A Hike in the Park

This weekend we went to the park that's very close for a little hike. The girls had fun looking at the local wildlife and the highlights were that they saw four gopher tortoises and one woodpecker. Eric did some running and sprinting and I just did my best to keep up with the entire gang. Anyway, it was beautiful outside and we had a nice time. I took lots of pictures and here are several of the girls.

21 Weeks

Okay, so this is the baby and me at 21 weeks. As you can see, there is a nice vein running right along this side of my body. Pretty, isn't it? Next time I'll have to manage to shoot our better side, or maybe, just pull my shirt down. Thankfully, this accessory will disappear when the baby makes an appearance!

So yes, we have an appointment tomorrow and hopefully things will be great! I have begun shopping up a storm already (mostly basics with a little boyish-flair) and am beginning to think of the baby's sleeping arrangements. He merely has a corner to decorate, as he'll be sharing space with mommy and daddy, therefore, we want to keep it simple. I did order him a funky, red mobile Calder-style and am excited to see it.

My appetite is INCREASING IMMENSELY! Uh oh, right? Yeah, but there's still no telling what I'll crave. Today we've had banana pancakes and I don't think we'll be wanting them again anytime soon. So that's pretty much it for now. Oh, and of course, the search for the name continues. We're pretty settled on it, but are not sure it's a perfect match. And with us, you never know when we might change our minds. I have been calling the baby by this name and trying it out and we're getting rather used to it. Whether other people will be receptive to this name, is a different story. At least people are probably not expecting a conventional name from this group, so I don't think we can surprise anyone too much, right?

The Page-McCain Family

Ariane

Alivia

Emeryck

Last week I was oh-so-lucky to visit Shannon, Patrick, and the kids in Georgia! I am only so sad I have not done in sooner, considering how very close they really are. It was so special to be able to see everyone and the girls are growing up so fast! The new baby was so tiny and so beautiful and being there I remembered just how much work new babies require but how special and fleeting that time with them is. I felt like I could see him growing before my eyes! Shannon and Patrick were so wonderful with him and you instantly feel how much love they have for this new, special, little person. The girls are just wonderful and have such unique, special personalities and I loved being able to see them after so long. Little Ariane is the happiest, bubbly thirteen-year-old I have ever met and just so clever and fun and little Alivia is so polite and kind and athletic. I loved watching her swim like a fish! I really hope to visit them more often, especially seeing how easy it was to get there and knowing how much I really miss them. Shannon and Patrick were so wonderful to tolerate me and take me in and I can't wait to see them again! I should say I was utterly lazy there and didn't even take many pictures, like I had planned to. I didn't even get pictures of the new parents! Hopefully, I be more disciplined next time! I miss you guys already! Thanks so much for making me feel welcomed in your lovely home!

Trampoline Fun at Scott's

Last weekend we went to Eric's co-worker's home for an outdoor cookout/party and the kids IMMENSELY enjoyed the trampoline set up in the backyard. They could've bounced all night and with the amount of bouncing, they ended up sleeping all night. They were certainly tuckered out but had a blast.

The Toothless Grin of Hadley

Some shots of Hadley this past week as she lost multiple teeth. I can't believe one is already coming in! Her big teeth are literally forcing the baby ones to leave. She's getting so big. She's growing up so fast.

It's a BOY!

Well, here they are, or here HE comes! The cake clearly indicates we are, indeed, having a little boy! Eric could not believe he was wrong. He's truly lost his mojo. He said he "felt to the core, that this baby was a girl." I felt the opposite, but really thought we would be the four-girl-family despite how I was feeling. Having a boy is going to be such a new experience for us and now we must count the days til we meet the little guy. Everyone was so thrilled for us, well, everyone, except Imogen, who just couldn't figure out how we could not be having another girl. She really gets into routines and a boy is definitely new for this family. I feel so lucky to experience a boy and while the pregnancy has been challenging in different ways, I wouldn't have it any other way. Now it's time for me to obsess over names, my VERY favorite part of pregnancy. So, if anyone has any suggestions, I'm always willing to take them into consideration!

Proud Parents

The Whole Gang - Gram Grams (you can see her hands!)

The enclosed picture

Okay. So I've included the baby's gender photo and I have to say, it has me a little worried. The tech seemed VERY certain of the baby's gender, claiming "the baby showed that area A LOT!" This picture is not anything like I've seen of other little boys' ultrasounds as it almost seems to be a side profile instead of a direct shot. The baby was awfully feisty so maybe that's the reason for this angle but I have not ruled out seeking a second opinion, I'll admit.

18 Weeks & HUGE!

Last but not least, here I am at 18 weeks. The dress DOES make me look larger than I am, but I won't deny that I AM large! Seriously, I have no idea how I will carry this little one to 40 weeks or more! I can't breathe now! What will I do for the entire summer?!!

And Baby Is....

Yesterday morning we had an 18 week ultrasound to see how baby's developing, to make sure things are looking structurally good, and to determine gender. I have to say, I prepared myself for any surprises and sounded most ridiculous during the procedure. The first thing the tech looked at was the heart. Since our baby was very, very active, she was not able to see the left side of the heart for sometime. I could feel our baby doing somersaults, let me tell you! Our Jellybean, was "having too much fun in there" as the technician put it. I even questioned if the baby had a left side of a heart, fearing for the worst. Eventually she was able to see everything, but I think it took at least twice as long for this baby. For every picture she had to get of the wee one, she spent extra time trying to get shots during the ruckus, not to mention responding to my silly questions, such as, "Does our baby have two kidneys?" after finding the first one. Poor lady. Everything looked great though. Woo hoo!

As far as the gender is concerned, many of you know of our plan to be surprised tomorrow evening. Wanting to include the entire family in this event, we decided to have the local bakery make a cake with the inside frosting in a specific color that would indicate if we are having a boy or girl. We gave specific instructions to our ultrasound tech. to refrain from revealing the baby's gender during the exam and upon its completion to write it down on a piece of paper and seal it in an envelope where I would take it to the bakery, the baker would open it, and bake a cake with pink or blue frosting inside of it, depending on what that card said. So, tomorrow evening we are going out to dinner with everyone and for dessert we will cut into this cake to find out what to expect! Eric VERY, VERY strongly predicts girl, Hadley is dying to have a baby brother, Imogen calls girl, Tatumn has no idea, and me? Well, with this pregnancy, I'm STILL sick ALL the time and it has always felt very different than the other three pregnancies. Logic has always said I'm having a girl, not to mention being swayed by Eric's prediction, but I have felt very strongly that it is a boy, if that makes any sense to the rest of you? I will say, Eric has been "off" recently and his latest predictions have been wrong for several people we know. So, tomorrow's big event will be exciting for many and we look forward to sharing the news with everyone!