September 13, 2010

She's Got Gills

Why she calls herself "Phoebe Fish"

September 10, 2010

Half-Baked!

Today is the official half-way mark of my pregnancy. Twenty weeks down...about twenty more to go! Aaah! Only twenty more weeks to go. Take a deep breath Self! Change is a comin'. And such is life. It is forever changing. As I think about all of our wonderful friends and family, I cannot help but wish we could visit you all. It is September friends, and remember that is always a bit of a nostalgic time for me. Read a post from last year, Almost September, and remember how much we love and miss you all!

September 6, 2010

IT'S A .......

So Friday was the big day. Our long awaited trip to the "baby doctor", as Phoebe refers to him. With my first pregnancy, we wanted that magical moment. The months and months of anticipation for that one amazing announcement: "It's a...." And when Phoebe was born my response was, "Of course it's a girl." It didn't seem to surprise me. What a magical moment, meeting her face to face. There are few things in life that compare.

This time around, Xee made it pretty clear from the get-go that he wanted to find out. He needed to know. He wanted to be prepared. "Okay," I said. We could do it that way this time. And so Daddy took the day off on Friday, and the three of us headed out the door, on our way to take a peek!

We arrive at the office...I'm feeling a tad bit nervous-I've never done it this way before. How will I feel?....A cold squirt of gel on my belly...the wand swirls round and round. Long pauses and measurements taken by the doc...baby is moving all over the place...And then...THEN he tells us the big news.

"Are you sure?" I ask.

"Well, these things are never 100% sure, but I can confidently say that I am at least 85% sure."

Tears welled up in my eyes. This moment was more special than I had expected. We are so happy to know this kiddo in a more intimate way. Hello baby!

Is the suspense killing you?

Well, have a look for yourself...


Is it clear to you? Anyone having trouble? Hint: That is not an arm, or a leg, or an extra-long nose....

IT'S A BOY!!

We are very excited about meeting our little guy. Finding out this incredible news just confirmed what I have felt in my heart these last 19 weeks. Xee and I have always believed we would have one girl and one boy (at least), and we believed God placed that desire in our hearts that He might later fulfill that promise in our lives.

Names? Don't ask....some things must remain a mystery!

And Phoebe? What was her initial reaction?

As we left the office, I said in an excited voice, "So kiddo,what do you think? A baby brother!"

Her response: "URGH!"

Later that afternoon we stopped by a park to play. Daddy started asking her all kinds of questions about what she was going to teach her brother when he arrived. She just kept her quick stride toward the swings and sighed, "I don't want to talk about it!"

The baby brother thing has grown on her a bit in the last few days. Though her opinion that girls are better still weighs heavily, she is already obsessed with finding boy presents for her younger sibling, and she wants to know when she can start sleeping with him.

We are all still digesting the fact that another person will be joining our family in another 21 weeks or so. Very exciting! We will keep you all posted.

Wave goodbye, baby!


Fresh Start To My Day

9:30 a.m. It's early yet, and I just caught myself putting away the dirty dishes from my dishwasher....oops!

9:37 a.m. Just squashed a pesky, little gnat with my bare hands.


That's better. Let's begin again, shall we?

September 2, 2010

Progress Report

Alright, so I realized the other day that most of you aren't able to track baby's progress by checkin' out my growing belly. You are just too far away. Sorry I haven't posted more pictures. I will do my best to keep you updated.

I am feeling great and the headaches have decreased to almost none! Hooray! I am always wishing I had the opportunity for a daily nap, and I currently have the appetite of a 16-year-old boy. Our family continues to grow excited at the anticipation of meeting this little one in my belly, who, by the way gets very active both when I eat, and of course, when I am sleeping (or trying anyway).

This is what I like to refer to as "the beautiful phase". Everyone tells you how beautiful you are, and well, you believe every word and take it all in. People have yet to say things like, "Are you sure you're not having twins?", "Wow! You sure have gotten BIG!", and "Gee, your face is so...puffy!" These are not figments of my imagination...only sweet memories of being prego with my darling Phoebe. Despite my super healthy diet and exercise regime back then, I managed to gain a whopping 57 lbs! The midwife was as shocked as I was, but could not complain about my diet and therefore summed it up to be that I just had "a lot of water".

So far I am way under the amount of pounds gained last time around and I am convinced that I have Miss Phoebe to thank for that. I think I am still burning more calories than I can possibly pack in during the day! Whatever happens, I am just hoping not to have to give away every single pair of shoes I own and start over with a half-size bigger foot this time around! Seriously though, I love being pregnant. It is a privilege to be the vessel for this new little life to develop. There is no greater honor or joy in this life for me. What a sheer blessing it is to be a mother.