Birthing Classes and Babies

Remember last Summer when Charley and I were apart of that small group which I would post about from time to time?

Here we all are together last July or August:

left-right: Wayne and Kathy (our leaders), Brian and Shawna, Charley and me, Brandon and Amanda, Even and Julie, and Jeremy and Alyssa. (Notice that there are NO babies?)

Brian and Shawna were *very* pregnant and getting ready to move to Missouri for college. Alyssa and Jeremy were praying for God to bless them with a child. Amanda and Brandon had *just* gotten married, and then found out THEY were also expecting a few months later. And Charley and I were... well, just enjoying life along with Julie and Even.

Since then, Brian and Shawna DID have their little boy and move to Missouri - and got pregnant AGAIN (she's 5 months now with a little girl). Alyssa and Jeremy got pregnant and had a little boy, Jonas, last week on Mother's Day. Amanda and Brandon had their sweet little girl, Sophie. Charley and I - as most of you know -got pregnant and have about 2 months left before we meet our little girl, and Julie and Even (as far as I know) decided and have begun to try for a baby too!

This past weekend we had a 'small group reunion' since Brian and Shawna (and Seth) were in town for a week, and Brandon and Amanda (and Sophie) will be restationed to CA within the next couple months. We thought it'd be fun for one last get-together before we all get so spread out around the country that it ends up being years before we can all connect again. Here are some pics from our fun afternoon:

Here's Brian and Shawna's little boy, Seth. Isn't he a cutie?

And Brandon and Amanda's little girl, Sophie - who just found her toes.

And Sophie enjoying her new friend, Seth:


Here's Jonas, Alyssa and Jeremy's new little sweetie:

And even though they weren't part of this particular small group, I gotta show you one of my closest friend's little chunk. This kid is one of the cutest chubby babies I ever saw. He's SO much fun cause all he does is giggle.

Here he is with his mama, Crystal. Charley and I are very close friends with her and her hubby Mikal. They also have a little 3 year old girl who's a TOTAL DOLL, Gracie.

In other news, we attended our first birthing class (of four) tonight. Being homeschooled, I conveniently "missed" that movie "the Miracle of Life" (or whatever it's called) that they apparently show in highschool. Anyways, Here's what I found out tonight... they show videos at these 'birthing classes'. And guess what's on those videos? Yup. Birth. Charley (also being an innocent, somewhat naive homeschooled kid) and I were in for a surprise when they showed us not one, but TWO videos of actual labors and deliveries - we're talking the real deal, people. Needless to say, I'm a tiny bit terrified at this point. However, I'm sure that in about, eh, 2.5 months, I'll be letting you all know that I made it through alive, and have a precious little one of my own to prove it. In the mean time, I plan to not think about it too much.

This post is plenty long enough.. I'm off to bed.