Boy or Girl?

I had my 21 week ultra sound on Friday morning, August 9 at 8:00.  I didn't sleep well the night before because I was so excited which was like waiting for Christmas.  It was such a sweet gift to find out that we are having a baby GIRL.  Both Patrick and I had convinced ourselves that we were having a boy simply based on the odds.  We have 5 close friends that are also having or had a girl recently and statistically speaking we thought that we had to have a boy. Not this time!  Even after the nurse showed us the 'girl parts' (three small lines), it took a couple looks and moments to believe it.  With all that said, we could not be any happier to be having a sweet baby girl.  We had the joy of having Nanny and Papaw Clark and Aunt Erin in the ultra sound room with us finding out the baby's gender.    I have cried every ultra sound I have had because it brings me such joy to see our little baby and this was no exception.  The nurse even gave me some tissues and asked if I was all right and if they were tears of joy or sadness.  I quickly identified them as good tears, definitely good tears.   I think Nanny (and maybe Patrick) had some of those same tears as well.

With this ultra sound, not only did we find out the gender, but we were able to see all of the organs, arms, and legs. It is just amazing! We are proud to report that our little girl has all of her fingers and toes, and we already think she is pretty cute :)   The nurse was even amazed with how big her feet are already.  They are 1 inch long on a 14 oz body.  I think she is going to be a tall volleyball player, and Patrick thinks she is just going to have big feet.

That night we had a small group of friends and family over to share and celebrate our exciting news.  The way that we shared with everyone was by putting pink confetti into black balloons and counting to three popping the balloons at the same time.  I must give Patrick credit since this was his idea.   I doubted it would work, but it worked out better than either of us imagined.  It was such a fun way to tell everyone.

Our little girl already has the perfect bib.  I guarantee this girl will have her daddy wrapped around her finger.  It was a treat having Rhonda and Larry in town for the week getting to share this special moment with them. This was Rhonda and Larry's first ultra sound experience!

Baby Bump

Now that my baby bump is really starting to take off, I will do my best to add to this post every couple of weeks.  My goal has been to take a baby bump picture in a different location each time.  I hope you enjoy seeing this growing belly. This is one time in my life that I don't mind at all that I am getting bigger. :)

• 16 weeks: Hawaii
• 20 weeks: Nebraska
• 21 weeks: Amanda's baby shower (There must be something in the water around here)
• 22 weeks: (This was the week we found out that we are having a girl! )
• 28 weeks: Baby shower in Nebraska
• 28 weeks: (Can't wait for our Christmas gift to arrive!) 
• 29 weeks: Pregnant cousins
• 30 weeks: Baby shower in Colorado Springs
• 31 weeks: Patrick's marathon in Denver
• 32 weeks: Fall in Colorado
• 33 weeks: Walking Max
• 34 weeks: Game Night (Baby fever)
• 35 weeks: Hungry pregnant woman (Last picture before Dakota's arrival)

 

God's Blessings Among Frustration

Our good friend, Josh, was in town for the week.  He and I decided to go for a hike in Cheyenne Mountain while Patrick was at work.  This was my first longer (6 mile) hike since getting pregnant.  I was excited for the exercise, company, and getting outdoors on a beautiful day.  I made it successfully with only a couple water breaks (I don't mean that my water broke) and bathroom breaks along the way.  Josh was patient.  

Little did we know that our enjoyable hike would end so poorly.  As soon as we got back to the trailhead, we immediately noticed that something wasn't quite right.  Josh's truck passenger window was busted out AND my purse was missing.  Thankfully nothing else was taken but something so very valuable to me was gone.  NO...it wasn't my purse...my phone...my camera...or my credit cards. Those things can easily be replaced.  My baby quilt that I had been making all summer was gone.  I had planned to stop by the fabric store after our hike to get some fabric for the border and backing.  I had put my quilt in a Walmart bag in my purse, and now it was gone.  I had spent over 20 hours working on this quilt, and I was nearing the end.  It wasn't the money that I cared about. It was the time and heart that was put into that little quilt.  Now Josh didn't just have a car window to fix, he had a sobbing, pregnant, emotionally distraught, hormone ridden woman on his hands.  Once I gained my composure, I called Patrick to cancel all of our cards and then filed a police report.  We raced home fearing that the criminals were now at our house since they now had my address.  Thankfully, the house was fine and the key to the 4Runner and house were not in my stolen purse.  This was a huge blessing.  

After things calmed down a little, Patrick and I decided to head up to the trailhead and be detectives. I have an amazing husband.  He knew how much that quilt meant to me.  We thought maybe that they would have discarded the purse and quilt after getting what they wanted out of the purse.  I am sure that they were really happy with my cheap-o, not smart phone and my lack of cash.  As we zipped around the mountain roads checking disgusting trash cans, I was feeling carsick and sad.  Our thieves had first stopped at Taco Bell and spent $26.  Yes...that is the first place I would go too.  Then they really got crazy and went to a Love's Gas Station and spent $57.  These thieves really are classy.  We looked at both of these spots but with no avail, the purse and blanket were gone.  As I sat in the car at the Love's Station, I  was feeling frustrated and heartbroken.  All of a sudden,  I felt the baby kick.  Not just one small blurp that made me question whether it was gas or my imagination.  It was a constant kick that said, "Hello, mom!  I am here!"  Through my frustration, God gave me the blessing of feeling the first real kicks.  It made me realize what is really important.  I can make another quilt and this second one will be even better.  God knew what I needed at that moment, a little nudge from my sweet baby.