Josiah William or Alaethea Ruth?

Yes, We did have our 20 week ultrasound last Wednesday. For those keeping track, that is actually week 21, but who is really keeping track, besides us? From the pictures, baby is doing great! I had a doctor visit that day as well, and I am also doing just fine. The due date has not changed, so the baby should come on or around September 6th.

We did find out the sex of our "peanut". Before we tell you, we need to give you a bit of background. There has not been a girl born with the last name Maschke in a very long time...about three generations, to be exact. Both Jed and I were pretty sure we were having a boy. However, we were wrong...it is a girl! We questioned the "it's a girl" statement several times and every time was told that is a girl. So, Alaethea Ruth it is (you can call her "Ali", like an Alley, not like Muhammed.)

In other news, school is slowly winding down. Jed has 21 days of school left. I have a few more than that, but I haven't counted. Next week I will take the great adventure with my students to Catalina Island. For you readers, Catalina is part of the Channel Islands, where Island of the Blue Dolphins takes place. We are going to do "science stuff". That is about all I know right now. I'm sure I'll have stories when I get back.

Here are the lastest pictures of Ali and I. We chose the nicest picture of her. She wasn't a big fan of having her picture taken, and the other shot we got looks a bit like Munch's "The Scream".

A very brief update

So, we have also entered the land of "very few updates". We will try to remedy that in the near future with lots of pictures of various events; including:

1. Our visit from Kari and Nina
2. Our trip to the mountains with our bible study group
3. Information about the sex of "peanut", as we currently call him/her (April 26th is the day for that information)
4. Any other random events we are forgetting, but have pictures for.

To keep everyone entertained, here are two pictures of my ever expanding stomach. The first is from March 16th, and the second is today (April 12). You can see for youself that I am indeed growing.

Jed wishes to insert that his track team this year is "darn good", but the "darn good" team causes him to be gone lots. I would agree. But, the season will someday end and we will see each other again.

If you haven't heard through the random grapevine, I (Anna) am starting my Masters this summer. I'll be back at Seward for two weeks. The plan right now is to be done in two years. We will see how that goes.

So, there is the very brief update. More news to come soon!!!!

Visitors and heartbeats

The last month has been busy with the arrival of many guests. President's Day weekend was spent with Erin and Angie. It was, of course, raining (only the fifth time it has rained in the six months we have lived here) but we still had fun. We visited the Aquarium of the Pacific; a very cool place. We learned that you can give a shark an ultrasound. Who knew? Erin and Angie also took me shopping for maternity clothes, and we spent the one nice day at the beach, playing in tide pools and watching the sun set after enjoying wonderful peanut butter shakes. We also managed to get in quite a bit of Gilmore Girl watching. At those moments, Jed found something else to do!

Angie and Erin left Tuesday morning, and Wednesday evening, Jed's parents arrived. We also had fun with them. They cleaned our kitchen for us (a very exciting treat!) and spent time helping us do some organizing around the house. Jed and his parents had thier first IKEA experience (I think they are hooked) and we then had fun building our new IKEA purchases. We also had the sunset experience with his parents, and well as the peanut butter shake experience.

Both visits also included trips to In N Out and Rubios. Both are high quality eating establishments.

In baby news; all is well. Between visits I had my 12 week check up and I was able to hear the baby's heartbeat. All is going well for me and baby. Only two more months until we find out the sex.

Wednesday marks the official end to my first trimester. Thanks for all the prayers. Everyone tells me the second trimester is the most enjoyable. We will see...

Our Little Teddy Graham

We had an ultrasound on Friday to check and make sure everything was on track with baby Maschke. We were very happy to learn that the baby looks great. We saw the heart beat and it is growing just as he or she should. Here is the first official picture of the little one. One person I work with commented on how it looks just like a Teddy Graham, which made us laugh quite a bit.

In other news, life is good. We are both busy teaching. We are also looking forward to the many visitors that will be coming in the next months.

The first day of school

My principal was not overly excited when I told her that our baby should be born on the first day of school. I guess the first six weeks are not my choice to miss either, but for a little one it will be worth it.

Yes, you all read that correctly. Jed and I are going to be parents. Watch out world, here we come. The little Maschke should arrive on or around September 7th. My family is pushing for the 8th since it was Grandpa Hohl's birthday, but since we all know how little choice you actually get in a due date, we will be happy whenever he or she decides to join the world.

We will keep you all updated on the progress, and I am sure you will get to see some pictures of me and my big belly!

Roses and Sprouting Beans

Jed and I had the awesome chance to go help decorate the Lutheran Hour Float for the Rose Parade this year. Our friend Jen is in charge of it, and our friend Cari came along also.

For those of you unaware, this is a huge task. Every square inch of the float must be covered in natural materials. No colors can be altered. Every little flower, leaf, and bean is glued on using either industrial strength rubber cement, which is very sticky, or white glue. Jen let us climb things, which was fun. We glued on lots of white mums (especially on the ribbon), and I stuck in all the pink roses that you can see.

The rain caused a few problems to our float. All the beans sprouted, and a few flowers fell off. But it still looked beautiful.

After seven hours of work, we were exhausted, but already planning to come and help again next year. If anyone else would like to help, we can hook you up!

Wisconsin, Kansas, and California, Oh My!

This Christmas Break was a very busy one! We started our adventuresome trek in the great state of California, when our wonderful friend Greg took us to LAX at 4:30 in the morning. We now know that we can get to LAX in 40 minutes...during the dead of the night when there is no traffic. We boarded the plane and headed to Wisconsin: The Land of Snow! Snow is a great thing when you never see any. We had no problems on our flight and arrived safely in this great, snowy, state.

In Wisconsin, we saw lots friends and family. I even got to throw a snowball at Jed! The big event was Uncle Jon's wedding to Pam on the 23rd (Congrats to them!) but we also got to see friends David Stevens and Craig and Leah Toerpe (surprising Leah for her birthday!). After a wonderful wedding, we hopped on the plane for another early flight to Kansas.

Kansas was not snowy, but still fun. We spent lots of time playing with Tannim and Jonas, watching movies, and spending time with my family. Special vistors included Granny, Uncle John and Aunt Patty, and Angie, who made a special trip from St. Louis to see us. Jed likes to point out that while he and Aunt Anna brought many special gifts for the boys, Uncle Jed left with the special gifts of a sore throat and a 101 degree fever. He and Anna were very thankful for their other presents too.

Finally, we came home, to the cold, wintry 60 degree California. I know, it's tough. It was a whirlwind trip, but very fun. We are so glad we saw all of our family...and look forward to hosting many when they come to see us. Let us know when the Maschke B and B is needed by you! Jed will even grill for you, on his new Christmas grill (or barbeque, as the native Californians say)!