Her name...

I finished her wall letters today. I just need to do touch ups and add the ribbon. But here they are. I'm not completely sure if I like them or not. lol. But I guess I will have to now.

It's becoming real...

Had my OB appointment on Tuesday. The Dr. said everything looked good so far. But she is putting me on Terbutaline (had it with both boys) as needed to control contractions. She wants to catch it early with my past history. We have our anatomy 20 week scan on April 10th. She'll measure my cervix then too. She wants to monitor me more closely now that we're at the halfway point. So in 2 weeks we'll have more pictures of our little girl.

We did baby shower planning today! It will be June 14th at my mom's house with lots of yummy food!! :) Got some more clothes from my mother-in-law, they're really cute! I went shopping today and got some of the bottles I want, and some cute "daddy" bibs and onesies for her. We also got her carseat!! Next big thing is the stroller then the pack n play. Here is a pic of the carseat! Effie was so excited to get it out and look at it. We even put Tops in it and strapped him in. It looks REALLY comfy!

Almost to the halfway point!!

We'll be 18 weeks this week! Almost to the halfway point, well probably already there for me cause I wont be going to 40 weeks. Everything going great! Slowly building up our baby stash. I can really feel the baby growing this week, and everything I read says there will be a lot of growing from weeks 17-20. I can definitely see my uterus up to my belly button now. Just really weird. Today I've been getting these weird anxious/panicky feelings. Like adrenaline is running through me. My regular OB appointment is tomorrow so I'll ask her about that. We'll be having another ultrasound soon, either in 4 weeks at my next appointment or sooner if the Dr wants. We're due for the anatomy scan so they can check her progress. If I get the same tech then I'll get lots of pictures!!

I started working on the Avalea's wall letters. I will post pictures when they are done. Hopefully they'll come out cute!

my mom and I went shopping yesterday for the material for her dedication dress. She is making it for me and it's going to be BEAUTIFUL!! I can't wait to see it on her. We will definitely have to do a photo session in it. She is not going to be picture deprived lol.

Today I booked our childbirth class. It's May 31st.(Ephram's b-day) It may change as we had a pending wedding but they have yet to put their deposit so we'll see. I never went to a childbirth class with the boys. Sal is excited to do it too. It will be fun. Next week I'll be scheduling the sibling class for the boys. I think they'll like it. They learn how to be big brothers and I think they get to make something for Avalea.

Wednesday we're doing some shower planning. The tentative date is June 14th. it's a little early but my parents are going to be gone for 2-3 weeks after that date to Israel. Then as soon as they get back they have to go get my sister from Seattle so it's just easier. And I don't want to have a shower without my mom and sister there. I'm so excited that Christine is coming home for good! And that she will be here when Avalea is born!

Other than that, things are busy busy!

Daddy Thoughts: Future Daddy's Girl On the Way

So I have the boys resiting the following: "My job is to keep boys away from my baby sister!" That will be ingrained on them forever :)

It was exciting news for us as you've probably gathered by now. I just wish it didn't have to happen under those circumstances. All the while, the hospital staff was really nice and I guess I can count this time as a trial run to see how they operate. I loved our ultrasound tech, he was super nice and made us feel at ease..and told us unofficially that we got our wish, a girl.

I can finally say her name when I talk to Cassandra's belly, that's so nice. No more, "it" and "he/she", just Avalea.

I'm really looking forward to moving out of this little bitty apartment and getting into a nice spacious house for all of us. I know Cassandra is really stoked about getting to do the baby's room and our mothers are already planning the baby shower.

We went to Target the other night too. We picked out her first set of clothes, which made it all the more real.

Well, I'm sure you're all up-to-date from Cassandra's postings, so that's my take on it. Thanks for stopping. I'm tracking all of you who visit - muah hahahahah! I KEED, I KEED..sorta.

BIG NEWS!!

We are expecting Miss Avalea Madison Jo!!!

We had to take a trip to the ER today. I had some contractions and spotting, and my Dr was full so they said go to the ER. We did. Had bloodwork, ultrasound and an exam. They found nothing. Just said take it easy. Well we got the tech to peek at the gender and she is all GIRL!! Sal took me to dinner and we went and bought our first pink outfits! It was so much fun!! Now I can really finalize my planning!

It's looking brighter...

Today I noticed that I am starting to feel better. I still have the headaches all the time and the hip/back pain. But that aside, I just feel good today. And I have my motivation back. I started tackling the laundry yesterday and still working on it today but have made a lot of progress and I'm determined to have it done today. And to get the rest of this house done. I need to get it ready to start packing up in a couple months. That means it's time to start getting rid of crap lol. I have enough to have a small garage sale if I had a house to sell it at. Oh well, that's what craigslist is for. Still gathering baby stuff here and there. Ready to know what it is so I can get more gender specific things. Been buying diapers and wipes, bought a cute and soft blanket and a boppy pillow. Next appointment is 3/25 and just a regular OB appointment and going over the insurance benefits and all. I'm glad my energy is coming back some because I'm ready to get out and do stuff with my kids next week while Anthony is on Spring Break.

the kids are doing good. Anthony got awards for being a Good Citizen and Perfect Attendance for the 4th 6-weeks! Ephram has been really working on his letters and his writing is getting a lot better. He has also been planning his birthday like crazy even though its over 2 months away.

We have been getting tons of hits on our websites and lots of requests. We're completely booked on the weekends for the rest of March through the first part of May. We're working on getting our new site up and all our new work up there and I'm starting our advertising up again.

I'm in love!!!

With this baby bedding!!!!

It comes in pink too but if we do have a girl, I still want to use the green. It is so beautiful! I want to use it regardless. Sal thinks it might be a bit too feminine for a boy. I've been trying to figure out a way to adjust it to be more masculine. Maybe if I get different accessories and not use the quilt, and use more masculine decor in the rest of the room. I'll figure it out. I can't get it until after May, that's when they get it in. I may be able to pre-order it.



I am still having horrible headaches, they seem to be coming more frequently and more severe. And my hips and tailbone are getting worse as far as pain. Lots of things are so much different from the boys. With both the boys, the pregnancy was so easy. I had no pains, morning sickness, headaches, nothing. Other than my barely there belly, I would have never known I was pregnant. This one on the other hand has been completely opposite. I have almost been miserable. It has been so hard on me. I'm hoping as I get more into my second trimester, it will get better.

I've been researching all my big baby purchases and I feel very confident with the crib, car seat and stroller that we picked. The car seat is one of the top rated safest seats you can get. The stroller is so easy to close and fits in the trunks nicely AND it's tall enough for me to push and I love that!! And the crib is very sturdy, safe and beautiful! I can't wait to start getting everything. One of my friends is giving me her bassinet to use! It's really nice too! So I don't need that now. And I've started getting little things and diapers here and there. The wait continues...

Video of the baby

We haven't made the video we wanted cause we've been so busy. So here is the other part to the one posted last week.