My goodness, I can't believe it....

I had my ultrasound on Friday....everything apparently looks great with the baby....it's measuring about a week ahead of schedule, but my doctor says he won't move the due date (it will probably come a couple of weeks early anyway, like the boys). The placenta is NOT in the front, like I assumed.....Susie the ultrasound tech said I should start feeling it move more in the next couple of weeks. While I was in there, the baby kept trying to curl up and she had to keep pushing at it to get all of the measurements.

And as for the baby's sex? I lost all willpower and just couldn't stand to wait. Dean had just left with the boys (they were fairly well-behaved but starting to get a little rowdy). The ultrasound was almost over and I asked Susie if she knew the sex yet. She said, "yeah, I think so." (We had told her at the beginning that we didn't want to know.) I just couldn't help it.....I burst out, "is it a boy?" and she said slowly "I'm thinking not.....are you sure you want to know?"

At this point I think I went into a bit of shock, and I think I still am. She showed me a couple of pictures that she had already taken of the "three coins," as she described the girl parts. It looked very clear and I couldn't believe what I was looking at. I just knew this was a boy. Then I asked if she'd take another picture and write "it's a girl" so I could show Dean and surprise him. Based on this picture I still am not 100% convinced.....I probably would have guessed "boy" looking at it (you can't see the three lines in this particular picture). But I do trust her and I guess she knows what she's talking about.....I'm probably just not going to paint the room or anything until I have some further confirmation! Dean thinks I am crazy.

So of course I'm excited.....it's just weird to think about having a girl, since now I'm so accustomed to boys, boys and boys. I remember while I was growing up thinking a few times that it would be ideal to have two boys, and then a girl (so she'd have big brothers). Of course it wasn't something I thought a lot about, but I remember it crossing my mind more than once or twice. It overwhelms me to think that this was God's plan all along, and I realize how blessed I am that I have been given these precious kids.

Yesterday I went to Carter's to use a coupon and to take advantage of Memorial Day sales. I have to admit that it was super fun being able to legitimately look at the girl side and shop for pink clothes! With both boys, we had girl names picked out before we knew the sex (boy names have always been harder for us). So now it feels weird that a girl is actually something we are planning for, instead of just being a "maybe someday" idea.

More updates on the boys coming in the next couple of days.....they've been doing some really memorable things and I hate that I don't get more chances to record all of their funny antics....

Teaching little brother a lesson

While we were making cookies today (both boys were on their stools "helping" me, and apparently Drew dropped/threw something on the floor):

"Look at me right now, Drew. Drew, look at me. When you throw things, it makes a big mess. I'm not mad at you, I'm just telling you."

19 weeks

I turned 19 weeks yesterday and I have my big ultrasound this Friday! I guess I haven't mentioned this on the blog.....our plan is to wait to find out the sex this time. I've always thought it would be fun and exciting to be surprised on the day of the birth. Of course the drawback is that I can't plan for a girl, if that's what it happens to be. And sometimes I wonder if I'm just going to break down and say, "okay, just tell me!" when I'm on the table and the ultrasound tech already knows the sex. I'm hoping I'll be able to keep my resolve! Mainly, I'm hoping it will help me concentrate on the health of the baby.....it seems like I hear so many stories about sick babies, so I really just want to see confirmation that it's healthy.

A few stats this week:

Size/Movement: According to my 19-week baby center email, the baby is 6 inches long, head to rump (not including legs). The size of an "heirloom tomato." I think it's so funny that they always choose vegetables (many times, obscure ones!) to describe the baby's size. It's hard to believe that it's so big now.....I can still hardly feel it moving! Once or twice a day I'll feel a few little punches in a row, but it's usually very low in my tummy....so I'm wondering if the placenta is, indeed, sitting in a spot that blocks some of the movement.

Eating habits: This pregnancy, in my first trimester it hardly even crossed my mind to be conscious of what I was/wasn't eating. Oops! It hit me about 6 weeks ago that I need to be eating more calcium and protein than normal. I remember with Drew reading that a pregnant lady is supposed to have about 70 grams of protein every day. This is hard to do! So I've been trying to drink a glass of milk every night, with my packet of hot chocolate with added calcium. And I'm trying to snack on lunchmeat and cheese when I get a chance.

Nursery: We're combining the study and guest bedroom, so the guest bedroom will become the baby's room. It's already painted a pretty beige color and we have brown drapes, so I'll probably just leave it the way it is (although I might paint the crib wall a darker brown). I found some cute letter and number wall hangings at Kirklands back in April.....definitely gender-neutral. We don't have any of the furniture moved or pictures hung yet. I don't think Drew's anywhere close to being ready to move out of his crib, but I want to get started on the baby's room soon. I'm thinking about buying another crib on Craigslist so we're not having to rush to get Drew into a toddler bed in the next few months. (Because while I know the baby's not going to be sleeping in his/her room for weeks/months, I still want to have the room all ready!)

How I'm feeling: TIRED! The boys have been waking up at 6:05 for the past few weeks. Thankfully Drew's been taking longer naps, so I usually can plan on a break of at least two hours in the afternoon.

My friend Kari (just had her third boy) told me last week to get all of my little projects done before the baby comes. I know this is true! I always have probably ten or fifteen projects I'm trying to work on (right now it includes painting rooms, getting caught up on our 2009 picture album, landscaping projects in the backyard, organizing a closet, organizing my recipes, etc). I'm consciously trying to work on those while the boys are napping, which is the main reason I've been so bad at blogging. I so desperately want to make it to October feeling like I've accomplished a lot this summer, and not stressed about all of the things on my to-do list that will have to be pushed back indefinitely once the baby comes. But I also want to enjoy time with my boys, and I don't want to be so consumed with my to-do list that I forget to have fun too.

San Antonio quick trip

We've been talking all spring about taking the boys to San Antonio; we figured Grant would enjoy Sea World, but we wanted to go before all of the big kids get out of school (and if we waited until the fall, I think I'd be too uncomfortable!).  Dean was able to take off three days last week, so we made an impromptu trip.  We drove over on Thursday, planning to go to Sea World on Friday.

During the entire drive, Grant kept insisting that we go swimming when we got there (he thought we were going straight to Sea World).  So we went to the hotel pool as soon as we checked in....it was a square pool and an entire half was only three feet deep.  It was perfect because Grant could stand up in it.  He's been taking a 6-week session of swim lessons (he had to miss the last one on Thursday), so he was able to practice his paddling and kicking with Daddy.  And he was just so proud of himself that he could stand up in the pool.

That night we ate dinner at the Riverwalk, and the boys enjoyed watching the boats ride by.  Drew is good at "b" words and he learned "boat" that night....he'd point and say "boat!" (more like "bo") over and over every time he saw one.  He also has to make sure we acknowledge him; he'll say, "mama! dada! mama dada mama dada!" until both of us look at what he's pointing to and say "oh, yeah, I see it!" 

Then we went to the Alamo....the kids were fairly unimpressed, I think!

This was the funniest thing that happened during our trip: in the "backyard" of the Alamo (you know what I'm talking about if you've been there....it's a wide open area with a few other old buildings and lots of trees), we told Grant he could play for a while.  So off he ran.  About ten seconds later, I look over to see him standing about ten feet away from us, all by himself in the lawn, with his pants and underwear pulled down to his ankles.  He was about to go pee!  We both gasped and said, "no!"  It scared him and completely embarrassed him.....he immediately started crying.  I don't make a habit of letting him go pee anywhere (although I definitely will if it's necessary), so I don't know what he was thinking!  In such a sacred place, no less!  :)

We played by some fountains on our way back to the hotel (you don't notice until you have kids how many fountains there are in the Riverwalk area).  

Friday morning we woke up to dark skies....it rained ALL morning, until about 2pm.  It was a complete downpour.....we obviously picked the wrong day to go to Sea World (and of course this was the first time it had rained in San Antonio in weeks!).  It was also about 62-64 degrees all day....and of course I hadn't brought any long-sleeved shirts or jackets for us to wear.....oops!  But we found some fun things to do instead.  First we went to the Witte Museum.....in itself it wasn't worth a visit, but they had an amazing temporary dinosaur exhibit.  I don't know if these pictures do it justice, but those dinos were extremely life-like.  The rooms were dark and the dinosaurs were LOUD!  Most of them were very scary looking, so the boys were fairly freaked out!

Then we went to the San Antonio Children's Museum.  The boys' favorite areas were the grocery store and the life-sized airplane that they could sit in.  Drew thought he was such a big boy, throwing groceries into his own cart!

We ate dinner on the Riverwalk again that night, then got the boys a treat for being so well-behaved at dinner.  They LOVED this dipped cone from DQ, although neither of them wanted to give it up when it was the other's turn (of course).  Drew dove into it with each bite, but he thoroughly enjoyed his first ice cream cone!

Drew is really sick today....he's had a 101 to 103 degree fever since last night.  So all day today he's just wanted to be held.  Poor thing....he doesn't seem to have a tummy ache but he obviously just doesn't feel well.

And tomorrow is Grant's last day of school.  Oh no!!  I haven't explained to him that school's about to be out for the summer, but I know he's going to be disappointed next week when he can't go see his friends.  It's hard to believe that the year is over and summer is basically here! 

17 weeks

This past week wasn't our greatest.....Dean counted up the hours he worked and it was something like 78....I can't remember exactly. Thankfully that hasn't happened much in the past year, but he has another busy week coming up in late May. Yuck! Those days when I'm by myself with the boys from sunrise through bedtime are so hard. I can't imagine being a single mom....

I am 17 weeks today! I cannot believe this....already almost halfway done? It still feels like I should be 9 weeks along. I'm feeling fine now....nothing to complain about except maybe being a little extra tired (but I think I'd feel that way anyway). According to Baby Center, the baby is about 5 inches long from head to rump (the size of a turnip, if only I could remember what a turnip looked like!). A few things about my pregnancy at this point:

Movement: Not much! I swear I first felt it move around 12 weeks, and definitely by 14 weeks. But I don't feel it very often.....just a little twitch here and there (and only when I'm sitting or laying still). This made me a little worried going into my checkup last Monday, but my doctor found the heartbeat and everything seems to be fine. He said that if the placenta is sitting in the front, it can be hard to feel a lot of movement. I think both of the boys were much more active at this point, so I'm hoping it just means this will be a calmer, easier child!

Belly: Yes!! Dean took my first belly picture yesterday. I think it popped out earlier this time than with the boys. Two weeks ago,when I was at 14.5 weeks, two ladies from church (at different times) gave me that funny look.....like they wanted to ask, but they didn't know if they should. Since then, random people will ask me when I'm due or other questions, so I guess it's fairly obvious now (at least when I'm wearing a form-fitting shirt. It's not nearly as obvious if I'm wearing a button-down or something like that).

Maternity clothes: I still haven't had to wear any maternity shirts (I love that shirts are made so long these days....not only because I'm tall and I don't have to pull them down in the back every time I bend forward, but also because they are perfect for early pregnancy!). But I haven't worn a normal pair of shorts/pants in weeks. At least I can wear the same maternity clothes again....I've been pregnant with all three in the summer!

Cravings/aversions: The only aversion I still have (and pretty much the only one I ever had) is coffee. It just ever doesn't sound too good to me (of course white chocolate mocha from Starbucks always sounds good, but at over $4 a cup it's a once-every-four-months treat!). If I'm especially tired and make myself a cup at home (which is at least a few times per week), it usually tastes okay. As a side note, the boys love helping me make coffee in my new Keurig coffee maker (a gift from Mom and Dad Sloan last fall). They think it's so fun to put the canisters into the machine and they always fight over who gets to push the buttons!

Like my pregnancy with Drew, I crave salads. And sweets!

The boys' reactions: Of course Drew has no idea. Grant does....and it's fun this time around, telling him about the baby and hearing how he talks about it. He knows not to jump on my belly because he doesn't want to hurt the baby. He'll mention to people that his mommy is going to have a baby. Sometimes he says it's a sister, other times a brother. Once when he said he was having a little brother, I asked what we should name him. He said, "Sister!" And when I showed him an ultrasound picture of the baby, he said, "he has a pirate hat on!" Is it obvious what his current obsession is??