The Big Reveal!

Yesterday the whole family went to the big city for our 20 week anatomy scan ultrasound.  We decided that with our past experiences we would do a Level 2 US, which is a little stronger and can catch things a little better, such as spina bifida or cleft lip.  

Our appointment was at 9:00.  I checked in and we sat in the waiting room for a few minutes before a nurse came to get us for some pre-US stuff. She took my blood pressure, checked my height and weight and took my temperature. Then she asked me about my past health history, along with Andy's. We went over the results of my integrated screening again then headed back out to the waiting room to wait for the US Tech.  

I was so nervous, was a tad bit nauseous just thinking about the things that could possibly be wrong with the baby.  I spent the next 15 minutes chasing Tate around the waiting room, which helped get my mind off things a little.  Finally they called us back.

We got back in the room and I sat down on the chair, then the tech reclined me until I was laying flat on my back.  The boys were so good the whole time, even Tate was quiet!

She started off checking all of the anatomy.  We saw the 4 chambers of the heart, the heart beating, the kidneys, diaphragm, bladder, spine, brain and other odds and ends.  Then we started looking at the bones.  That's when you see the legs, arms, hands and feet.  She showed us the baby's profile and saw it's face looking straight down on it it. At one point we saw it kick and I felt that kick, which was neat.  The baby was very active again, swimming all over the place in there!  It's hands were up by it's face quite a bit.  

Finally the moment we had been waiting for, the gender reveal!  

I think we were all holding our breath. She asked the two older boys what they thought it was. Aiden said boy and Brennan said girl. She moved the wand around until she found the baby's bottom and said "Okay, it's a GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  I think I said 'It is!?!' then I buried my face in my hands and cried.  I couldn't help it! The joy was more than I could handle!  Andy and the boys were laughing at me and so excited, I could hear it in their voices!  I pulled my hands down and asked if she was kidding (like a professional would do something like that!) and she said she wouldn't kidd about something like this.  I buried my face in my hands again.  :)  Such happiness in that room! We were all smiling so big!  It was such an exciting, awesome moment!  I immediately saw pink everywhere!  

She printed off the pictures and left to get the main doctor to review her findings.  While they were looking at the anatomy again I asked that they double check that whole 'girl thing' one more time, just to be sure.  Sure enough, still a girl!  I just can't believe it!  It's a dream come true for me!

After that we left for lunch and did nothing but talk girl girl girl. :)  We headed over to Target for a quick trip through the baby department.  I found a set of pink sheets and a purple chevron set, on clearance, that I snatched up.  Then I found a sweet sleeper that is minty green with pink dragonflies on it, clearance again, that I threw in the cart.  We also left with pink pacifiers and 3 headbands. This little girl will have her hair done!  I can't stop smiling every time I look over and see that pink and purple in my house!

Since the US I have been referring to the baby as 'her' or 'little miss' instead of 'it', which is amazing.  We have no names picked out, haven't even though about one yet.  We have roughly 20 weeks to get that figured out.  :)  

You know we never found out the boys' genders before they were born, which was so fun. And I'm a little sad we won't have that surprise in the delivery room with this one since SHE's a girl, but on the other hand I am so excited to shop and decorate HER nursery before SHE gets here. :)  I just can't tell you how happy I am to have a little girl to call my own.  <3

Oh, and I have to share a silly secret with you.  I wore pink undies, a shirt with pink stripes and pink toe polish to the US to add a little extra mojo to things - lol!  I'm a little nuts!

We told our families of course.  They are very excited for us. My sister and I screamed, felt so good to get some of that pent up excitement out!  Lots of hugging!  It was so fun to share our news!

I already love you more than words can say, Little Girl.  In 20 weeks I'll hold you in my arms instead of my tummy, and I'll dress you all in pink and paint your toenails someday and put your hair in piggie tails and take you shopping and for pedicures and all kinds of other things I have planned for the 2 of us.  We're going to have so much fun and your big brothers are going to take such great care of you! And your daddy, he's already wrapped about that perfectly petite little finger of yours. We love you!

Baby - 20 Weeks

One of the best parts of pregnancy is feeling that little bundle wiggle and flip and kick and move inside you.  During week 16 I started thinking that maybe I was feeling something, but just wasn't 100% sure.  In the beginning they aren't strong movements so you wonder if it was just something else in there giving you false hope.  But in the middle of week 17, (17w5d) I know without any question that I felt this little one move!  I was sitting on the couch leaning forward and there it was, a big giant push from the inside!  I have consistently felt it ever since then.  Usually about 4 times a day I notice it.  It's such an exciting thing for me, I love that feeling!  It's hard to explain what it feels like but I wish I could because it's amazing. <3

At my 18 week checkup our little bundle was quite active. Active enough that the dr. had a difficult time finding and keeping on top of the heartbeat!  The second she placed the dopplar wand on my belly we heard the heartbeat -- for about 3 seconds, then Baby swam away.  The dr. tried for almost 4 minutes to relocate that heartbeat but the baby was just so active she never could find it again.  Of course I panicked a little, considering out history, but she just grabbed the office ultrasound machine and with just a little time was able to find the baby and the heartbeat.  The rate was right at 150 BMP.  But that silly little baby, it wouldn't stay still!  Luckily with those US's you can 'rewind' so the dr. was able to get the rate for my records.  So silly, this little one!

Also at this appointment we discussed doing an early blood glucose test.  They are normally done at 28 weeks but with having had Gestational Diabetes while pregnant with Tate they recommend doing one earlier and again at 28 weeks, depending on the outcome of the first one.  So at my next appointment at 22 weeks I'll go in a little early, drink the orange drink and have my blood drawn after my appointment.  If that test comes back normal I'll take another 1 hour test at 28 weeks.  If it comes back abnormal I go right to the 3 hour test.  Finger crossed that I don't have GD this time around!

And now I am 20 weeks - half way.  It has taken forever to get here.  I am in no hurry to move this along but wow was that a long 20 weeks!  That's what you get when you know the exact moment of conception, ha ha!  I feel great, have my energy back and only take a nap 2 or 3 days a week instead of every day like the first 15 weeks.  I am 100% wearing maternity clothes.  I have no real cravings or aversions to food but get heartburn.  I would say I have heartburn daily but it's not so bad that I take Tums every time.  Mostly I get it when I'm hungry, which is probably why they say eat many small meals to help stave it off which I don't do.

I am having a super great pregnancy, anxious for those bigger, more frequent kicks to start up.  Also anxious for Andy to feel his first kicks - he gets pretty jealous when I tell him I feel the baby kicking.  I'm also looking forward to being able to call this bundle he or she instead of it. :)  Today!!!  Today we find out!  Unless Baby is super active again and they can't get a good shot of that area.  I figure I'll talk my cousin into sneaking me in for a quick US if that's the case since she's an US tech.  Awesome to have family in high places, ha ha!

Last night was a super exciting night for us -- Andy felt Baby kick for the first time!  20w2d!  That's earlier than he felt any of the others kick. So exciting!  I'm so happy he can now feel the little tiddler in there bouncing around, makes him feel more involved I think.

Terrible picture of me but here's the 20 week bump picture. Had to grab a quick pic before heading down to the basement to work. :)

4th of July Weekend Rewind

Hey everyone! How was your 4th?  We had a great weekend celebrating our nations birthday and working in the basement.  It was extra awesome since Andy had Friday off - gotta love 3 day weekends!

Thursday night Andy took the older boys fishing. They left about 4:30 and didn't come back until 9:30!  They were beat but had so much fun!  Brennan caught some that were bigger than Andy's hand which won him the biggest fish award. Aiden caught a bunch of little blue gills but that won him the 'caught the most fish' award, so both boys were pleased.  And Andy took some over to my dad's other pond to try to stock it some so that pleased him. Win-win-win I guess!  Tater and I dinked around here and just enjoyed having some quiet time for the two of us.  I went to bed at 9 and had just dozed off when the boys got home.  Was a great night for all!

Friday morning we started hanging insulation in the basement.  We did the entire south wall which is in both boy's rooms, and started the west wall in Bren's room. Then we ran out of staples which happened about 10:30, good timing since we wanted to run to the big city anyway on another Menards run for the basement.  We picked up some more insulation, staples and a few other odds and ends.  We also stopped for the boys' favorite burritos at Panchero's for lunch. :)  We came home, put the baby to bed and finished the walls then started hanging insulation in the ceiling til we ran out of time.

For supper to went in to Andy's folks' house for a little BBQ with his brother's family.  Pork burgers, hot dogs, chips, cheese, deviled eggs (my BIL makes the best deviled eggs this side of the Mississippi!), jello fluff, and pears in jello. For dessert one of my husbands favorites - Cherry Float.  It was a nice way to start off the holiday weekend!

Saturday morning we decided we'd head over to the town Andy works in to watch their 4th of July parade.  It was kind of up in the air but we decided it wouldn't be fair to the boys to skip that American tradition.   No pics, sorry! I figured you'd already seen one parade post this year, you didn't want to see yet another.

After the parade we came home, grabbed some lunch and headed back to the basement. Tate fell asleep in the truck on the ride home from the parade so we figured we only had about 2 hours to finish the insulation before he woke up.  We did get it finished in time, plus he slept long enough for me to grab a shower and wash off all that itchiness!  After that Andy just kept going in the basement, working on finishing the trim on the outside of the windows.  I puttered around the house doing some laundry and a little cleaning.  We ate supper at home then headed to town for the fireworks show.  My aunt and uncle own quite a bit of land around the fairgrounds where the fireworks are set off so we go there and sit on their trailer to watch.  We are right under them!  It's pretty cool.  Andy lit a million and one sparklers for the kids, they had a great time playing!

All that smoke is awesome - keeps the bugs away! :)  Left to Right: nephew Charley, Aiden, my 2nd cousin's son Louis, niece Nora Jean and Brennan.

And Tate loved watching the kids run around and even got brave enough to do a sparkler with his favorite Auntie Cole (my sister).

The ride home from the fireworks is always so neat - we can see other towns and homeowners who bought permits to light fireworks off the whole way home.  It's so magical to see those puffs of fire erupt in the sky off in the distance!  Here are a couple pics from our fireworks show.

That brings us to the bonus day - Sunday!  We finally started handing drywall!  I love this part because it really shows you what you have!  Andy's parents and brother came over to help with the ceiling - we decided that might be too much for just the two of us.  Everything went really smooth, they got all the ceilings done, now we can start on the walls!  Yay yay yay!!!  Happy girl doing a happy dance here!!!

While they hung the ceiling I mowed the yard, did a little weeding and trimming of some low hanging branches, and helped the boys pick rocks out of the dirt patch (where we tore up the lawn to put in the windows).  It'll be so nice to have that seeded this fall.  2 more months, I can wait 2 more months.

We had a great, full weekend.  We are all pleasantly exhausted and ready to the start the week.  I am so excited for this week - we find out the baby's sex on Tuesday!!!  I promise I'll share that with you all, after we tell our families.  Can't wait!!!

Does anyone else feel like the 4th is sort of the half-way point of summer?   I know it should still feel like it's just beginning but for us we have the 4th, then 2 weeks later our county fair, then it's just about August which is back to school stuff and the State Fair.  It just goes so fast after the 4th!  And we haven't done a darn thing with the boys for fun yet - better get a move on with that!

Have a great week!

Friday Favorites

Happy dance - it's FRIDAY! And a three day weekend, which is extra awesome!  Let's see what my Friday Favorites are this week.

First up, Wimbledon.  Let's go back 9 years.  I had never watched a single game of tennis on TV before, let alone an entire match!  And then Aiden was born.  We were shell shocked, scared of our own shadows and afraid to leave the house.  My soaps weren't on TV because Wimbledon was.  And so, with nothing else to watch, we learned the game of tennis.  And Rafael Nadal (a.k.a.Rafa) became my favorite player of all time!  Every year ever since that first fateful one (ha ha!) we have watched Wimbledon, along with other tennis tournaments.  And so, this week with Wimbledon on, it is one of my favorites. And I am sad because I watched my dear Rafa lose yesterday afternoon.  Boo hoo!

Water Pressure.  This one sounds funny but it's not.  I am dead serious.  My favorite this week is water pressure.  Our little town has been working on installing new water mains for the last 2 or 3 years. This summer it's our end of town's turn.  For the last 2 weeks we have intermittently not had water. They have given us a day or 2 notice that such and such a day we won't have water all day.  So for this week that day was supposed to be Tuesday.  Then Wednesday morning we got up - Andy and the boys took showers, then I loaded the washing machine full of clothes and Tate's one and only snuggle blankie.  I pulled the knob and no water pressure.  A little water was trickling out but it wasn't enough to fill the tub.  Over the course of the next 2 hours I would go back and retry, eventually getting the tub half way full.  Finally I checked Facebook and saw our city clerk had posted that the main had broken and they were working quickly to fix it.  Yesterday afternoon STILL no pressure.  I contacted the clerk and she said they had to send out for parts so it was a tad delayed.  Meanwhile Snuggle Blankie was soaked and stuck in the washing machine, and Tate was having a bad day which means he really needed that poor blankie.  I left here at 4:00 Wednesday with instructions to Andy to pull all of that wet and not washed laundry out of the machine and take it to town to get it washed if by 5:00 the water wasn't fixed so Tate would have his blankie for bed that night.  We never regained pressure Wednesday.  Thursday morning, Andy went to take a shower and still no pressure, which means no shower.  We both washed our hair under the faucet with the water piddling out.  So dang frustrating!  *I'm writing this at 2:00 Thursday afternoon and we STILL do not have pressure.  My heart can't handle this!


Girl's Night Out.  Who doesn't love a good GNO?  Wednesday night I went to the big city with some of my friends for supper and a movie.  We met at Olive Garden by the mall and I stuffed my face with that deliciously amazing salad!  And then I ate a little of my chicken parmesan so I could bring the rest home for lunch Thursday.  :)  Then we all went over to the mall theater to watch Magic Mike XXL.  Girls, I have to say I think it was better than the first one!!!  There might have been less dancing (gasp! How dare they!) but the story line was better - not so serious (you know, the whole drug thing).  Loved it!  Laughed and giggled and held my breath, ha ha!  A great GNO movie!

And my most FAVORITIST FAVORITE of the week -- quiet times with my little guy.  *sigh* He just melts my heart.  He threw his loopy toy (what do you call these?) up on the couch, than grabbed his Snuggle Blankie and crawled up beside me while I was reading blogs on the laptop.  He snuggled that sweet blankie up on his lap just so then pushed the little beads all around and made motor sounds.  Again, *sigh*, heart melting.  :)

What's everyone doing for the 4th?  I hope you have fun celebrating our country's Independence Day!

My New Camera Lens!

About 2 years ago I got a DSLR camera, the Canon Rebel T3.  I have loved this camera from the minute I started using it!  It takes awesome pictures!  My only complaint was that the lens didn't zoom in enough when I was taking pictures at the boys' sporting and school events.  They look like tiny ants when they're out on the field or up on the stage.  Because of this I have been wanting a lens that will really zoom in and still take nice pictures.  I couldn't justify the price for one of these lenses after having just spent the money on this camera.

About 2 weeks ago I decided it was time to bite the bullet and get my lens.  I was shocked to see how much the prices had dropped!  My camera is now 'old', they are up to the Canon Rebel T5, so anything to do with my T3 is much less expensive.

I ordered the lens and it came on Friday, right after Aiden's last baseball game. Darn!  I hurried up and unloaded the package and snapped that baby on to my camera!  I just wanted to take a few test shots with it, see what I could do with it in a few clicks.  I stepped out onto  my back deck steps, looked around and decided to take a picture of my coneflowers.  When I pulled the camera up to my eye at the end of my lens was a beautiful butterfly (or moth?) resting on them!  Here are the pictures I took.

Can you see in the last picture his white 'tongue' sticking out, sucking the nectar out of the flower?!?  How cool is that? And I captured it!!!  I was so thrilled, I came running in to the house to put the pictures on my computer and show Andy.  So excited to use this lens!