Exciting Week

Things haven't slowed down and they probably won't. I love this weather and all of the extra excitement it brings. Working outside, sitting on the porch, enjoying the views, hearing the girls laughter as they play, and the list goes on.

The week started out busy and with much anticipation as we counted down the days until G-day (gender day). I was nervous, but not Josh or the girls. A lot of me feels like that excited, anxious, eager child on Christmas Eve who is full of anticipation. Some of me feels somewhat unknown. If you know me, you know I like to know that I am a planner and a list maker. Unknown things make me nervous I guess. That is, unknown things that I would need to think about. In the last few years, I have read my fair share of blogs and even known several people personally who have experienced more than their share of heartache when it comes to babies. There are those who adore children and would love to have some of their own and struggle. Then there are others who get a poor diagnosis with a less than happy outcome. I know that even in announcing a new baby to some it brings that sting. We have some friends who found out they were expecting shortly after we knew. We weren't telling anyone, however when they told us of the loss, we tried to be sensitive and not shout...well we're pregnant. We gave it several weeks so that it wouldn't seem like we were rubbing it in (that would never be our intention). So, all of that to say we don't take new life for granted and have felt so blessed by those who said they are praying. One cannot ever have to many prayers spoken on their behalf. We pray, our children pray.

The girls are so sweet and cute. They pray that the baby will be healthy and strong and they even put the little part in that they would like a sister. I wholeheartedly believe that Jesus takes special interest and gives special attention to the prayers of the little ones. The Bible mentions so much of this and we want our children to learn this from as early as possible.

By Wednesday, I would not be thinking about it and then somehow remember and then be nervous. With the nerves I would pray. We enjoyed a lot of family time on Wednesday since Josh was off that evening. We even re-arranged the girls' bedroom.

Thursday came and we had a few things to do before our afternoon appointment. We did everything that we needed to do (it was a WINDY day). It was like the day was moving along slowly (unlike most days). We ate lunch, and then headed out to our appointment. The girls had their dolls with them and Aliyah was hoping for twins (even though we already knew it was only one). I knew that my blood pressure would be up from all of the extra anticipation and excitement (more on that later). They called me in (first stop--weight check). Isn't that everyone's favorite part?? haha Well, I lost almost 3 lbs. Yes, I know...I do the opposite of typical. That's 3 lbs. with just having lunch and with my shoes on. I'm sure most of that is due to the Flupocalypse that we experienced last week.

I continued to be nervous. The sonographer who was very nice and kind asked us if we wanted to find out what we are having. ABSOLUTELY! We like suprises, but remember what I said about that planning thing earlier. Yep, I'm a planner. She then noted that she saw a couple of pink shirts and wondered if that meant anything. I think we said mmhmm, but I don't know. She informed us that she would look right away.

Still nervous...she begins and comments about how active this baby is...yes I've been feeling this for MANY MANY weeks now. The baby was moving everywhere. So much that I couldn't even get a look very well. She then asked us if we were ready? YES! She said, "you're having a baby.........................................(insert more nervousness in here)............GIRL". At that point, my cheerleading days returned as I put both arms up in a high V and shouted "YES". Aliyah and Keirah were excited and Aliyah told me that now I could relax.

The sonographer was smiling and laughing. I don't know if we amused her or if she loves what she does or loves giving good news or maybe all of the above. One of the first things she looked at was the brain. Her comment was, "that is a good looking brain". I LOVE to hear that. She continued showing us things like kidneys, the heart, and we took a listen (156), the stomach, legs and so on. She was doing measurements. I caught many of them, but there is so much going on that I didn't catch them all. The head measured 20w3d (I was 20w2d), the stomach was 20w5d, and some of the other things measured 21 and above. SHE weighs 12 ounces (right on track). The sweet little one kept on moving like crazy! Her legs were over her head in pike position and she was grabbing her feet. A couple of items I noted: she has that same leg shape as our other two as well as the same nose. We saw a pair of feet, ears, hands you name it. The sonographer at certain times would push a button that would change it into 3D/4D. We haven't ever had that type of sono before, but WOWOWO the clarity was amazing! She looks just like the girls (so cute). The sonographer told us as we went along how awesome and wonderful everything looked which was such a blessing. She finished by checking again and said, "Yep, it's still a girl, even though I was sure the first time". We were sure as well as she has the photo and showed us a still shot.

We left the room euphoric. It was like one of those days that goes right in with the best days of your life. There is nothing like seeing a sweet little life as it grows and then the blessing of health. We feel overjoyed and blessed beyond imagination.

The doctor came in and re-iterated how well everything looked and measured me (right on track as well). We then scheduled our 24 week appointment. That's the diabetes test one. Please pray that this time around that can be avoided.

We left with plans to purchase pink cupcakes to share the news. It was so fun to share the news with family and friends. It was a whirlwind day, but one of the best!

The sweet little pumpkin decided to continue the party at 3:30 am until right before 6 am. I love parties and I'm glad I was invited, but WOW I was on the tired side the next morning. She was busy in there moving around. Josh has even gotten to feel her move now.

Friday was work for both of us, and then I went shopping. Maybe more on that purchase later.

Now, I am working on finding the things we need for baby. Our stroller had a wheel that always had to be pumped so that was my first order of business. They are $50 each on the site, however I found 2 of them on ebay for $34 including shipping. That part is taken care of =) yay! Today, I went to Toys/Babies 'R Us to look for a baby seat, however they had a grand total of 2! You heard right...2! Well, I'm guessing I will order it since they have so many more choices online. While there, I checked on the cribs. We had kind of decided on white or off-white, but the espresso color was pretty as well. I'll have to think about that some more. I had hoped that I could find a nice used one at a sale. I haven't seen any cribs at garage sales this year though. Yes, we sold ours because it would be 8 years old. Unlike days of old, a lot of this stuff like car seats and cribs expire. I had purchased the bedding at PBK, however I noticed that I could get the same one on ebay much cheaper. The PBK bedding was returned. We plan to strip and stain the floor a dark color. It will look great. Our former neighbors did this in their house and I love it!
So, on the hunt I am!

This post is EXTRAORDINARILY long so I will close! It's a GIRL!