It's a Girl

Its official.  We're having a little girl.  It still feels like its settling in - but we're absolutely thrilled.  

Its really no secret that we've thought all along that we were having a boy.  I had read about several of the old wives tales about predicting gender based on all sorts of things- morning sickness or lack there of, where you gain your weight (whole body or just tummy), when you conceive and how old you are (Chinese calendar), looking back at your husband's family tree and birth order, etc.  Everything had pointed us toward boy, and wanting to pick a side when people asked, I began claiming "boy" at about 12 weeks.  So much for gut feelings and old wives tales! 

The day leading up to our apointment (Monday, December 19th) was so slow.  The appointment was at 3pm and Colin and I both went to work in the morning.  I didnt have any more trouble than usual sleeping the night before, but I definitely woke up with the thought on my mind "we find out today!"  I had enough to keep me busy at work, but was still pretty distracted and checked the clock way more than usual.  Colin's job is structured so that if he has appointments, he has to take a half sick day to leave work for them, so he was off at noon.  I was so jealous, but he was a rockstar and brought me lunch.  FINALLY, at 2:30, I left work and we headed to the doctor's office. 

Maryann, the sonographer, was hilarious.  She asked us right away if we wanted to know, and we didn't have a doubt in our minds.  It was amazing to see how much Baby Beck has grown since our last appointment!  Maryann was quick to find what she was looking for and burst out saying "I know!  Do you want to know?"  Colin was standing beside me holding my hand, and we both said yes. 

"She's a girl!"

We were shocked.  Speechless, really.  I had tears in my eyes (which is really nothing new, i cry at every sonogram and ultrasound), adn I looked up at Colin and his eyes were glistening a little too.  I looked back at Maryann, "really?" I asked!  She showed us that our little lady wasn't being much of  a lady for the time being and it was pretty darn clear.  Maryann actually said she was 100% sure that we are having a girl. 

She spent the next few minutes taking measurments and showing us where little girl's head is in relation to my belly button and how she likes to keep her hands up near her face, as if she's about to suck on her thumbs.  She was wiggling a little, but not as much as last time.  The rest of the appointment went pretty quickly and I was anxious to get out to the car to start calling family.  My granny had one of the best reactions, but everyone was so wonderfully excited for us. 

I wanted to get some cute shoes for a photo idea I had (the one above) and after venturing into the baby girl's clothing section at Buy Buy Baby, I can see how easy it would be to go overboard.  I found so many cute things and had to stop myself at these three items. 

I just can't get over the pink!!!

I think I asked Colin two or three times if he was excited.  He's just SO great with all the rough-and-tumble boys at church, and we haven't had the opportunity to be around as many little girls- and I just wanted to make sure that he wasn't disappointed.  He reminded me that he is the one who for the last 2 months has been telling me it would be a girl because of how convinced I was we were having a boy.  He made sure that I knew he was excited about having a little girl- and it was confirmed by his reactions when he was telling his parents and grandpa.  He's even been talking about baby names with me now (finally!).  And, to top it all off, he brought be beautiful pink flowers at work yesterday, wrapped in pink tissue paper and with a "baby girl" mini balloon.  So thoughtful....

 
So, the half way mark has come and gone.  We're officially well into the second trimester and I feel like I need to get started thinking about when baby girl actually arrives.  Let the nursery planning, name debating, and pink perusing begin!

Almost Half-Way There

I cannot believe that we’re already just a few days from half way through this pregnancy!  Its amazing how the time goes.  We have an appointment on Monday to find out whether this little one in my belly is a girl or a boy, and I just felt the need to post once more before we find that out.  Not that I’ve been that consistent anyway…but that sort of plays into how low-key this has all felt up until now. 

I read a few blogs here and there, mostly friends and acquaintances, and I noticed that there were many people who didn’t post much through November and early December, and I kept using it as my excuse to put off writing anything as well.  BUT, now that just about everyone has caught up and posted something, I’m giving myself a swift kick in the behind and taking the opportunity to write some of those thoughts swimming around in my head before I forget them (which seems to be happening a LOT quicker these days). 

I am so thankful for how easy this pregnancy has been so far.  I have heard story after story of friends and friends of friends who have been in and out of the hospital or in bed all day, or even worse, trying to take care of other little children while super sick.  I have other friends who feel like they haven’t been able to stop worrying their whole pregnancy and theres this constant nervous energy.  I don’t know that I believe there is such a thing as “normal” during pregnancy anymore, but I certainly wouldn’t call any of those things abnormal—which is why I have felt so blessed these last few weeks by the blanket of calm that seems to have draped over Colin and I.  We’ve had these super sweet moments together, just talking about what our family will be like.  Decorating for Christmas was so much fun this year—I can’t imagine what it will be like next year with a little baby (probably of crawling age) to get into everything. 

I’m just going to take a moment to brag about my rockstar husband for a second.  He’s going to be the best dad!  After we read in our 19 week update that the baby can probably hear our voices now, Colin will randomly bend down to my belly and say things.  We’ll be sitting on the couch talking, and he’ll lean over and involve the baby in what we’re saying.  In fact, the other day, he was whispering something and I couldn’t hear, so I asked him what he said and he replied “this one’s between me and little fella”.  Which brings up a whole other point.  Have I mentioned that Colin and I are convinced this peanut (or more like grapefruit these days) is a boy?  We have no medical proof, but almost all of those old wives tales- like heartbeat, Chinese calendar, morning sickness, etc- seem to point toward a rascal of a boy.  So, Colin’s taken to calling ‘him’ “little fella”.  I asked what was going to happen if we’re wrong and find out a girl (because, lets face it, we only have a 50/50 shot of being right), and he just said “then we’ll call her ‘little fella’!”  It made me laugh.  I love seeing him play with all the kids in our bible study group.

I had a moment earlier today where I wondered if I was really ready to find out the gender.  Things have just been so easy-going that I’m a little afraid that knowing what we’re having will invoke this crazy rush of activity over picking out names and nursery stuff and clothes, etc.  But, I know that will happen anyway, and I think it will just have to be a decision to continue to enjoy the small moments.  Wow, now that I’ve started writing, I want to share all of these other details- like what those first few movements have felt like in the last week, and some of Colin and I’s funny name conversations, and they way the little kids I tutor have reacted to finding out I’m pregnant….but I’ll have to save those for another time.

Baby Bed on a Budget

I've been spending a little time on Pinterest.  Have you been there?  It's pretty amazing.  Lots of beautiful pictures of everything you can imagine: food, style, parties, and my favorite: various design ideas for every room in the house!  It amazes me when I click on someone's board for their "home" pictures and see that every picture has similar colors or themes, that they all look a like a house where the rooms would flow into one another.  I just can't do that.  When you click on my boards you inevitably only find about 5-10 pictures because I'm too indecisive to know whether its "worth" putting on the board (unless you're on my food board, in which case there are a million new recipes I want to try), and all the pictures are completely different styles.  Last week I loved the soft muted beiges and grays.  The neutrals with pops of white and pretty textures were exactly what I loved.  This week?  This week I want bold colors and bright patterns, I want interesting art and unique wall hangings. Basically, I have no specific style and I just pick what I like, but half the time it doesnt really go with other things I like. 

For this reason, I hae been a little nervous about decorating a nursery.  Do I do bright and fun and with colors this baby can grow into and enjoy for years?  Do I do something more soft and muted since babies can't really see many colors at first anyway?  I was really stuck between white versus dark wood furniture for a while and had perused a couple of stores (mostly Target and Pottery Barn Kids) for ideas, when I happened upon the most beautiful set in White!  Where did I find this perfect pair of baby furniture? 

Craigslist! 

Oh how I love a good deal and believe me, this was one really good deal.  A family in the suburb just north of us has had this crib and changing table for both of their boys for the last 7 years.  Its a Berg crib, which has a great reputation, though they are no longer making baby furniture since they were priced out of the market.  I had jumped on Craigslist a few times just to see what was out there and hadn't really loved anything I was seeing, or if i did love it, it was still over $500 or $600 for a crib, which could certainly be a good deal for some manufacturers, but I knew I had time to really look around.  Then, I saw the post advertising this furniture!  The pics were beautiful, it was white and looked big and sturdy and had a really beautiful shape that would work for a boy or a girl!  I emailed Colin immediately, directly followed that email with an inquiry to the lady asking if it was still available.  She said she'd had a lot of interest and it was on a first come, first serve basis.  I convinced Colin to go up to Mason and look at it with me, and we got it!  There are a few minor scratches that I can easily paint over and we had a fun time figuring out how to transport it home, we went two nights later to pick it up.  This family is seriously so sweet.  They aren't planning on having any more kids, and they're moving across town, so it was time for them to get rid of it.  The mom was teary eyed as we were taking it away.  But get this, in those 7 years, she had kept the instructions, all the additional parts including a few needed if we ever convert it to a toddler bed.  So organized! 

Here's a pic of Colin putting it back together in the room that will eventually become the nursery (Colin's currently hard pressed to give up his workout room). 

He was so cute.  He kept exclaiming how well made it is and how he couldn't believe its all hard-wood (no plywood!) and "check out those joints" and "wow, we got a great deal."  Let me tell you this, Baby Beck, when it comes to building forts, tree houses, doll houses, etc, you are one lucky kiddo to have Colin as your daddy. 

Here are a few pics of it all put together (without the bedding of course, which we're waiting to pick out once we find out what we're having!):

(sorry these pics are a little dark)

We were just SO excited to find something we love at a great price.  We've been talking a lot about our budget lately, because its important to us to continue to live debt free (we put a lot of work into paying off our credit cards, school loans, etc and now we just owe on the house) even though I'll be leaving my job to stay at home with baby.  So, things have been pretty comfortable with my income and we know we'll have to tighten up a lot when we're just living on Colin's.  I want to be smart and its been a lot of fun to get great ideas from friends (especially you lovely ladies at church) about where to get great maternity clothes, kids toys and books, etc for super inexpensive. 

For all of you Cincinnati people who haven't been to the Gap Clearance Outlet in Kentucky, CHECK IT OUT.  Wendy and I went a couple weeks ago and I got some amazing deals.  It is connected to the distribution center that handles all the defective merchandise though and they don't allow returns so make sure to check everything you're buying for holes and stains.  

I have so much more to share about the latest shopping, doctor, and baby adventures, but we'll save those for another day.  I need to be a responsible adult and go vote!

Cute pre-bump closet?

So, I've been feeling a little frumpy lately...being in that not-quite-so-flattering stage of pregnancy where my belly isn't so flat anymore, but I'm definitely not showing that precious pregnancy bump.  SO...feeling like a lot of my clothes aren't quite fitting right, and definitely won't be in the next few weeks, I've been on the hunt through some style blogs and various websites to get an idea of what's inspiring me for fall....both before the bump, and hopefully a few things that will carry me through the coming months as well. 

Here's the current wishlist:

1. Fantastic pair of riding boots.

2. Classic Fall Tunic

(p.s. did you know plaid is big this season.  yay!)

3. Cozy Comfy Sweater Wrap that goes over anything

4. A couple great scarves- in a fun pattern or pop of color.

5. Wedge Booties

(and I'm naive enough to believe I will wear them with cute leggings and a BUMP)

A few more things on my wishlist:
1. fitted blazer that won't look too silly when my bump sticks out
2. statement necklaces
3. maternity jeans that actually fit well
4. headbands to dress up the "blah" hair days
5. a great belt or two (on the skinny side) to accentuate my not-so-skinny pregnancy

This is Really REAL!

One of the funny things I've found about being pregnant, is that they are often times throughout the week/day/etc where I completely forget altogether that I have a little person growing inside of me!  I'll be in the middle of tasks at work, or conversations with friends and either something will be said or my body will have a funny feeling, and its like- "Oh!  Yeah!  I'm pregnant!"  Its sounds funny to actually say or type out, but I doubt I'm the only one. 
BUT...today Colin and I had our first official appointment with our Dr (whom we LOVE) and after the blood drawing, and scale, and medical history, and pap smear, and discussion about all the prenatal tests, we got the ultrasound and we saw our little one!!!  It doesn't just look like a jelly bean anymore- we saw little hands and feet and face and (s)he was even kicking and waving.  Our fabulous doctor took the time to point everything out to us and introduce us to our little person from a variety of angles, and then she turned on the sound.  It. Was. Beautiful.  I couldnt help the tears from streaming, and I think I saw a little glisten in Colin's eyes too. 
Yep, we're pretty excited!