Quick, before I get Sidetrack'd

Just have to write a quick post in response to Cindy’s comment. I, fortunately, do not have Webb ears; however, I will show you pictures of M and L who are both classic examples. As for hair color, that’s a toss up, there is blonde, brown, and red on both sides of the family…we’ll just have to wait and see on that one. Eye color very well could be blue since all of my family has light eyes as well as one side of M’s family.

From the ultrasound I think her mouth is shaped like M’s (although it was moving the whole time which would take after me :)) and she has a cute little nose that turns up a bit.

It will be fun to see what she looks like when she graces us with her presence in a few months!

BTW – those of you waiting for belly shots…we now have some on the camera, hopefully, I can get them uploaded tomorrow or Saturday.

Sorry I’m a day late (though, hopefully, not a dollar short); I know that many of you have been anxiously awaiting the boy/girl announcement. So here goes…Oh, first let me say thanks for the many happy birthday wishes yesterday!

Alright, so you want to know what the baby is? It’s a girl! Boy is it nice to be able to refer to the baby as “her” as opposed to “the baby” or “it”. It does, however, mean that we might have to take back the cute pirate onsie that M picked out for the baby a few weeks ago. I’m still debating about the onsie because, although it is trimmed in blue and pirate themed, it is the first thing we bought for her.

The ultrasound tech and the doc both said that everything looked good on the ultrasound. We saw 2 hands with 4 fingers and a thumb (per hand that is), 2 long skinny feet with 5 toes each, 2 eyes and 2 ears (doesn’t look like she is going to have Webb ears, she will be glad of that one day), the bones in her arms and legs, the chambers of her heart and the arch of her aorta, all of her ribs and vertebrae, the perfectly formed little nostrils and nasal bones (ruling out cleft palate), the dark areas that are her kidneys and bladder, and in some of the pictures we have you can see where the plates of her skull are coming together and the “dark matter” that is her brain. They say she weighs about 12 ounces now.

The whole process was amazing (as those of you who have experienced it can attest), and M and I really enjoyed seeing her and knowing that everything looks just like it should. It is amazing to think of how God has knitted our precious little girl together in His image and like no other person He has ever created. It really makes me stop in awe and wonder when I think of the intricacies of the human body and how each one is created uniquely and for God’s own purpose.

I hope to get some “belly” pictures posted before too long, and if we can scan the ultrasound pics I’ll put some of those up as well.

Thanks for caring about us and the baby!

Manchester doesn’t seem to be going over well with the masses. Try this one on for size: John McAllister. We are also maintaining Marmaduke as the fall back option (thanks Uncle R for the suggestion).

Thanks to you all for your suggestions for “M” middle names. Some of them were quite interesting, and they provided plenty of conversation the last few days.

I know some of you (especially Nicole) will be glad to know that we really do have thoughts on the subject! Now it is just a matter of waiting until next week to see whether it is a boy or a girl.

I would love to hear your suggestions for names for baby. Just because you like it doesn’t mean I’ll like it, but we will definitely take any suggestions into consideration. The big search right now is for a 3 syllable boy name to use as a middle name with John (a name starting with M is a big plus).

Thanks in advance!

We are approaching the close of week 18 of the pregnancy. It’s hard to believe we are almost half-way there! I’m enjoying the second trimester more than the first for several reasons: (1) no more sickness (2) my belly is beginning to show which makes the whole thing a little more real for both me and M (3) only 1 week, 3 days until the ultrasound!

For the last few weeks I’ve been able to feel some sporadic movements; the first several days I wasn’t sure if it was really the baby or not, but within the last couple of weeks they have become a little stronger and more regular. I can’t wait until M is able to feel it as well. It is so cool to think about the tiny life moving around in there and how God created this baby specifically for our family. What a glorious God we serve!

On the ultrasound note…our appointment is set for 1:00 on Monday, March 20th. As most of you have already heard, I think this is the coolest birthday present ever! I will be sure to post something later that day so that everyone will know (don’t worry Moms and N – We’ll give you a call).

Thank you all for your prayers, encouragement, and interest as we are experiencing so many new things!