What's 17 inches long, just over 3 pounds in weight, and cute all over? Our baby!

She is getting bigger by the day (in case you couldn't tell from the size of my belly). Also getting bigger daily is her brain, which is preparing for life outside the womb-and for a lifetime of learning and outsmarting her parents. Starting this week our baby's brain is starting to look like a brain, taking on those characteristic grooves and indentations. These wrinkles allow for future expansion of brain tissue that is crucial as she goes from helpless newborn, to responsive infant, to verbal toddler, to curious preschooler and beyond. Her bigger and better brain is starting to take on tasks previously delegated to other parts of the body, like temp. regulation. Now that the brain is capable of turning up the heat she will start to shed lanugo, the downy, soft body hair that has been keeping her warm until now. Which means that by the time she is born, she probably won't be fuzzy wuzzy anymore.

We hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving and a good start to some holiday cheer. Benji and I decorated the house last Sunday and as I write, he is finishing putting up the outside lights , which we started Monday evening ( I would post a picture, but our camera was left at school). We went to see the our midwife yesterday afternoon and she says everything looks good. My glucose test came back at 73(whatever that means). It must be good because she asked me if I even drank the nasty sugar water. The only horrible part of the visit was getting on the scale, my eyes almost bugged right out of their sockets after seeing the rather large number. Oh, well!

Have a great week!