Well, we went to the ultrasound last week, and the most we can report is that we have a healthy baby something. That's a lot to be thankful for. They were very active during the ultrasound, and we actually got a shot of them with their knees over their head--legs stretched straight out. They must have gotten their flexibility from their Daddy. He is currently diligently doing a 30-minute "Yoga for inflexible people" routine. He needs it right now. A lot. While it may seem that sitting on your rear everyday and all day for the last month and a half is not much to make one's body ache and groan and plead for relief, it has been a stressful time for him, writing his thesis. He is making great progress, and I am extremely impressed and proud of him, but he still has a ways to go, and with little time left. So please keep praying for him and the rest of us, that we will remain healthy, not become too stressed out, and that it will get done on time (aka, preferably a week or so before he defends so that he can send it to his committee and work on his defense presentation). Again, he is doing a great job, but writing an entire thesis to summarize and explain 7 years of scientific experimentation in a mere two months is not something that most people can do without some level of stress.

Around us, people are coming down with the flu, the swine flu, pneumonia, hernias, sinus infections, you name it, but by the grace of God we have remained unscathed so far. We haven't exactly been quarantined, either, so it's a little puzzling, but I'm not complaining in the least. I hope it stays that way.

Today marks the 19-more-weeks-til Furoshiki point. That's right, we have started counting down instead of up, so that is encouraging. Despite the fact that I definitely look pregnant (or am hauling a watermelon in my shirt) and don't fit in most of my pants anymore, I have not gained any weight, which is another happy thing for me. I know I have pounds to spare, and with Isaiah, this same pattern of weight gain (nothing at the beginning, then exponential gain towards the end) occurred, so I know not to worry about it.

We are very excited to be going to Japan in about a month, and can't wait to spend the holidays with my parents for a few weeks, then head back to the U.S. to recover from jetlag (and a 14-hour plane ride) at Dan's parents' house. :) We are also thrilled that they have been so gracious to agree to wait for us to come back before they celebrate Christmas.

I went to my first "parent-teacher conference" the other day. It kind of cracks me up, because the kid is not even two years old, and what would there be to report? Still, it was interesting to see what kinds of things they noticed at his Stay and Play program, and I learned a bit about him. He apparently somehow has learned that he should use the English word for "phone" at Stay and Play even though he will say "denwa" over and over again when demanding the phone at home. It's just fascinating to me how he made that kind of distinction, and I'm excited to see further evidence of our haphazard attempts at raising him bilingually. He is definitely becoming more verbal lately, and while I don't have an exact number of words on his vocab list, I can tell you that he will parrot back to you the last two syllables of any sentence or word that you speak to him. He loves the word "no" and knows how to use it well. ...unfortunately. I can't think of any really funny incidents recently. I'm sure 3 or 4 of them will come to me once I log off. Oh well. We have wondered what he knows (if anything) about his little brother or sister, and have tried to tell him that Mommy has a baby in her tummy. He will say good night to Furoshiki each night by very sweetly laying his head up to my stomach, and it's very cute. I still don't think he understands that this baby is going to turn his Isaiah-centered world upside down come March. :)

Oh, here's something. We went to church this morning, as usual, and we made a valiant effort to try to get him to sit still for a little longer than usual by taking books with us, and by sitting in the balcony where people don't care if you're somewhat disruptive. Well, we forgot to teach Isaiah about this great thing called "whispering". Actually, we'd have settled for 'inside voices' this morning. We sat down and he immediately started stripping the pew of hymnals, Bibles, pens, and "Divine Doodles". That was fine, but then he wanted to "SIT?? SIT??? SIT???" Then he wanted my "TEN? TEN? TEN?" (pen), which I gave to him. Then he wanted his "BABO?? BABO? BABO? BABO?" (Bible). We are thrilled, by the way, that he has taken a major liking to his bilingual Bible sent to him by his Grandma Murchie in Japan. After we all solemnly uttered the Prayer of Confession (like good Presbyterians), he proclaimed "All DONE!" Then it was time for the choir to sing, and this morning, the 3rd and 4th graders were singing. They did a great job, and we tried to get Isaiah to pay attention to this. Dan told him quietly, 'Isaiah, look, there are kids up there" "KIDS?? KIDS??? KIDS?? KIDS??? SEE? SEE? SEE? SEE? SEE?" "That's right, those kids are going to sing" "SING? SING? SING? SEE? SEE? SEE? SEE?" "Yes, Isaiah, Shhhhh..." "SEE? SEE? SEE? SEE? SEE?" He was very excited about the kids singing, and that he could see them, as was evident to the entire congregation of 500 or so. Whew. Well, perhaps we were a bit naive in expecting that he could sit still and quiet for more than 2 seconds in church (although he will sit happily on our couch and look at books for 30 minutes at a time sometime). I think we will try to teach him how to whisper this week, and try it again next time. Stubborn parents? Absolutely. The only question is whether we are more stubborn than he is. :)

Well, that's about it for now. I'll see if I can't upload some pictures to this or the next blog, as our camera is full with pictures from last June.