Boy or Girl?

We had such an exciting day. I hardly slept last night, woke up late this morning with a tummy filled to the brim with fluttering butterflies. I felt like I was in that anxious, nervous, panicky state of mind; it kind of reminded me of getting ready for our wedding day, lots of nerves but all good nerves.

Ashley and I met Jason at the doctor's office and I proudly wrote my name on the ultrasound waiting list. I kind of expected to wait at least 10 minutes (until the time of my appointment) but just as I was settling down into my chair I heard my name. I could feel and hear my heart beating like crazy (which of course made me nervous since I was having my blood pressure taken right after the ultrasound). We walked in the ultrasound room, it was so much bigger than I remembered and it felt like it took the tech 30 minutes to get set up (in reality it was maybe 2 minutes). I took one last glance at Ashley and Jason before my eyes were fixated on the screen. This was it, no turning back! We saw the baby with its hand up against its forehead- quite the dramatic pose. Then the kid started to pull its legs up to its head, very flexible I thought. The tech measured the legs, the head, checked the brain and it was "beautiful" as she said, the heart had all four chambers and was beating at 149 beats per minute, the tummy, kidneys and bladder were all great. I sighed with relief and was so happy to have a healthy baby. Then we moved on to the serious task of finding out what this kid was. The tech finally froze a frame and started explaining the shot. I was freaking out. I knew the first second I saw Ashley's ultrasound that she was a girl, it was as clear as could be and I couldn't see anything on this shot, no little thingy poking out. I swear my heart stopped beating and then she said, "those are the boy parts". I think anyone in the office heard us cheering. My head did a psycho exorcist twist to look over at Jason who was beaming from ear to ear, such a happy dad to have his sweet little girl and now his rough and tough little boy. I am so happy for him. I think we're all still in shock, how is it possible to get what you hope for AND have a perfectly healthy baby?? We will be adding Colin Peter Brick to the family on the expected date of Aug 28, 2008. There was a question about my due date being a week behind and he measures a week ahead of the Aug. 28 due date but because of my high blood pressure and the fact that it can inhibit the growth of babies we're sticking with the Aug 28th date to make sure this little guy has enough time to cook. Like I said, we had a wonderful day!

12 hours

As I type this we are exactly 12 hours away from the BIG appointment! I'm excited and nervous (a good nervous). I can't wait to give this kid a name instead of calling the poor thing "it".

Apparently my tummy has officially popped and I look pregnant. Peter and Sandy dropped off Jason and Ashley from their desert trip and they were all in shock because my tummy grew so much while they were gone. I love having a pregnant belly. I never forgot how often my big belly got in the way when I was pregnant with Ashley, I always thought it was funny. When I was painting Ashley's pictures this weekend I was wearing a tank top that wasn't equipped to cover a prego belly so it kept riding up and I ended up getting paint on my belly, the first of many belly mishaps.

I'm off to bed where I'll try to pretend to sleep, nights like this remind me of trying to sleep the night before school starts- impossible! This is the last time of not knowing so I'll probably be up to enjoy all 12 hours of it.

We'll let you know how everything goes tomorrow.

A Crafty Weekend

I've been childless and husbandless since Thursday afternoon and figured I could use the time to do something productive. I decided to paint some pictures for Ashley's room and new letters to spell out Ashley. I also changed out pictures in her frames and have them ready to hang. I'm not sure if those things really sound productive but oh well.

I found these paintings online at Posh Tots but they were like $180 a piece so I decided to go to Michaels with my 40% off coupon and get a two pack of canvases for $14.00 bringing the grand total to $8.40. I'd say that beats the $360 they were asking for online. I tried my best to recreate the pictures, they're not exact but they work for me. I also painted new letters for Ashley, I just need to hang them on the wall but I figured our neighbors would appreciate me waiting since it's 11pm.

I spent about 3 hours on the computer last night looking at every single picture we have (very productive, huh?). It made me sad and happy. I loved seeing all of the memories we've made and all of the smiles from fun stuff we've done but it was hard to see how quickly my little girl has grown up. It was also sad to see how OLD I've gotten since Jas and I got married, YIKES! Then it dawned on me that Jason and I will have been married for 6 years this June and we will have known eachother for 11 years this August, that seems like a really, really long time. I feel really lucky to have my little family and I'm so excited to add the newest member to the clan.

Baby has been fun lately. I feel like it's moving around a bunch more and starting to kick me (it's cute now but in 3 months I'm sure I'll be begging it to stop). All the flips and kicks have kept me company, it made me realize that I have a little companion everywhere I go. I also can't get babies off my mind. After looking at old baby pictures of Ashley and knowing it's only hours before we find out if it's a boy or girl is making me nuts!


I can't wait for my hubby and girl to get home. I miss them A LOT! I miss Ashley's morning hugs and kisses, her millions of questions and stories, hearing her sing and talk to her toys and her smile. I miss waking up with Jas in the morning, the excitement of Daddy coming home and sharing dinner and the evening with my friend. I also miss having my bodyguard at night because I'm a big chicken. I've heard noises twice while I was typing this and had to check the locks on the doors and windows and make sure that no one was on the master balcony (all with the phone and a knife in hand- embarrassing, I know). I'll be posting soon- at the latest on Tuesday to let you know if we're thinking pink or blue.

Since I don't have any fun pictures from the weekend I'll post the results of my "productive weekend".


The pictures from online



My version






Waiting to be hung up



The new photographs for Ashley's frames

5 months

Last night I took a bath hoping it would magically make me fall asleep before morning came (no such luck) but I did end up reading parts of the What to Expect When You're Expecting Book. When I was pregnant with Ashley I read that book every day, several times a day. I think I've picked it up twice with this pregnancy and haven't been too interested in anything it had to say. I'm starting to feel guilty about my lack of interest this time around and the fact that I'm not obsessing over every detail like I did with Ashley. It's not like I would really have the time to read all of the books and websites like I did back then but it still makes me feel like I'm already neglecting this kid.

Anyways, I took my bath, was scanning through the book, still not really interested in what they had to say and then I saw it. The chapter titled "The 5th Month" and below it read 18-22 weeks. I think my jaw fell open and I sat in shock for a minute or two. How could I really be five months pregnant already? It scared me but excited me at the same time. When I found out I was pregnant I was excited because we had the holidays, Ashley's Birthday and the move to keep me busy and distracted so the first trimester would fly by. Little did I know the first HALF of my pregnancy would fly by this quickly. HOLY MOLY! So then I started figuring out different dates in my head, how many weeks until school gets out (I've been telling myself I'll really be pregnant when school is out, what was I thinking? I'll almost be delivering by the time school gets out) I started to realize there isn't much time. I started to wonder if I hadn't picked up that book if I would have woken up one morning and been 9 months pregnant without knowing how I got that far.

It was a strange moment and I guess I feel like I'm really pregnant now, at least that's what the book tells me.

Can't sleep

I'm up and not sleeping like I should be since I'm so tired at the end of each day. Why does that happen? You feel like you can hardly get through the afternoon and dinner but by the time you're done washing your face, brushing your teeth and saying your good nights you're wide awake. It makes me crazy!

So, I don't have any pictures to post from the weekend but felt like blogging. We are having a crisis in the baby department. Jason and I can't settle on boy bedding we both like. If it's a girl we're using Ashley's crib bedding because we loved it so much. I'm getting antsy not knowing the sex of this kiddo so I'm preparing for the day I do know but it's hard to prepare when you can't agree.

We're also struggling with boy names- I hope these struggles aren't signs that we shouldn't be worrying about anything in the boy department. Since I feel like we've thrown around the same names for the last year or so(and I'm not in love with any of them) I'm asking for suggestions. We like traditional names that aren't necessarily the most popular names used. I guess I didn't love being one of 5 Kelly's in my classroom during grade school. I love different names but I'm a commitment phobe with them so I'm going the traditional route. If you have any name ideas send them our way. FYI here are my requirements:

-The middle name is Peter if you weren't aware.
-It has so flow when you find yourself in a position where your child is being naughty and you have to throw all three names out.
-I like nicknames, so I love names with good nicknames.
-It has to be cute for a kid yet it also has to be a strong manly name so his business cards will look good.

I know, you're probably thinking I'm a nut. You're probably wondering why I'm really blogging about something so silly especially when I don't know if it's even a boy but oh well, that's me. I guess it's just that I LOVE Ashley's name so much and I want to feel the same way if it's a boy this time and I just haven't found that name yet.

I'm off to bed for a second attempt at sleeping.

Preparing for Spring

About a week before St. Patrick's Day I picked up a kit for dying easter eggs. Ashley didn't seem to notice the purchase at the time but she hasn't let me forget about it since we came home that day. I've been asked to make easter eggs a few times a day since then. I told her you can't make Easter Eggs until St. Patrick's Day is over. Then the question changed to her wondering if Patrick's day was over. Finally Patrick's day had passed and it was time to make easter eggs. You should have seen the joy and smile bloom on her face when I told her it was time.

She always likes to help me make dinner and be a part of any process going on in the kitchen so she quizzed me with about 100 questions while I was dissolving the dye tabs in each bucket.

Ashley loved dipping the eggs in each bucket and was so proud of her final product, I have to admit I love opening the fridge to be greeted by brightly colored eggs, despite the egg smell they have.

Baby Update

I had my follow up appointment since being put on blood pressure medication today. The doctor said my blood pressure was PERFECT, she wouldn't want it any lower or higher. YAY! After she checked my chart she was standing next to the ultrasound machine and said,"Would you mind... (I have to pause right here. My heart started racing because I sooo wanted an ultrasound today to find out the sex, knowing that we're finding out in two weeks is making me crazy and super impatient)...if I check the baby's heartbeat" What a let down, of course I told her it was fine and Ashley loved it. So everything went well, I changed my next ultrasound appointment to March 31st since I don't babysit on those days, adding one more day to the wait (why am I torturing myself??)

Just a side note, it's really embarrassing to take a toddler to the doctor with you. They take a urine sample every time I go to the doctor and for some reason that's the only thing Ashley remembers about the "baby doctor". So while I was signing in she loudly asked me if I was going to pee in one of those cups again. I quietly told her yes and to use a whisper voice. Then we went to the bathroom and she was a like a sports announcer loudly giving a play by play of the whole thing(which is extra special in a bathroom next to the waiting room that echoes). Luckily Jason will be at the next appointment so I can avoid all of that.

I almost forgot to wish you a Happy St. Patrick's Day! I'm Irish and growing up there was always a plethora of green food on March 17th making it fun and special. Unfortunately, I dropped the ball this year and I'm not wearing green (luckily I haven't told Ash that you pinch people that don't wear green), we didn't have green milk, green food or green treats, what kind of Irish mom am I?? I looked in the fridge and the only green stuff I have to offer at dinner is lettuce, I'm not sure that would fall under a "fun food" category. So I'm feeling guilty and off to the market to find something the leprechauns might have left behind. Have a great night and enjoy a green beer for me!

Girly time at fashion island

I heard that the babystyle at fashion island was still open and they were having a great sale. I waddled my way to the store with Ash to see if they had any deals on their maternity clothes. I was in luck! I picked up some tank tops for $1.99, two blouses and a "fancy tank top". All of the baby stuff was on sale and it made me so mad because I don't know the sex yet, I wanted to buy some of their super soft gowns and jammies but I did find a soft satin trimmed blanket in cream that Ashley and I decided would be cute for the baby. So now I have more than three shirts to wear and the baby has its first prize (the check out lady told me they expected to be open for a few more months so I'm sure I'll be heading that way after I find out the sex).

After being in baby land we played in the fountains with some doggies. Ashley insisted on looking in the holes that shoot the water up, I tried to tell her she'd get an eye full of water but the fountain decided to make me look like a liar because it never happened. Ash loved watching the golden retreiver "gobble up" the water when he jumped. It was so nice to watch her play while I sat in the sun and got toasty warm.





After the fountains we grabbed a bite to eat and went on the merry-go-round. Warning: if you're pregnant shell out the extra two bucks to ride a pony instead of standing. I was being cheap and it ended up making me really dizzy, I felt like I was going to fly off the ride (that would have been cute).

After our ride we went home and took naps, not a bad way to end the day. I love my girl and our girly days. I don't want her to grow up but it makes me look forward to many more days like this as she gets older.

Somersaults

Last night we were all sprawled out on the couch about to go to bed when I felt a slight poking from the baby. FINALLY! It reminded me I'm actually pregnant :-) I told Ashley and she put her ear up against my tummy and then jumped back and said, "Ouch, that baby kicked me!" She continued to do that about 3 more times then it was time for a serious conversation. She told me to be really quiet so she could hear the baby and she said, "Hellooo! Baby, are you in there? Are you doing flips in my mommy's belly?" She waited for a response and then said,"Great! I can't wait to see you one day!" It was so sweet, I can't wait for us to know what it is so she can use its name when she's having baby conversations.

I thought that was exciting but when I was waking up this morning I rolled from one side to the other then finally settled on my back and I just happened to have my hand on my tummy when the baby decided to do a somersault or something because it moved enough for my hand to feel it from the outside. I can't wait for this belly to get big so I can sit and watch it kick and roll around from the outside, that's one of my favorite parts of being pregnant.

I just had to share the news because it's exciting and it reminded me that there's a little kid coming soon. My belly is finally starting to go from a beer belly look to a baby belly look. Jason said yesterday when he came home was the first time he really noticed a little baby bump growing. I just want to be huge so people aren't left wondering if I've been pigging out on donuts or if I'm pregnant, they'll know.

Oh! I almost forgot. When I was pregnant with Ashley I had one dream at about this time in the pregnancy of me looking at her in her crib and she was a girl, that was the only time I had a dream knowing the sex of the baby before we found out in real life. Well, a few nights ago I had a dream it was a boy so I'm hoping it works out the same way it did last time.

Keep your fingers crossed!

Cousin Love

Dylan helped me get Ashley up from her nap yesterday. Somehow he ended up in bed with her and there was lots of giggles. Froggy even managed to get in a picture.

Oh How I Love You

For everyone that has been begging for house pictures you must know I love you because it's 10:55pm and I'm tired and missed out on my cheesy tv shows just for you- you know who you are.

Some of the pictures were before dinner and some were after so you'll get to see Jason snoozing in our bed. Please excuse the unorganized pantry and my not so pretty bed since Jason was in it and I put Ash there while I took pictures. Sometimes the pictures get loaded on the blog in a funky order, sorry I'm not feeling up to figuring out which code is for which picture and moving them around. I think most of the pictures are self explanatory. We have a patio off the front door and a two car garage. Downstairs there is a dining area, family room with fire place (and that fireplace with snazzy decorations), a pantry, Ashley's toy closet which still needs some organization, a powder room and the kitchen. When you get to the top of the stairs you face the laundry room, to the left is the desk and master to the right is the kid's bathroom, ashley's bedroom and baby number two's room. The door to the left of the television in the master bedroom leads out to our balcony. I think that should explain most pictures. As we get stuff more organized and decorated I'll post more pictures. UGH, enjoy, it's 11:30 and I have kids comign at 6:45 tomorrow- I'm pooped.