A New Face

As meaningful follow-up to my previous post, and also perhaps a reason behind my blogging infrequency and negligence of significant matters...

It's time to introduce our newest face!

Our sweet baby BOY due to arrive September 13th. We are overjoyed to be expecting a new addition to our little family and excited for what is in store for our growing group.

Right now, I am almost 23 weeks along and enjoying the benefits of the second trimester. Belly still small enough not to be completely uncomfortable but big enough to 'show' off, feeling the baby move, preparing for his arrival, and feeling pretty well overall! It's been a very, very full past 4 months and things have been a little crazy (crazy good, but still crazy!) but we've made it past the halfway point and are excited to shake things up with a boy at the house!

This pregnancy has been quite different from my previous in many ways. I was (am?) much more fatigued, particularly during the first trimester when coupled with a few other little medical hiccups. With Caris, I was nauseous almost constantly but never 'sick' and with this little one, I felt much better overall, but when the nausea hit, was definitely 'sick'. From early on, we could tell from ultrasounds and finding the heart rate that this little guy is already much more active than his sister, who we used to bribe with sugary treats for in-utero peeks and is still our lounging/snuggling queen. The weight gain/belly growth I think has also been different. I have been able to fit in my clothes much longer this time around, but I think I 'showed' baby sooner. It seems to be going by MUCH quicker, chasing a two-year old and working and managing the house speeds the process along! I feel a lot less anxiety about what to prepare and each nuance of pregnancy. It's been nice! Fun to see how different things can be from the get go.

And of course, the big gender reveal! We love finding out the gender and were both very excited to see what we had in store this time. I honestly had a feeling it was a boy because I just felt so different, but at the same time, with all the girls in my family I felt that surely it was a girl! We kind of lucked out because one of our good friends was on a rotation that gave her access to an ultrasound machine. So, we got an early few peeks on a few nights she was on-call. It was kind of fun, sneaking up through the hospital with Garrett, late at night, Caris at home with a sitter, and spending time alone with our new little one. The first try, Garrett left VERY convinced it was a boy (and Garrett isn't easily convinced of these types of things). The second peek was just me and my friend, and at that point, we were both convinced.

Blue it was! Our 20 week sonogram confirmed our early peeks and now we are into all things boy! I think since we are inundated with all things girly, pink, and purple with Caris, we are wanting VERY boy type things. Blue, green, animals!! So fun.

We think Caris is excited to be a big sister. She seems to get it. Largely in part of the fact that my sister just went through the process and Caris LOVES baby Annabelle. Although for awhile, when we would talk about the baby in Mommy's belly, she would point to it and say 'Baby Anbelle?' Now she calls it 'Mommy's baby. Baby brother'. She is sweet and cute already about the baby. We took her with us to the 20 week ultrasound and she loved seeing the baby on the big screen. A few weeks later, we were watching TV and a commercial with a sonogram picture came up and she said 'Look! Mommy's baby is on TV!' I got such a kick out of that.

We can't wait to meet our new little BOY!! It's such a joy to see how our family is emerging and what that looks like for us as we build our little life. It's been I'm sure I will be more than ready come September after spending a summer in Houston pregnant....

What a sweet blessing this little guy is already. Now if we can just agree on a name....