Boy, Oh, Boy!

So. Our house will soon be filled with these:

And if my husband has anything to do with it, a pair of these:

Because we found out this morning that the results were in earlier than we expected and we are having a boy! Couldn't be happier or feel more blessed. A post on Christmas to come soon - we hope you had a cherished time with family and friends, celebrating the coming of the greatest Son ever sent to Earth!

It's About That Time...

Shortly after I became pregnant the first time, I heard about an early gender test through a CNN special. No, it's not the Drano test. In fact, after I found out Naomi was a girl through results of the test, I got lots of funny looks from people when I told them I knew the sex already at 10 weeks. People thought I was nuts and had done some silly $20 quiz online or something. Lol. 

 Well, the timing to take the test with this pregnancy is right now. This time around I was a little more on the fence about finding out all together, but I figured I'd probably cave in around the time of the ultrasound, so I might as well do it now. If all goes well, I might not even get an ultrasound, so who knows...

 The test has 95% accuracy rates with a full refund if they're wrong - no refund on the pink or blue clothes you might buy in the meantime, however! You basically send off a blood sample and they look for fetal DNA that has been released into the mother's blood sometime after 5 weeks post-conception. If there's male DNA in the sample, you're most likely having a boy, if there's not, you're having a girl. It's so interesting - only females work at the company in the lab to prevent the risk of male contamination on the samples. To read more, visit: www.tellmepinkorblue.com

So! Much against my mother-in-law's wishes (sorry, Pegs!), we should know the sex of baby #2 around next week - maybe by Christmas! Will we be shopping for mini Carhartt overalls and toy tools? Or will we NOT BE SHOPPING AT ALL (hint, hint, mother...)? :) Stay tuned for results!

First Flight!

A friend of mine commented on Facebook the other day about how her recently one-year-old baby boy has been on 22 flights in his life. I just think that's downright incredible. Cheers to you, Elisa, I believe the mother-of-the-year award goes to that! We, on the other hand, are sorely behind that tally - UNDERSTATEMENT. Today, Naomi got on her first plane ride! Let's just say she was more scared of the "moving walkway" than of the  main event... if you could only see the death grip on my jeans as she whimpered! (Once I got the photo-op, she was promptly picked up and spared further torture, fyi...)

 It was so sweet to watch her take in the GIGANTIC world of terminal that surrounded her tiny being.

 She loved running around, walking straight up to many strangers, trying to do somersaults on the dirty airport floor, and burning off lots of pre-flight energy!

 This didn't last for long, but she did stop to watch one plane taxying - how the heck do you spell that!? - on the runway. 

 She ended up doing wonderfully, sleeping the whole first leg. The second leg was a little more challenging, due to a full flight and a crowded situation. But we managed to fill in the time with reading books, an attempt at watching Elmo (she thought punching the keyboard keys on the computer was way more fun), and snacks.

But we get to officially mark this milestone down and she even has a certificate from the airline to prove it! So cute - Southwest presented her with a "first flyer" paper that all the crew and pilots signed for her baby book!

Best part of the day? The arrival at the other end... to see family and have some pre-Christmas time with them, as we won't be able to be here for the actual holiday. Have a wonderful weekend, everyone, and try not to lose sleep over the terrible quality of cell phone pics you just looked at. :)

Mah-velous Mondays

Found the babe like this during nap time.

 Poor thing. Those legs were snuggly in place - any further up and we would have needed some butter!

 And thanks to our sweet friend, Sarah, this is now the face that Naomi makes while she STARES at her first Veggie Tale DVD. 

 Those singing veggies are mesmerizing!

Maybe the next post will be a celebration that her upper two teeth will have FINALLY broken through!!!

Don't hold your breath.

A Few Current Loves...

Naomi loves Chick-Fil-A. So do we. Kudos to my brother (who manages one) - it's gotta be the cleanest fast food chain store that thinks of everything to make a visit wonderful! Even a sticky mat for the babies to eat off of!

 Despite the stunned look on her face, Naomi also loooooves our wonderful helper/baby-sitter, Molly. And Molly loves her! It's a great love-love relationship.

 Lately, we've been loving to cross our arms (and sport a serious mullet at the same time)!

 See?

 What'd I tell ya?

 For weeks, I've been trying to capture one of her frowns, which she also loves to make, but this is as good as I've gotten. It's way better and more hilarious in person, as she tilts her head down at you and you only see half of her eyeball.

 Apparently, she loves letting me know when there have been too many pictures taken!

And to wrap the evening up, we LOVE our new WeeSqueaks! If you've not heard of these fabulous shoes, go to wesqueak.net and check out what you've been missing for the little ones. They are cute to boot and the squeakers are so funny. Don't get me wrong - I'd hate the things if the squeakers weren't removable! I'm not gonna be that mom at the airport! Lol. Enjoy!

The Things December Is Made Of...

A collection of awful cell phone pics for your Saturday enjoyment... What is December made of, you ask? 

Hanging out in dog cages.

 Bonding with Lambie.

 Eating breakfast in Christmas jammies while admiring the new MacBook Pro in the house (THANK YOU, Mom and Dad!!!)

 Crashing in the car on our way to pick up antibiotics. Dang ear infections.

 Hangin' at the Cracker Barrel.

 And just being plain cute.

The Bird's Nest

Man, I've got to get my camera fixed. It's making for POOR blog writing and no motivation to do so. :{ Our point and shoot just doesn't cut it anymore!

Grant caught this great pic of the baby in his work boots on his iPhone though!

  

Aaaand, the only two pictures we took of our thanksgiving trip. Ha. Impressive, no? We really did have a wonderful time in Kansas City with family and friends, despite the lack of proof!     

We were so grateful to see some of our wonderful friends who live in Israel and Grant's best friend of many years and his little ones too. Here's a blurry, but sweet pic of Judah, Naomi, and Eliad! Wish they could all grow up next door to one another!

 And now we're into getting ready for Christmas! Us AND our laser-eyed dog...

  

We put the tree this year on top of our coffee table in hopes to keep it out of Nay's reach and it's working wonderfully! She stands and looks at it but doesn't try and reach up and bother it. At least not yet!         

 So a little story now... during our first year of marriage, Grant and I discovered a bird's nest in our Christmas tree WITH bluebird eggs in it!! We took pictures and the whole deal. A friend told me it was a sign that we'd have lots of kids. Haha. I proceeded to purchase an ornament from Pottery Barn of a bird's nest on a branch so every year we could have one in our tree just for fun. Well, this year, I nonchalantly set the bird's nest in the tree as we were hanging ornaments. Ten minutes later, Grant says, "Are you playing a trick on me?" Long story short, I had no idea, but I set the bird's nest on a branch literally pointing to an actual bird's nest up against the trunk!! 

   We were laughing so hard! And it's quite fitting for the theme of new life to be within our Christmas tree once again, as we had to hang a fourth stocking this year!      

Yep, I'm pregnant! We are so grateful and excited to be expecting our second baby next July. I shared the wonderful news with Grant by fixing him a dinner of baby chicken legs, baby potatoes, baby carrots, baby biscuits, and baby Sprites. He got it the moment he sat down to dinner. :)

 So with a baby on the way, adjusting to a new job, and starting clinicals in March, we look forward to seeing how God is going to provide in this upcoming busy season! It is so wonderful to know that we serve a Lord who meets all of our needs and goes ahead of us to make better plans for us than we could make for ourselves. We love you new little baby!