3rd Trimester?!?!?!

Where has the time gone? In 12 weeks or less we will be holding our beautiful Asher in our arms. We can't wait to meet him....and have a feeling that a few of you feel the same way too:) If you were wondering, he feels the same way about you! This week he is about 2 1/4 pounds and around 14.8 inches from head to toe. He is also opening and closing his eyes and has eyelashes!

We had a fun, relaxing weekend in Ohio. We left for Ohio on Thursday morning and made our first stop at Elgin High to see Allyson's dad and the new science facility that they have. Allyson's cousin Stacey and her boys Warner (4) and Quinn (8 months) also met us there so that Warner could go fishing with Allyson's dad. In reality, we caught nothing, but according to Warner we caught 7 fish and 1 stingray! That night, we headed home to eat pizza and visit with lots of family. Mark as usual was the kid magnet. At one point, Warner told Mark as only a 4 year old who can't pronounce his "r's" can..."Hey...did you know bwoccoli and cauliflower are bwothers?" I am pretty sure that none of us knew this interesting factoid, but we loved it! The rest of the night was spent laughing and catching up with Mom, Dad, Mama, Maizie, Carla, Kirk, Sally, Andy, and Megan. We love and miss you all and can't wait to see you again in a couple of short weeks.

Friday we were lazy and loved it, we slept in, hung out in our pj's, and caught up on some DVR. Friday night we headed to Polaris with Mom and Dad and met Andy and Megan for a fantasitc dinner at Cap City. Saturday, we said our goodbyes, or see you laters as we would prefer, and headed back to Indiana. We had a "Fall Fling" with our teens Saturday night, so we had much to do to get ready. The night was fun and ended with a token Mark and Allyson picture. Enjoy!

Looking forward to November and all of the world traveling that is coming with it...Nashville, back to Ohio, and Thanksgiving in Georgia!

Love and miss you!
Mark and Allyson

Last week of the 2nd trimester!

It is hard to believe, but this is the beginning of the last week of our 2nd trimester. According to our weekly emails, the 3rd trimester will start this up-coming Sunday. This week, they compare Asher to the size of a head of cauliflower. He should be around 2 pounds and 14 1/2 inches long. I (Allyson) definitely think this is the case because my belly feels like it gets larger by the day! He is now opening and closing his eyes, sleeping at regular intervals(hopefully this is a trend that he remembers), and may even be sucking on his fingers. Overall, he is becoming more and more like a little boy who is just getting ready to meet all the people that already love him:)

This past weekend was a crazy one that involved lots of company. Abby came in on Thursday night to visit in between her world travels. She has been in California since January and is now in Italy for the next 3 weeks! Since she spent the night on Thursday night I took a personal day on Friday and spent a little more time with Abby. We met my mom in Bloomington for lunch on Friday before Abby headed back home to pack again. Mom and I spent a fun Friday together that involved important things like shopping and pedicures. Basically, it was a rough day:) Friday night, more guests arrived (Mark's mom and dad). Saturday was Asher's first baby shower thrown by our good friends Pam and Bradie. It was a great shower and Asher is already working on his awesome wardrobe. The girls enjoyed the shower while the guys cut a hole in the kitchen wall. Thankfully, the hole is now replaced with a door! The finishing touches are about 90% complete. We promise to post some pictures when it is finally complete!

Can't wait until Thursday when Mark and I get in the car and drive to Ohio! We are looking forward to seeing lots of family that we have been missing lately!

Love and miss each of you,
Mark and Allyson

Less than 100

According to the cartoon baby traveling towards our due date at the bottom of our blog, we are 97 days away to us being a party of 3! We are working our way through week 26 and in my (Mark's) opinion, Allyson looks great!! I'm sure you all agree with me.

Allyson's first baby shower is this Saturday here in Bedford. Allyson's mom and Mark's mom and dad will be in town. The girls will be at the shower while the boys will be doing some demolition at the house...sounds scary doesn't it? It will be interesting since neither one of us have ventured down the road we will be traveling. But maybe with the help of a good friend, it will turn out alright. If you don't see pictures next week, just know we made a mess of it! Either way, it will be fun.

Here she is today...
And here's a clue (along with Allyson's background) about Saturday's project. Wish us luck.
Looking forward to seeing some of you we haven't seen in a while in the next few weeks!
Mark and Allyson

Asher's Room...Thanks Dave!

Asher's room is ready for furniture! We painted the walls, trim, and laid new flooring. A big thanks to Dave Hall for his help laying the flooring and providing most of the tools to get that done. Here are a few before pics...

Asher's room today...
We still need to hang the closet doors. They too have been painted white.

Love you all!
Mark & Allyson

Game Day

This weekend my family (Allyson) came in for the weekend to go to the Ohio State football game with Mark and I at IU. Ohio State won, it wasn't pretty, but they won. We had a great time regardless if the game was exciting or not. Mark and I met Mom, Andy, and Megan to tailgate around 1:30. Dad joined us after his cross-country meet was over around 3:45. We hung out, laughed, tried not to freeze, and ate enough food to to feed an army. Mom evidently cleaned out the entire Kroger store in Marion before she came. Believe me, we weren't complaining...it was all good! Mark and I are going to enjoy left-overs for most of the week! Here are some pictures for you to enjoy of game day.

(I am pretty sure that Dad was the only person in the stadium with shorts on...)

(Mark and I before the game...)

(Mom and I before the game...)
Asher's nursery renovations are finally complete! It looks great! We will take some pictures and post them early this week.

Love,
Mark and Allyson