It's a...

GIRL!!!

We had the Big Ultrasound today and I got quite the shock with the results. I was truly expecting to hear "It's a Boy" but got an unmistakable "It's a Girl". Typically the techs will say they can only be about 85% sure with little girls, but this tech said she was 95% sure with this one!

The ultrasound started with this little one acting just like her big sister; the feet were tightly crossed at the ankles, covering any chance of learning the sex. I was a little disappointed at first, but knew it really didn't matter what the sex was and knew that there was a good chance that the feet would move at some point. It took until about 3/4 of the way through checking all the vital organs for the tech to finally get the shot she needed. And when she did we got to see the bum in the lower right corner of the screen with legs over her head. There was NOTHING between her legs- clear as day! I was so shocked I asked her again and again, "really?" Jeremie's reaction was laughter and "YES!!!" He was hoping for another little girl and was so excited with the results.

It took me a few hours of letting the news sink in before I really got excited, but only because I was so prepared to have a little boy. Now all I can think about is how wonderful it will be that Mollie, my girly-girl, gets a little sister. They will only be 26 months apart, so they will undoubtedly grow up as close as can be! (With a few, or should I say many, fights over Barbie dolls and dress-up clothes.) I also am super excited to form a strong mother-daughter bond with this little one, too. I have so enjoyed my mommy-daughter time with Mollie and feel so blessed to be able to enjoy that time with another girl. Little boys grow up and get married and their wives get to be the one who is especially near-and-dear to their hearts, but little girls always have a special place for their mommies.

Our new little girl still doesn't have a first name solidified... I am excited to figure that out. We are tossing around the idea of Jourdyn or Lucy for the first name. Jeremie also likes Isabella (so we can call her Izzy) and I also like Allison (so we can call her Allie). The middle name is decided- it will be Mae- after my grandmother.

The great thing about choosing a first name that starts with "J" is her initials will be JM, like Jeremie and Mariah. Mollie's initials are MJ, for the same reason. We'd love to keep that name's sake tradition going, so feel free to pass on any suggestions!

PS- I think we may have a thumb-sucker on our hands. She was searching for it or had it in her mouth the entire ultrasound. If you look closely at the picture you may be able to see her hand on its way to her mouth!

Ultrasound Date!

We scheduled our 20 week ultrasound appointment for Friday morning, January 22nd! Hopefully we will be able to learn the sex of the baby... You never know if they will cooperate, but hopefully he or she will. I still have a strong "boy" feeling and will be very surprised if they say it is a girl. I have even started thinking in terms of "he" whenever I think of the baby without realizing that I'm doing it. Hopefully we will have details to share soon!

16 Weeks

Everything has been going well so far this pregnancy. I still struggle with a lack of food cravings, believe it or not. It has been frustrating to not feel like anything sounds that great, or when something does sound good to have it not taste as good as I thought. With Mollie I craved food like crazy- and my weight gain proved it. (50 big ones!!!) Looking on the brighter side, at least I'm not tempted to eat more than I should. Hopefully that will translate into lower total weight gained!

I started feeling the baby move on December 23rd. The kicks are already starting to get stronger and I think Jeremie may even be able to feel it soon. I feel most of the kicks on the right side. With Mollie I felt most of them on my left and she even managed to push out the left side of my rib cage permanently. Maybe this baby will even me out!

I am also having pains in my very low back area that shoot down my legs occasionally. I think it is a problem with my sciatic nerve. Jeremie got me a body pillow for Christmas and I think it is helping a little. I never got one with Mollie, because I only saw the super expensive ones made especially for pregnancy. Being that I am a tad on the cheap side I wasn't willing to spend $50 on a pillow I only needed for 9 months. A friend of mine, who is also pregnant with her second, recommended a much cheaper pillow from Fred Meyer. So far I would recommend it, too!

I have my third OB appointment next Thursday. At that appointment we will set our 20 week ultrasound date. I will be 20 weeks on Saturday the 23rd, so I am hoping to be able to set the appointment for Friday the 22nd. We plan to find out the sex of the baby and I will post it when we know. I still feel like it is a boy. Jeremie doesn't have a strong feeling either way, but says he feels more like it's a girl than boy. Mollie always asks for a baby sister, so we will see if I am right or if Jeremie and Mollie are right. Any guesses???

PS- the picture of me is awful, but I am determined to post a new one every month and this is all I have! I promise I don't look that bad all the time! :)

Merry Christmas!

We had a crazy Christmas, just like normal. Only this time, it was mostly crazy because Mollie wasn't feeling so hot. I thought she'd be really into opening presents this year, but I was wrong. She was more into the toys after we unwrapped them! She got LOTS of great gifts, inspite of the fact that I managed to keep myself from doing too much shopping. (She got lots of wonderful things from her family in addition to what we bought.) She got a pink Schwinn trike, an easel, and baby doll set up (like a play kitchen, only with a high chair, bathtub, and bed) among other smaller toys and clothes. It was a great two days with our families, and a wonderful weekend of relaxing at home to recover from all the excitement.

Santa Train

Today we went on a little adventure to North Bend with our friends, the Arndts. We got to ride an old-fashioned train to Snoqualmie, have cookies and hot chocolate, and see Santa. Here are a couple of pictures from our day.

This definitely was well worth it! We plan to make it an annual thing. The only catch is next year we'll both be doing it with two kids two and under... That will be a REAL adventure! :)

Christmas Pictures

Again, my wonderful friend, Sarah, took some pictures of Mollie. These are obviously her Christmas pictures. We have the ones taken of her in her Christmas dress last year on the mantel and I can't believe how much she's grown! I wish I had them on the computer, so I could prove it to you all! (But I'm pregnant and getting too lazy to make extra trips up and down the stairs... I do that enough with Mollie as it is!) :) Thanks again, Sarah, for your wonderful photography eye. We love the pictures!

Mollie's Big Words

Here is my first video uploaded to blogger! (I finally figured out how to do it... Don't tell anyone!)

We are so proud of Mollie's verbal abilities and wanted to show off some of her skills. At the end of the video I asked her to say "Reggie", the name of her beloved kitten that we had for a week, and she got a little distracted. I'm sure you'll see what I mean! :)