Thinking Pink!

IT'S A GIRL!!!

I've now had 1 full day to let it sink in....yesterday I was pretty shocked since I went into the ultrasound confident that we were going to have another boy- a little brother for Dylan. Now don't get me wrong, I have always wanted a girl, but ever since having a boy, and being with so many little boys on my side of the family, I just really didn't picture it happening for me. I honestly would not have been disappointed if we would have found out #2 was a boy, but I do know that I'm extremely excited that I'm going to have a DAUGHTER! Dylan on the other hand had to warm up to the whole idea of a "little sister." In fact his first reaction after the technician told us the news was "That's stupid. I wanted a brother." After a little pep talk about how a little sister will LOVE her big brother, and how she'll want to play with different toys and not take his, etc, etc. he decided it was ok and was more than thrilled to make the announcement to his class during circle time today at school. Later last night he came up with the idea that he could be a Cougar Football player and she could be a cheerleader and cheer for him. Perfect.

So, now this little one is seeming like more of a person to me. I think we have her name picked out and agreed upon which is leaps and bounds ahead of where we were with Dylan (who wasn't named until the hospital). To celebrate today I of course went shopping....for bargains of course and could have gone crazy spending money if I let myself. I'm so excited for our wonderful new addition to make her arrival....now on to the preparations!!

Food, Fun and Laughter

Our wonderful friends the McCarry's invited us out for the weekend to spend some time with some dear friends and see their fabulous new home on Lake Tapps. We drove over Friday night and stayed with Robyn and Mike in Bellevue then headed south on Saturday for an afternoon/evening with yummy food, Cougar basketball and lots of laughs. I just love these opportunities to get together with friends and now our children- it always makes for good memories (and this year I didn't even have a hangover....not so much for Kevin though).

"The girls" Lindsey, Marcy, Jen, Audrey (Chris & Allison's baby), Allison, & Hostess Meg

Anticipation

We are eagerly anticipating my next OB appointment set for Wednesday! This will be the 20 week ultrasound appointment and if our little one cooperates we should be able to find whether we're expecting a boy or a girl. We are planning to bring Dylan with us so that he can see the baby and share the news....just wondering what his reaction will be. He almost always refers to the baby as a girl saying things like "when the baby comes is she going to sleep in my room?" or "when the baby comes I want her to sit next to me in the car" but then he still tells me he wants a brother. I'm almost certain that this one is a boy-- but I thought Dylan was a girl until his ultrasound so I could be wrong. On one hand I would absolutely love to have a girl for pretty obvious reasons, but on the other I think about the special bond that brothers share and think that would be pretty neat too. It just seems that with 10 grandkids on my side of the family, 8 of which are boys, that we are destined to have another boy. We almost have a football team! So we'll just have to see!
At 20 weeks I'm feeling pretty good. My middle is definitely expanding but I still feel like I look like I've been having too many six packs or donuts rather than looking really pregnant. I've been feeling the little bean moving around a lot for the last few weeks...definitely a lot earlier than last time I was pregnant but I suppose I'm more in tune to the sensation this time around. I really can't believe I'm already at the half-way mark....June used to seem so far away but now I'm thinking it's going to be here before I know it! Such an exciting time in our lives! Stay tuned next week for the ultrasound update.

Happy Birthday Grammy Nancy!

We helped Grammy celebrate her birthday this week with a dinner and cake at our house. Here are 3 boys that love their special Grandma.

Spring Fever & A History Lesson

Today I got my first taste of spring fever and I must say it felt GOOD! Over 50 degrees and sunny this afternoon was just what I needed. I'm trying to stay realistic though because I know there are several more months of "winter" weather and the gloomy days will likely make a return later this week, but for now I'll enjoy my sparkly clean car and savor my warm walk with Zoe dog and Dylan who now likes to ride his bike along with me.

On another note, Dylan became an expert on Martin Luther King, Jr. last week at school. In a nutshell (I'm doing my best to type it as he says it) here is what he can tell us he learned:

"Martin Lufer King was an American Hero. Not a super hero like Batman or Spiderman. They also called him Dr. King. He didn't like that people were treated bad because they looked different. He believed God's law was more important. There were some people who rode a bus. The bus driver told them they had to stand and they're legs got really tired so they said 'We're not gonna ride the bus anymore' so they didn't. Martin Lufer King died but I don't know when."

I think the kid is a sponge for retaining that much information from his preschool history lessons. He makes me so proud!

Cheers to a great decade

I still can't quite believe we started a new year/decade last week....I've already had more than one occasion of writing "09" when writing the date out during the past couple of days. Honestly, I cannot fathom how fast time seems to be going- certainly the older I get the quicker the years fly by and I'm pretty sure parenthood has made time go even more rapidly. I like many others have used this time of year to reflect on where I've been and look ahead to where I'm going. So many wonderful memories of the 2000s and so much to look forward to in the years to come!

Here are some of my highlights of the past decade:

• Senior year of college living with some of my most wonderful girlfriends...all of which I can say are still near and dear to me (even though we don't get to be together as much as we used to).
• Graduating from WSU in 2001 and heading west to Seattle to start my career as a teacher. I think back to my tiny little apartment in West Seattle that was all I could afford at the time....it wasn't much but it was mine!
• Falling in love with my husband during that first year after college after a random night out with mutual friends (Thanks to Cliff and Marcy!)
• The births of 2 nieces and 5 nephews all of which have brightened my days.
• Getting engaged, planning a memorable wedding, marrying my best friend and escaping on a fabulous honeymoon.
• Speaking of weddings-- this past decade was FILLED with them (too many to count) and every single one gave me an opportunity to share in the joy with friends and family.
• Learning and growing in my career...making a difference in the lives of some of the most precious kids on earth, many of whom came from so little. Their little faces are priceless reminders of the reasons I became a teacher.
• Trips to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Mexico, Hawaii, Montana, Las Vegas, and Washington DC/Virginia (to name a few) provided time with friends and family and memories to last a lifetime.
• Buying our first home and making it ours then filling it with a puppy and then our baby boy! Now that was a life changer!
• Making the move back to Spokane to be closer to our families and have a simpler life. It was a stressful time but overall a positive change for our family.
• Watching Dylan grow up before my very eyes into the little boy he is today. Words cannot describe how amazing this journey has been thus far.

Looking back makes me so excited to look forward. We already have so much to anticipate this year, especially the birth of #2 this June. Cheers to 2010!