Still growing....

At 25 weeks (we're past the halfway mark!), I am now noticeably pregnant to pretty much everyone (you know you're looking pregnant when strangers in the checkout line no longer hestitate to ask, "So when are you due?"). Now that my energy has returned (at least for now), I am feeling large and in charge! Baby's presence is felt off and on throughout the day in kicks, punches, swirls, and twirls. But we are starting to notice that baby is developing a pattern much like dad's in that our little one doesn't really start getting moving until about 10:30 or so in the morning (unless mom forgot to eat a snack before bed, in which case baby wakes mom up at 3am to remind her it is time to eat!), gradually becomes more active as the day progress, and seems to be ready to party from after dinner until about midnight. I say, "live it up little one while you still have the real estate for acrobatics!" I'm hoping in the next few weeks that David will be able to take part in the fun and be able to feel the high fives and the hi-ya's when he puts his hand on my belly. But for now it appears that baby and I have our first "inside" joke!

A picture is worth 1,000 words

About 4.5 weeks ago (Baby aprox. 19.5 weeks) we had our anatomy ultrasound. During the ultrasound we saw most of Baby Kvidahl's developing parts. Weighing in at about 10 ounces so far, our little one is already ahead of the curve size wise. But, that is probably no surprise for the Kvidahl side of the family! Baby was demonstrating some early martial art skills in the form of kicks and punches. Both the ultrasound technician and our doctor said that everything is looking just fine. David indulged me a bit by encouraging the technician to linger on the images of the brain. We didn't get a picture of it (much to this "brain dork's" disappointment), but here is a profile picture and a picture of baby's foot eager to kick mom at every opportunity! So tiny, but so amazing....

Kvidahl....The Next Generation

No, that's not a beer gut, it's Little Kvidahl making his/her presence known to the world! With the baby bump now more pronounced at 18 weeks, we thought we'd debut a mom and baby picture. Our little one has made several appearances on screen already. The first was at only 7 weeks old at our first ultrasound appointment, when we were introduced to our next family member. At 7 weeks lil' one was already showing us a steady heartbeat, reassuring mom and dad-to-be that things were going swimmingly. Then at 9 weeks, our next ultrasound, baby showed not only that he/she could keep a good rhythm (maybe baby will take after mom on that one), but also showed off some right and left hook punches (float like a butterfly...sting like a bee)! Our last appointment, at 13 weeks, we heard one of the most beautiful sounds to parents' ears -- lil' one's heart beating. David recorded the heartbeat for posterity on his Blackberry and then emailed it to himself to convert it into an mp3 file so we can listen to it on our computer or iPods (ain't technology grand!).

Our next appointment will be on September 17th (19 weeks), were we will get another peak at how much baby has grown and find out the gender of Little Kvidahl.

Stay tuned for more pictures of Lisa's growing belly and updates on how the next generation is doing.

A last day at the (South) beach

We wrapped up our last full day in Miami by taking in South Beach one more time. This time, however, we actually stuck our toes in the water and enjoyed the sand and surf...for about 10 minutes. I picked up a shell, a friendly local took our photo and all seemed right. There is nothing, nothing I tell you, like spending a week away from it all and getting to know all the little parts of another part of the world. And, as they say, the nice thing about Miami is it's so close to the United States...

Hopefully we'll have another adventure or two in us yet. But, as some of you know, we're expecting our first child in February. Who knows, maybe we can take the little one on those adventures with us...just not to Key West (until they're 21!).

Thanks for reading and for future updates, pictures and the like with what's going on with our unborn child and it's mother, remember to check back here.

Back in Miami, at the monastery

After two and a half days in the Keys we returned to Miami for another day and a half before we departed back to reality in St. Louis.

One of the places we made sure to hit was the Ancient Spanish Monastery. Located in North Miami, the Monastery is the oldest structure in the United States. Tycoon William Randolph Hearst was in Spain and came across the building. He love it so much he purchased it and had it broken down, stone by stone and shipped to the United States in 1925. About that time hoof and mouth disease was running rampant and the boxes were broken open and the hay used to keep the stones packed was removed and burned. The workers did not put the same stones back in each of the marked boxes.

The broken down monastery stayed in pieces and in storage until 1952. Heart's financial trouble forced an estate sale and the monastery was purchased by two gentlemen as a tourist attraction. Assembling the monastery took 19 months and over a million bucks. And when they were done putting it together there were pieces left over (but, really, who hasn't been there before?).

In 1964 the Diocese of South Florida purchased the monastery and it has been in its care ever since.

We enjoyed our visit to the impressive structure. It was absolutely beautiful and, as you'll see, very photogenic.

For pictures click HERE.

Key West...in a day

We decided to dedicate one day to see as much of Key West as we could. We made the two hour drive down US 1 to the southern most point in the continental United States.

First we hit the beach at Fort Zachary Taylor State Park. It is, by far, the most beautiful beach I've ever stepped foot on. The water was aqua blue and warm, the beach was bright white and the people were friendly and clean (no trash cans, whatever you bring in, you must take out). It cost us a few bucks to get in to the park but it was totally worth it.

After showering off we found a place to park (no small feat) and decided to hoof it for lunch. We found a nice dive, shanty looking spot that came highly recommended in our Lonely Planet guide. The food was great, it was the best burger I had on vacation and the mahi mahi earned a thumbs up from Lisa.

Next it was off to Hemingway's house. There we viewed many of the famous six toed cats as we took a guided tour of the famous authors home. At one acre, it's the largest piece of personal property on Key West.

Once we got our fill of Papa Hemingway's cats, it was off to the southern most point in the continental United States. You've probably seen the buoy looking thing that marks it (see photo above).

The rest of the evening became a sample of the local taverns. I had a few drinks at the Green Parrot and Sloppy Joe's (Hemingway's prefered bar of choice). We watched the sunset and then hit the road for the two hour trek back to Key Largo.

It was a hurried trip, a busy trip but it was an awesome trip. I'd move there tomorrow if it wasn't for the whole making a living thing.

For photos of our adventure in Key West, click HERE

On to Key Largo!

After venturing out to the Biltmore, walking up and down the Miracle Mile and getting caught in a wicked thunderstorm (OK, so I got caught in the storm and had to have my lovely wife come pick me up at the bookstore) we woke up bright and early the next day, the Fourth of July, and headed to Key Largo.

It took about an hour to reach Key Largo from Bill and Ginny's place (who were so sweet to allow us to spend our vacation in their home). It would have taken less time if I wasn't chasing a cup of coffee and if there wasn't construction on the only road into the Keys (US 1).

Because the four lane road was down to two lanes (one each way) and the road was packed with holiday travelers, the trip took a little while longer than we thought.

The ride was, however, beautiful. As you hit a bridge all of a sudden there is nothing but ocean on either side.

We reached the motel, a lovely little place Lisa dug up online. It had a small dock for fishing and boating. There was a tiny beach to slip into the water and go for a dip (on the Gulf of Mexico side or "Bay" side as they call it). The room wasn't big but it was air conditioned, with cable TV, a mini fridge, queen size bed and an excellent shower. It was just what we wanted.

We found a nice place to eat lunch (thank you again Lonley Planet guide!), did some shopping, enjoyed the hammock at the motel and headed out for dinner at the Fish House (another good idea from the guide!).

The Fish House is, believe it or not, one of the handful of restaurants that continues to serve locally caught fresh fish every night. While I discovered they have excellent jerk chicken, Lisa reports everything she tried from the lobster bisque to the entree were out of this world tasty. The menu even gives those adventurous sorts the option of: "You hook it, we'll cook it."

We grabbed dessert at another sea side restaurant and managed to get caught in the traffic along the one road that connects the place (US 1) as people filed out of the local park after the Fourth of July fireworks.

We didn't stay up too late. We had a big day coming up. We were headed for Key West.