.

Our baby girl has been very responsive to her daddy's voice lately, so we decided to strap the headphones to Beth's belly last night and played her some good bass-thumping electronica. She was surprised at first, spent a little while deciding that this was the most seriously cool thing she could remember ever happening, and then (being the hyper-intelligent little girl destined for world domination that she is) she realized that the best response was to have her own little rave party! What amazed me most, however, was the fact that within 45 minutes or so, I could feel her thumping against the uterine walls in almost perfect time with the music! Our baby's got rhythm!

In other not-so-interesting news, the car is in the shop today for an expensive brake repair job. :( Why can't someone invent a perfect non-degrading material to build things out of?! Stupid laws of physics, always ruining everyone's fun. Hrmph!

Dear Friends and Family,

This is our first time creating a blog so Jon and I are very excited about this! We hope that this blog site will enable family and friends both far and near to keep up with our busy lives. We also anticipate this coming in handy with new baby pictures in November (Baby Bunsen is on the way November 5!)

Since our last newsletter, I (Beth) graduated from Regent College with my Masters in Christian Studies. In the picture above Beth and Jon are spending time at the graduation with their dear friends Sarah and Barrett Lee who also graduated this year. Graduation was a fun and busy time! Especially with Beth's burgeoning belly! (Not obvious in the picture above due to the enormity of my robe.)

In other Beth and Jon news, Jon recently got a raise at his job where he works construction. In the meantime, I have changed jobs from a shipper with the Regent Bookstore to a grader for the Continuing Studies Department at Regent College. The pay is much better and I am finding great joy in doing more academic work. This job also enables me to work on my own time schedule from home and to work part time. This is such a great joy, especially since it means not being on my feet all day!

Well, I suppose that's enough news for now. We send our love to everyone!

Love,
Beth and Jon