It's A . . .

The cupcakes we used to reveal the gender of the baby

On December 6, we found out the sex of our baby. We originally decided we weren't going to find out. When I had an ultrasound at 15 weeks, the tech couldn't determine gender, so it didn't matter if we wanted to know or not. When we went to this appointment, I was 19 weeks, and the tech (it's always the same guy) asked what the baby was. We told him that he wasn't able to determine at the last appointment. He asked if we wanted to know, and before there was even any discussion, John blurted out "yes." So, he told us what my intuition knew all along. We are having a baby GIRL! John promptly said "but I already have 2 girls." And the tech, who has a very dry (if any) sense of humor responded "well, now you have 3." We were so excited to know, although I kept telling John "I'm sorry it's not a boy." I know ultimately we both just want a healthy baby, but I also know that he wants his little boy. For now, he will just have another girl who will wrap him around her finger.

Once we knew, the discussion started about what to do with the information. At first, we decided we were just going to live with the knowledge, but still not tell anyone else. I was worried about how Kassie would react, because she has been very adamant about only wanting a brother. It's not like there is anything we could do to change it, but a tempremental teenager isn't always the most level-headed person alive. So, for a while, we just lived with the little secret between the 2 of us.

I was excited that we could start saying "she" and "her" instead of "it" or "the baby" all the time. But, eventually I really wanted to say something. I made a small slip in a comment to someone on Facebook, and my mom jumped all over that. She knew that we knew, and it was killing her that we wouldn't tell. So, we decided to make a game out of it with my family at Christmas time.

On Christmas evening, after dinner, we told everyone that we had dessert. First, I made everyone pick a pink or blue napkin, according to what they thought we were having. There were a lot on the boy wagon out there, because my brother Brent was the only one who picked pink. We had ordered cupcakes with pink frosting injected in the middle. So, when everyone bit into their cupcake, they would see what we were having. We made everyone wait and start eating at the same time. My mom's reaction was priceless. She was genuinely surprised, and excited at the same time. After having 4 brothers herself, and then raising 4 boys, she's pretty excited about all the granddaughters she has.

It was a lot of fun to be able to tell my family at the same time, with such a fun activity. I certainly didn't think of it myself, but it was still a lot of fun. Now, to pick a name . . .

Everyone with their napkin

Choosing a cupcake

Getting ready to "dig in"

It's another girl! A priceless reaction

Brent was the 1 girl "picker"
(The next day, Rachel also chose pink)


Inside of the cupcakes

Mommy and Daddy to be

Scott, Cory, Rachel and Emily got to find out the next day

Emily got her own pink cupcake

Christmas 2011

Our Christmas "season" started out with a trip to Elgin to celebrate with my mom's side of the family. In order to facilitate everyone's schedules, we got together on the 17th. It was a week early, but good that everyone could make it.
At a recent doctor's appointment, we found out the sex of our baby. At first, our thought was that we still weren't going to tell anyone, even though we knew. I mistakenly made a comment on facebook that my mom honed in on like a hawk. Then, she started giving me a hard time about it all, so John and I discussed how we wanted to reveal the gender. We put a plan in place, but it wasn't going to take place until Christmas. My mom has been convinced we are having a boy, and after this recent development started to give me a hard time. At first, she told me she was going to buy me a bunch of things for what she thought we were having. Then, she changed her mind, and said she thought it was a boy, so she was going to buy a bunch of pink things, and our little boy would have to wear pink. While John and I were getting dressed to go, I realized that we were both wearing blue shirts. I knew my mom would zero in on that for sure, and think we were sending a message. So, we decided to play a little game of our own. We stopped at Wal-Mart, and bought a $5 pink shirt. It was a ladies shirt, but all we could find. So, we showed up for Christmas dressed in pink and blue, and told my mom we were ok with boys wearing pink. She didn't think it was quite as funny as we did, but a bunch of other people got a chuckle out of it! We had fun hanging out with family for the afternoon, including the traditional White Elephant gift exchange. There were some fun things this year, and we actually came away with something useful. I traded for an opened package of pull-ups, which my aunt Diane said they had only used a few. I figure we will need them at some point, so why not get a head start??

Our gender "joke" on my mom

John's parents were the only ones of his family in town for Christmas, so we had a low-key get together with them on the 22nd. They came over to our house for dinner and to exchange gifts. We had a nice time visiting with them, and ended the evening packing to leave the next day.

Again, we were fortunate enough to spend a long weekend with my family for Christmas. John's restaurant closed on the 23rd and the 26th, so we were able to head out of town. We left early on the 23rd and made it to La Vernia early in the afternoon. We had a lot of time to spend with my family - eating, playing games, eating, watching football, eating, exchanging gifts, eating, talking, and did I mention eating? It was nice to just relax and hang out, as we know next year will be far different for us! It was different for us to have Kassie here with us this year. In the past, the only times we have seen John's girls for Christmas is when we have traveled abroad. I think it was a very different experience for Kassie to see so much family at the holidays.

My family's get-together was on the 26th. My brother Scott had to work Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so we did our Christmas when everyone could be there. We had a fun time, and had our own White Elephant exchange. I think Emily enjoyed it the most, because every gift was for her - or at least in her mind. Every time someone picked a gift to open, they would ask her to help and she would say "another present for Emily." I don't think she noticed that she left with far less gifts than she actually opened.

We had a great time, and many times pondered how on Earth we will make this trip next year, when we will have much more stuff to pack. Even with a decent sized SUV, we had to cram stuff in. Our dogs are really going to start cramping our style!! We might have to start saving now for the cost of boarding them.

After church on Christmas Eve

I've definitely got a baby belly now

My Birthday

Yesterday was my birthday. My 36th (yikes!) and my last without a child. I'm ok with that. There are times that I wish this adventure was starting a little earlier in my life, but that's not how things were meant to be for me, and so I'm embracing them as they come. There are many advantages to starting a family at a younger age, and I suppose less risks as well, but I can't dwell on those things. I am thrilled that we are having a baby and adding to our family!

My birthday was low-key, which is what I wanted. It was our last day of school before the Christmas break, and I spent it with a bunch of hyper 5 year-olds. After a day like that, I really wasn't up for anything with a crowd of people. We were supposed to have game night at my friend Wendy's house, but her husband got sick, and she didn't want to expose any of us to it. It was kind of a bummer, but my best friend invited us over there instead. She and her boyfriend cooked a fantastic dinner, and we hung out and played Phase 10. I would have enjoyed a glass of wine or 3, but there's always next year.

Overall, it was a really nice day/evening, spent with some people who are dear to me!

I Found The Bliss

Everyone says the 2nd trimester is the best time of your pregnancy. I've finally discovered what everyone is talking about! It took a lot longer than 12 weeks to get over my everyday nausea. Not that there is anything saying that it will only last 12 weeks, but a lot of people, including my doctors, told me to hold on until about 12 weeks and it should get better. Once 12 weeks came and went, and I finally got Zofran, things started getting better. It really took until almost 20 weeks (halfway) before I wasn't nauseous on a daily basis. If genetics have anything to do with it, this may be what I'm destined for with any future pregnancy, because it's what happened to my mom. Although it can really get miserable to suddenly feel like you're about to lose the contents of your stomach, I don't really have any other symptoms to complain about. I have been feeling really good, although I get around a little slower than before. I haven't gained any weight, but my shape is definitely changing. Almost all of my pants still fit fine, but I'm starting to have issues with most of my shirts. My "baby belly" is sitting higher, and my shirts just don't seem to cover as well as they used to. At least I'm not in need of a whole new wardrobe at this point.

I can see why this is the good trimester. I have started feeling baby flutters, and that is exciting. The first time, I was laying on my side watching TV in our bedroom, and it was kind of like a rolling pin rolled across the inside of my stomach. Weird for sure, but so exciting. For now, it's mostly still just little flutters now and then, but I love it every time I feel it.

Below are pictures from my most recent ultrasound. I told the tech I wanted a good profile picture for our Christmas card, to which he replied that good pictures aren't up to him. As if on cue, our little munchkin decided not to be so cooperative. We got a decent picture, but not as good as I was hoping for. The baby was facing backwards, and refused to turn over. Of course!

Our baby at 19 weeks, 4 days

I cropped the picture for our Christmas card