19 Kids & Counting: Expectant Parents; Weight Loss Goals

This trio of episodes once again demonstrated how all-over-the-place the filming and splicing can be for this show. It was very clearly autumn in the first episode because of the repeated "harvest" ideas, though the second two episodes feature Christmas lights and trees around town, indicating it would be December. I had more example in my notes, but apparently either my computer or blogger had a bug last night and all thoughts about the most recent two episodes have been sucked up into a black hole. This is why you see less information about those two episodes below. 

A couple of general impressions from these episodes... the girls are wearing more jewelry now and twins Jedidiah and Jeremiah really don't look like one another anymore. The bigger switch, however, is how large of an emphasis the series is placing on the next generation... Josh and the next three oldest children have all been receiving more screen time than the younger fifteen kids (except maybe cute-as-a-button Josie!). I rather enjoy this, as I like seeing Jana and Jill outside of the Duggar home, and John-David making decisions about what he'll do with his life. Josh and Anna are interesting as well, but not necessarily as much... in ten years, they plan to have 7-9 children, which seems like quite a few for a guy who only does so-so with his used car lots...

TLC

19 Kids and Counting "Baby on the Way" (S07E01): Jill is taking Anatomy & Physiology for her midwifery license while Jana is doing more hands-on stuff with her doula practice. Jill is also continuing to work on her Spanish and hopes to become fluent. [I had forgotten about that!] The girls talk like they are in paid training to handle pre-natal and post-partum appointments (handling 7-12 clients each week), and over the past two years, Jill has trained for over 3,000 hours. Jana doesn't want to become a full midwife because being in charge of the entire situation scares her. [interesting, as Jana has had to take on a lot of responsibility at home before...]

Anna wants to have a themed dinner to tell the family that she's expecting again. She makes "pigs-in-blankets" and sliders and baby carrots and such, but the family doesn't seem to pick up on it other than "finger foods." [didn't Jesse say the same thing when Becky announced her pregnancy this way on Full House like 15 years ago? also, it's hard to hear Josie over that music! and, I thought the cows-in-a-blanket was funny.] Two hours before the meal, Anna calls Amy to help carve a pumpkin into a baby carriage and a cantaloupe into a baby's head. [kinda crazy, no?] When Josh gets home, she puts him to work, too, on the "door prizes." [the diaper candy WAS kinda gross!] The family actually arrives early so they're forced to wait outside. After everyone eats, they all write down what they think the surprise is. Guesses included Amy getting engaged, the family is opening up a restaurant, they're going camping, and that Josh and Anna are moving. [who was that woman behind Grandma during the reveal?] Jessa found out in advance so she got it right (she and Anna are both fifth-borns, so they sometimes share secrets, I guess).

19 Kids and Counting "Duggar Weight Loss Challenge" (S07E02): The family eats Cincinnati chili while JimBob, Michelle, Anna, and Josh go out to dinner. JimBob and Josh decide to see who can lose more weight in 90 days, and they soon learn that Josh weighs ten pounds more than his father, though JimBob's waist is larger. [those progression photos were a bit intense... Josh has put on 50-60 pounds in like four years!] They also go through stress tests, have their blood drawn, and start thinking about getting more physical activity.

Meanwhile, back at home, the boys decide to build a greenhouse for vegetables, a project that Jason heads up with an old car port frame.

19 Kids and Counting "Things Are Changing" (S07E03): The results come back, and the wives attend the appointment where they learn that JimBob has high cholesterol and Josh is at risk for diabetes, prompting them to care even more about changing their lifestyles. Joseph walks them through a sixty-minute workout routine. Josh and Anna toss all of their junk food while Michelle just helps JimBob set up his own shelf of snacks, like vegetables and soup. [he eats vegetables cold out of a can? no wonder he's not a big fan!] Anna is afraid that her cooking did this to Josh. [only to a certain extent, though. he makes bad choices often, like constantly sipping sweet tea.]

Priscilla and David come to visit, prompting Josh and Anna to consider moving into a bigger home. [what do they do with this camper any other time? have we ever seen it used?] They see several, but the one they like the best (2400 sq ft compared to their current 960 sq ft abode) is out of their price range. Anna and Priscilla (who is six months pregnant) talk about their birth plans.