IT'S A BOY!!!

Here we are at 19 weeks. I am almost at 21 and need a new picture!

We found out on February 2nd, Groundhog Day, that we are expecting a baby boy!! We were sent to the same place that did Ryan's "BIG" ultrasound, and once again, we were in the waiting room for over an hour. They made me fill out a cruel amount of paperwork...I'm talking 15 pages or more...and sit there for.ev.er.

Once we were finally called back, the sonographer took us into a little dark room, and things started very quickly. I hopped up on the table, peeled down the layers of maternity clothes to reveal my belly, and she jumped right in. She touched my belly with the wand for one split second and asked "do you want to know if it's a boy or girl before or after?" and we both said "BEFORE!!" and she said "it's a boy", very slyly. It was just THAT quick. We knew within 30 seconds of being in that room.

Dave and I both shrieked! He not-so-secretly really really wanted a boy, so he was grinning from ear to ear the rest of the day....he is VERY proud of himself. I, on the other hand, while perfectly happy with this gender, was in total shock. For weeks, people had been asking me what I wanted, or what I thought the baby was, and I always just kind of said "don't know, don't care, it is what it is already and there's no changing that, it's not my decision..." and so on. But apparently I was expecting another girl, because I STILL have not wrapped my head around the idea of a boy. In that one instant, with those 3 quiet words, my world was flipped upside down. I have always wanted boys, but now I'm getting one and what the heck am I supposed to DO with him? I can't even give my nephews a bath because I feel inappropriate! Well...I have no doubt I will learn very quickly...

The ultrasound went on for another 20 minutes or so. They look at the heart, the spine, the kidneys, and all of the important stuff to make sure he is healthy and everything is where it should be. Then they let us see his face. Our little man was NOT cooperating - he was VERY active and squirmy, and he had his hands up to his face the whole time. So we never got any GREAT face shots, but he is perfectly healthy and measuring a week ahead! In fact, the doctor didn't even come in to see us afterwards. They sent in a nurse practitioner who told us that the doctor looked at our scan, and everything is just dandy as far as an ultrasound can see, so he didn't even need to see us...a VERY good thing...think about it, if the specialist doctor needs to meet with you and discuss something after an ultrasound like this, something is not right. So we were all too happy to never meet him!

So we hopped in the truck to head home, making all of the family and friends calls along the way. It seems like almost everyone had their money on a boy, so we didn't really get to shatter any hopes or dreams haha.

We didn't announce it to the world until Sunday afternoon. I wanted to tell our church family first. So Sunday morning I walked into the sanctuary and presented our pastor with a big box that said "Baby Sullivan Girl or Boy?" really big on it. He danced around it for a little while, taking a poll of the church to see who was for a girl and who was for a boy. ONE measly person said girl! (Boo. I wanted more shock and surprise.) But he slowly opened the box, unaware of what would happen, and a little blue balloon floated out and the place erupted with smiles and applause.

We sort of have a name picked out, but Dave gets the final say this time, and he is dragging his feet! But I think that we both think it feels right, so I don't foresee it changing...but I can not release it until it is final!

The baby is doing really well. We had a check up a few days after the ultrasound at our regular doctor and we got to hear the heartbeat again. We tried EXTRA hard this time to get Ryan to not freak out when the doctor touched me. All she does is measure my belly and listen to the heartbeat, but you would think she is stabbing me repeatedly in front of my child, the way Ryan acts. I took a moment to hold Ryan and point out the nurse's pretty pink scrubs and asked Ryan to say PINK! Then when the doctor came in, she talked to her and asked her to help out with the exam. She got to hold the measuring tape, which was not a good enough trade off, and she started to tear up. But then, the doctor pulled out her very special "baby phone" so the baby could talk to us! She let Ryan hold the wand and put it on my belly to hear the heartbeat and we explained that that was her baby brother saying hello! After that, it was "more, more, MORE!" She loved it. The only real "news" we got was that the baby's placenta is on the front this time, whereas Ryan's was on the back of my uterus...is that too much information?? Hmm...well, anyhow...

I can feel him moving every now and then. Not kicking or anything, I can just feel those flutters and know he is awake. Dave felt him move just a little last night. I am at that point where I am aware that there is a solid entity down there, and its not just belly blubber. I have been feeling pretty good. My hip has stopped hurting for the time being. The weather has been decent, so Ryan and I go for walks, which has all but cured the hip pain. I just get tired towards the end of the day and need to sit and take a breather for a while. Eating is the only complaint I have right now...I LOVE to eat, but my stomach can't hold as much as I would like it to. I don't have a "full filter" right now, so I never really feel FULL...I just feel less hungry. I have to gauge how much I eat and stop at a certain point, or I will feel awful later on. This is really only a problem at dinner time, my last meal of the day, since I will be laying down to sleep in a few hours. I don't have any heartburn yet...but I think I COULD if I am not careful, so that is why I gauge my meals!

Dave and I have decided that we need to be much more intentional with our time. We had fallen into a bit of a rut, where I kept Ryan all day and when Dave came home at night, he would play with her while I cooked, we would eat together, then it was bath time, and very soon after was bedtime. We weren't DOING anything. Every day was the same, and weekends were often filled with not much DOING anything either, as we always ended up running errands, doing things for other people, or just random household chores. Then the routine would begin again with me cooking dinner and the night was over before we knew it. It's called going through the motions, and it is the LAST thing we should be doing when we have this precious little gift to enjoy, and one on his way.

So this past weekend, we started off small...we took Ryan to the park. She loves all animals, so we took some bread so she could feed the ducks and geese. One goose came right up to us and stood less than a foot from us the entire time. Ryan laughed and danced as she waved and said "hi!" to each bird. She was a little disappointed when they didn't talk back, but she was happy, nevertheless. Then we had a picnic lunch on the grass. Ryan sat so calmly eating her PB&J sandwich, just taking in the sunshine. And after lunch it was playtime! She is getting big enough to play on the playground, with daddy right behind helping her, of course. After some good playtime, it was time to head home. It just felt GOOD, getting out and intentionally doing something as a family together, but Ryan was beyond ready for her nap, and so was daddy. After naps, we played outside with the dogs, something that they so desperately miss in the winter months. And after that, it was the Daddy-Daughter Date Night.

GEESE!!!

Ryan and daddy about to brave the slide!

Playtime!

Daddy couldn't fit on the alligator with her, but mommy and 20 week baby did...

Chik-fil-a recently hosted their annual Daddy-Daughter Date Night, in honor of Valentines day coming up. We heard about it last year, but Ryan was still too little for a kids meal, so Dave was among the first in line to make a reservation for him and his little chicken this year. I was so very jealous as they headed out for their special night together. Dave said that it was amazing!! The Chik-fil-a Cow was there, they had a maitre d' in a tux there to greet you and show you to your table. The girls were all given a rose upon arrival, and they gave them balloons as well. They had a young man playing the violin, they got to order from menus and be waited on, and the table were candlelit. I almost cried as he was explaining to me all of the little details. What a great company to do something so amazing to bring families closer together!

On their way to their date!

We are just trying to work in any little thing we can do together as a family, even if it is just go for a walk. These moments are fleeting and these kids grow up in a heartbeat. I'd rather have a house that is falling apart than a family that is. Be more intentional with your time, people....we don't have much of it.

But with that said....

Most days I feel like I am standing at the Poopy Gates of Parenthood, about to be knee deep in it...

Ryan has discovered that she does not particularly like having her diaper changed, and she thinks it is hilarious to make me chase after her naked behind, having to use 2 hands and a foot to get her wrangled into her Huggies.

She takes all of my bracelets out of my vanity drawer and slides them up to her elbow while holding up the shirt I wore yesterday to her chin and looking in the mirror repeatedly saying "toot, toot, TOOT!" which means "I'm cute".

She likes to take her baby monitor apart and run the pieces over to me exclaiming "Smell! Smell!" which in her toddler Southern draw sounds like "meal". And WHY are we smelling the monitor anyhow?

She climbs the stove as I cook and reaches for the knobs as I swat her away constantly.

She doesn't want to eat with HER fork, she wants to eat with YOUR fork, and when she gets it, she bangs it on her plate so that food goes flying, much to the delight of the 2 salivating hound dogs underfoot.

She constantly pushes away from the table at mealtime, throws her feet up on the table, grins at Dave and says "no no"....because Dave absolutely can not stand it.

She chases my love, Grimm, around all day, swinging from his tail, to the point where he then gets into trouble for growling at her and has to have some porch time.

If I am sitting in a chair, she has to be ON TOP of me and my bulging baby belly, so downtime is nearly impossible to find.

I walk up on her at times to find her digging through the laundry basket with Dave's dirty boxers on her head, and one of his dirty socks in her mouth, and quite often I find her cruising the hall with one of my makeup brushes in her mouth.

She is all too proud of her ability to speak, and will repeat the same word 50 times in 1 minute...some words like "bench" and "basket" are less than favorable since she pronounces them as "the B word" and "bad a$$", respectively...I only hope and pray that there is never a lady sitting on that bench in the narthex at church as Ryan comes running up to talk about the furniture....

But she does sweet things too....

She asks all day long to see the baby, and when I lift my shirt for her, she gives him sweet kisses over and over.

She asks for Tonka every morning when I am getting her out of her crib and she has to get down and give him and big hug and kiss.

When it's cold outside, she will snuggle her head into your chest as you carry her.

She makes you think she is starving, begging and pleading for snacks, only to share them with her puppies once I finally cave in and give her something to eat.

She asks to pray before every meal and always says AMEN! in her little helium voice.

She looks for the moon in the sky no matter the time of day, and some nights she will sit at the back door and just stare at it saying Moon! Moon! Moooooooon!

She tells me I'm pretty, even though I only have one pair of pants and 2 or 3 shirts I ever wear.

She rocks her baby dolls to sleep.

If she sees any sport at all being played...the Super Bowl, a little league soccer game, even cricket...she says "GO DOEWS" (Go Dawgs!)

She loves to clean and begs for wipes so she can wipe the furniture.

She knows that the sound of the garage door and 2 barking dogs means daddy is home, and she stands waiting to greet him after a long day.

When she gives hugs, she actually pats you on the back.

She is amazing, and she drives me absolutely up the wall. And we get to do it all again with her little brother. :) I'll take it.

Again, with the dirty laundry....this kid, I swear....