This is gonna be a long one, folks!

Boy, I think with the holidays I'm just a bit behind. We've been so busy lately and it doesn't seem to be slowing down.

First things first, we certainly hope that everyone had a wonderful New Year's and that 2007 is a going to be a great year for everyone. We didn't make it to midnight but instead watched the ball drop in New York and called it a night.

This weekend Dad and Thomas came down and we did a TOTAL transformation of the nursery. Saturday Dustin, Josh and I worked on cleaning out the room and painted the ceiling.





Dad and Thomas arrived around noon on Sunday and we had already installed the new ceiling fan. We went out and got paint, installed the plantation blinds and look at the "almost" finished product!!!







I don't think I could possibly be happier with the way it turned out. The only thing we have to do is paint a horizontal stripe for the "chair rail" in either a pink or blue.

We also did a total transformation in our bedroom; however, there are no pictures in existence to verify that activity. We cleaned our hearts out and poor Josh looked at us like he completely understood he was getting the raw end of the deal. I wanted to say so badly, "Yes, I know we make you clean your own room. Yes, I understand you'd rather be watching cartoons. Yes, Mom and Dad should be able to do this by ourselves. But isn't this fun?" He's a good sport and an even bigger help.

This weekend Josh's room will be the one getting a makeover. He unintentionally made his mother and father feel awful about the fact that we didn't paint his room. So we're going to paint his ceiling, replace his fan, get plantation blinds and paint a cool strip around his room. I'm hoping it will make all of us feel better.

With all this excitement, it's hard to believe that yet another week has passed by. Yesterday I hit the 18-week mark and now my half-way point is a mere two weeks away!!! AHHH!!! Anyway, here's the update I received...

Your baby measures about 5.2 to 6 inches (13-15cm) from crown to rump and weighs about 7 ounces (200g).

The buds for the permanent teeth are forming behind those that have already developed for the first teeth.

Your baby's nervous system and brain development continue at a spectacular pace. By this week, your baby's motor neurons, which connect muscle to the brain, have grown into place so that your baby can consciously direct her movements. Millions of neurons inside your baby's brain are growing and forming connections and the nerves in her body are being covered in a fatty substance called myelin.

Your baby's ears are now placed on the sides of her head and her limbs are now in proportion. Your baby's tiny foot is just one inch long, but is in perfect proportion to the rest of her leg.

Your baby can hear your voice and recognize it.

I think the biggest thing for me about this week's update is the fact that the baby can hear us and recognize our voices. That is absolutely amazing to me!