Introducing...(finally)

the newest member of our little family, 

Luke Russell Young.
(and yes, he's been around for a while. for those of you who blogged before your first child was ten weeks old, I commend you.)

Weighing in at a whopping 10 lbs. 6 ounces, at 23 1/2 inches, he was a bit of a celebrity at the hospital, earning such nicknames as "the football player" and "baby hulk". 

His birth was remarkable.

Welcome to the family, little peanut.

Preggo Progress

We have been terrible at taking belly pictures every week, but have gotten enough that I think the difference is noticeable. 

From 21 Weeks...

to 28 and 31 weeks, respectively. 

As far as the actual pregnancy goes, everything is still pretty smooth sailing. I'll break it down into some easily manageable categories.

• Sleep: Better than it was for a while. I think I've gotten so exhausted that despite being horribly uncomfortable I still sleep through the night (mostly). 
• Cravings: Grapefruit. At least one a day. 
• Aversions: None, as far as I know. I haven't really had heartburn or unpleasant reactions to any foods--although Peanut does get more active after a spicy meal. 
• Weight gain: healthy.
• Baby movement: Constant. I can tell that space has become a bit of a premium in there. Movements have stopped being actual kicks and feel more like sharp knees and elbows and feet dragging around on the inside. They aren't painful (yet), but are definitely uncomfortable now. 

All in all, I think I have reached the best belly size. I'm definitely pregnant-looking (strangers ask me when I'm due) but I haven't yet reached beached whale. 

Only nine weeks to go! 

Now this is what you would call a diaper?

After spending actual Christmas touring Macchu Picchu, we celebrated a mini-Christmas and opened presents on New Years' day.

The funniest (and most worrisome) part about it was Ken's confusion over baby's presents. We heard questions such as "so the baby wears this?" and "why is there a hippo head attached?" 

At least he seemed to enjoy them almost as much as his own. 

Adios!

Our final day in Peru. En route to the airport we stopped by one last site to see the chullpas at Sillustani. Chullpas are funeral towers built by the pre-Inca civilization Aymara, typically used by noble families. Since this was at the highest elevation of the entire trip, Wendy and I sat it out at the base of the hill while the boys made their final trek to the top. And since it would take Ken years (if ever) to blog about this, I figured I would throw up some pictures and he can answer any questions you all have. 

As a whole, the trip was a fabulous baby-moon. 

12,000 Feet Above Sea Level

Our final destination in Peru was Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world.

Note to pregnant women: high altitude is a buzz-kill. Avoid if you can. 

On this lake there are about 40 man-made islands cut from totora reeds found growing in certain parts of the lake, where indigenous people have lived since before the Incas. 

The particular ones we visited are called the Uros Islands a few miles off of the Peruvian coast.

The roots of the reeds are cut from the bottom of the lake and are very similar to cork, providing the base onto which fresh reeds are piled every week or so. Huts are built (out of reeds) on top of the fresh reeds and the people live and cook and fish off of the little islands. 

(a model of an island, including the roots)

The islands are small, usually just five or six families, and can be cut and rearranged however they want. So if a family disobeys some of the island's laws, they can just be cut off of the island and sent to join another one. 

We got to see some bartering

and try on their clothes

**and yes, bugs did cross my mind, but we escaped uninfested**

and ride in a reed boat.

We also made a stop at the Taquile Islands, which were one of the last parts of the Inca Empire to be conquered by the Spanish. 

And which were beautiful.

Baby's first boat ride in the womb.

Extras

Just a few fun things we did in Peru that didn't involve ruins or sightseeing or a tour of some sort. 

We saw and petted alpacas and llamas...

and tried some of their not-so-tasty and rather chewy meat.

Guinea pig, or cuy, like those found running around this guinea pig farm,

was much tastier.

In fact, Ken and Matto got to try some kidneys, seen here,

and were so kind as to rearrange its little bones into a skeleton when they were finished. 

We saw some impressively bad traffic jams

and strangely dressed animals

and Wendy and I partook of some much-needed oxygen while at altitude. 

And here's one more picture of Ken and an alpaca that didn't particularly like him. For kicks. 

Pièce de Résistance

And here we have it. The sole reason we went all the way to Peru. I think it was pretty worth it, don't you?

(I could not for the life of me find a picture where Ken was actually smiling with Macchu Picchu. Perhaps it was the precipice right behind us)

I lied. Here's one.

We spend two days exploring the world wonder. The first day was hot and sunny, the second cloudy with some intermittent rain. We also had a guide the first day who took us around and did a fabulous job explaining the different ruins and the history of the place, and then we were able to just wander around by ourselves the second. 

I don't know how to post the pictures to give them enough justice--the surrounding mountains and the greenery and the ruins all make for such a picturesque place, it's difficult to adequately describe all that we saw. 

Nestled in the mountains, I can't imagine more beautiful surroundings.

Or more practical--because it is so high and was so well-covered by foliage, the conquistadors couldn't find the site and, therefore, never had a chance to destroy it. 

And the ruins themselves were, of course, amazing.

We saw llamas, the natural grass cutters of the ruins...

squeezed through some tight spaces...

and successfully avoided falling off the mountain. 

Not bad for baby's first World Heritage Site and New World Wonder from the womb.