It's official!

After anxiously waiting for the 20 week ultrasound, we found out last Thursday that we are having a......



GIRL!!!!!

We are super duper excited and we can't wait to meet our little angel....  Avalyn Morgan will be here around April 30th....  We chose this name for many reasons, all of which hold some sort of symbolism in our hearts....

See, if we had a boy J always said he wanted to name him "Eagle"....that wasn't going to work for me-EVER.  So, as a way to compromise, I started researching names that meant eagle, without actually having to say it....  that's where Ava comes in.  Apparently, Ava means eagle in Greek mythology.  The "Lyn" part of her name comes from J's mom, Linda. It's obvious why we chose this.  Morgan was my dad's middle name, and I wanted to remember him.  So there it is.....but I think we'll just call her simply Ava. Love it :)

These past few days have been hell!!!  After the big reveal on Thursday, I said to everyone how easy this pregnancy has been and I couldn't wait to see how easy giving birth was going to be.  Then, God played a funny trick on me. After a quick trip to the ER on Saturday morning, it turned out that I had a kidney stone!  Well, wouldn't you know it, pregnant women can't be treated for kidney stones.  They have to pass on their own!!!  Let me just say, if I can survive that kind of pain, childbirth really will be a breeze. I wouldn't wish that kind of pain on my worst enemy.  Thank God it finally passed last night!  It was about the size of a 1k diamond ring!!!  OUCH.

On a positive note, we think we've bought ourselves a home...I don't want to jinx it just yet.  After several counter offers between ourselves and the sellers, we've come to an agreement.  I'm not getting to excited yet, though.  J is meeting with the inspector today, so once we pass that, then I'll jump for joy and start packing.  I really hope everything turns out ok, because I was really struggling with not being able to experience the whole nesting aspect of decorating Ava's nursery.  With us being in the rental we're in now, I wasn't allowing myself to get excited over baby decor....now I think (hope) that we get to experience that!

I'll know more this afternoon about the inspection and hopefully will be able to return here with great news.!

19 WEEKS!!!

Well, we are almost 1/2 way there!  I can't believe how fast time has gone by.  It seems like it was yesterday when I saw those 2 pink lines on my HPT.  I was at work on Monday, August 22nd, and took a test in the hall bathroom.  The second line came up immediately.  I texted my friend Ally to come in there ASAP, because I needed another set of eyes- I just knew I was dreaming!  She saw it & I started shaking uncontrollably.  I was so scared, excited, and in complete awe. Honestly, my first thought was "Linda has everything to do with this...Thank you God!"  In all that J & I had been through over the past month, getting pregnant was the very last thing that I thought would happen.  I was so convinced that I wouldn't conceive until everything settled down, so I had pretty much been getting drunk every night for four days in a row (from Thursday night- Sunday)  No, I'm not a lush, but we had several family & friends that had get-togethers, so the wine was free-flowing. I can't resist good wine!  :)  These past few months seem like such a blur to both J & I. As time goes on, our excitement and anticipation grow stronger.  And my belly keeps getting bigger!

We found out last weekend that two of our girlfriends are also preggers!  I'm so excited that I'm not the only one in our circle of friends!!  One of the girls is 4 weeks behind me, and she's married to J's best friend.  The timing couldn't be better!  We'll get to be on maternity leave together and our kids will be close.  The other couple is due in August, I believe.  They haven't officially told us (secrets are hard to keep among all of us), so we've been practicing our surprised faces ;)  I think they're waiting until they get out of their 1st trimester to tell us, which is understandable. After getting this great news, it just confirms our having to wait so long for our baby was all just part of God's plan!  I'm grateful for how this is all playing out & I don't think it should be any other way.

We have 6 days to wait until we find out the sex!!! J & I can hardly stand the wait....Whatever it ends up being, I'll be excited & I know J will be too.  Even though he REALLY wants a boy, since he is the last male in our family with our last name.  He got really emotional about it the other night...It was hard to not laugh, but aren't I the one who should be emotional?  It's sweet to see him so excited and happy about all of this...I love that man.

We keep forgetting to take pictures of my belly...I'll probably regret that later.  I'm to the point that I can't see my toes anymore, so that should give you some perspective on my growth.  I love it, but I am kind of missing my waistline. It will return, I'm sure though!  I'm anxiously waiting for some definite action from this baby.  I want to feel some kicks, punches and rolls.  I want J to be able to feel it too.  Hopefully, it will happen in the next couple of weeks!  If there's one thing this baby is teaching me, it's patience. Believe me, I've definitely needed it! 

I will post again next week after we find out......  eeeek!

Blog Award

Thanks Courtney at Our Pathway to Parenthood for this nomination! 

Now, the rules of the award:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award!

2. List 7 things people may not know about you.

3. Pass the award to 15 other bloggers and notify them as well.

 

Seven things about me:

1- I love music...all of it anywhere from Etta James to Def Leopard to Alan Jackson to Outkast. It's all good to me and puts my mind at ease. Music was always on in my house growing up, so I was introduced to all sorts of different styles.  I really regret not learning to play an instrument...I did ask for a drum set from Santa when I was younger, but he never came through for me. Damn, Santa.

 

2- I love to dance!  My mom put me in dance lessons at the age of two and I haven't stopped since. It's in me, it's a part of me, and I hope that my kid inherits that love from me! I used to say that I wanted to be a back-up dancer for Britney Spears...would have been cool!

 

3- When I dream at night, the dreams almost always involve water. Whether it's an ocean, a river, or a pool, there's water.  It's the weirdest thing.  I wonder what it symbolizes?

 

4-I think I'm sort of psychic.  I get premonitions about people...for example, when I was younger I had this extremely bad feeling about an ex-boyfriend's (who I hadn't spoken to in 6 months) grandmother (to the point that I was feeling nauseous), so I called him & told him how I was feeling. He said that he was actually at the hospital with her and she wasn't going to make it through the night. Stuff like that happens a lot with me.... 

 

5- I'm in love with NYC!  If it wasn't so cold there, I'd go all the time.  That's where J & I got engaged, so I have a special fondness for it.  There's nothing like it & I love the energy there.  And the FOOD!  Everything in NYC tastes like heaven to me. We are thinking of going back for our 5th anniversary....the baby will be a year old by then, so I think we could leave him/her for a weekend at that point! 

 

6- I'm excited to teach myself how to sew with a sewing machine!  I have a ton of creative energy that I've been suppressing for the past 2 years (I'm finishing my Bachelor's Degree in a few weeks, so I've been busy with that- YAY me!), so I'm really looking forward to making stuff.  I want to make purses, clothes for the baby, curtains, etc... 

 

7- I'm a worry wart.  I can't help it.  Sometimes I think I need medication to calm me down....I've been told several times by strangers that I'm an anxious person.  It drives J nuts.  I can't help it!  I'm always thinking about the what-ifs and the potential consequences that could happen.  I hope that changes when the baby comes!

 

Blogs I nominate (I regularly follow these):

 

1) http://littleloomanlog.blogspot.com/

2) http://mrssneakers.blogspot.com/

3) http://whenohwhenwillitbe.blogspot.com/

4) http://kandjstaats.blogspot.com/

5) http://erincantblog.blogspot.com/

 

18 weeks!

How far along are you? 18 weeks today (according to my pregnancy ticker). I’m almost ½ way there!

How big is Baby? About the size of a sweet potato (5.5 inches long). That’s what my “What to Expect” app says, anyway

Weight Gain? About 10 lbs, total. Dr. C says that’s a perfect range, so that’s good!

 Gender? We find out in 2 weeks!  The Chinese Gender test says girl…we’ll see!

Maternity Clothes? Definitely

Stretch Marks? None.  My skin is starting to feel tight, though.  I keep forgetting to buy some cocoa butter…maybe this weekend.

Sleep? Just OK…I keep waking up on my back & I get nervous, since I’m not supposed to. Apparently it could hurt the baby?  I need to find a way to stop rolling over….the body pillow isn’t really helping to prevent that.  Hmmmm

Symptoms? None!  Just a big ol’ belly J

Movement? I think I felt some movement & J felt it, too.  I don’t know for sure, though. Could’ve been gas

Food Cravings? Ice cream!  I don’t normally eat ice cream like that, but I’m loving my milkshakes!

Labor Signs? Of course not

Belly Button in or out? Still in, but flatter everyday, it seems

What I miss? My clothes fitting

What I am looking forward to? The gender scan in 2 weeks…my mom, stepdad, & J’s dad will all be in the room for Baby N’s big reveal!  Will it be an Inny or an Outty?  It will definitely be an unforgettable moment for all of us!

Best moment of the week? We’ve decided to buy a home!!  I want to try to buy one before the baby comes, but if that doesn’t happen, that’s OK. We haven’t actually started looking yet, but we’ve been pre-approved, so we’re getting the ball rolling.  It’s so exciting & we are so happy for this much wanted step in our lives!  Plus that means that we can actually decorate a nursery for the baby J