It's a....

if you don't want to know the gender of our baby STOP READING NOW! Jason and I just had our "big" ultra-sound this past Friday and after much deliberation and anguish :) we decided to find out the gender of this babe. IT'S A BOY! and, even more importantly, a very HEALTHY BOY! What a true blessing! We could see his little heart, brain, legs, arms, belly, face...he's completely perfect. We also were able to have a 3-D ultra-sound. It was amazing to see his face so clearly. He's "hiding" behind the placenta, so we were only able to see half his face, but I still think he's darn cute! I've attached a few pictures. Enjoy and thanks again for all the prayers. Please keep praying that this little guy continues to grow into a healthy strong baby.

His arm -- my cousin was the ultra-sound tech and she wrote "hi grandma!"


This is his face. You can see his nose and one eye...


This one he has his hand up by his face. His hands were by his face almost the entire time. See, he's darn cute already!


This is a "full" body shot. The head is on the left and it goes all the way to his toes. You can see the spine at the bottom of the picture.

Just some clips of July and August...

Once again, I apologize for not being a more faithful blogger, but I've really been enjoying my last few lazy days of summer. Arianna and I have LOVED being outside and just playing. It's so fun just watching her outside. She loves picking up rocks, pushing babies in her buggy, going down the slide, her swing, picking grass, and playing with Lacy (the dog). I could watch her forever.

Besides just playing outside, Jason and I were able to get away for our anniversary, just a few weeks late. We went to Chicago and had a great time. We each got to pick an activity. I picked going to see Wicked and he wanted to see a Cubs game. It's a wonder that the two of us ever got together isn't it?! I enjoyed the Cubs game and Jason liked Wicked as well. It was wonderful and

relaxing.

I made the mistake of wearing heels downtown on our first night. After walking about 6 blocks I made Jason stop at Payless with me to buy new shoes. After we got back to the hotel that night, I counted 8 blisters on my feet...ahhh the joys of being a woman. Fashion over pain, right ladies?

ummm...not much

So sorry I haven't posted in a while. Life has been totally crazy and I was busy enjoying my last few days of "freedom" with Arianna before school started. I do have pictures to post, but I'm experiencing some lazy syndrome and don't have them uploaded yet. THIS WEEKEND, I promise. Hope you're all doing well and enjoy your holiday weekend.

Good news and Bad news...

So, the good news. Today I had to take Arianna in to the pediatrician for her pre-op appointment. He took one look at her eye and said "It's totally clear!" He suggested that we cancel the surgery for now and hope that it doesn't return. He also said that while we were there, he might as well do the entire physical just in case...now the bad news. Both ears are infected. She's been super crabby the last few days and has a runny nose, but I thought she was just "paying us back" for leaving her for three days. Guess not. Obviously, I was disappointed that her ears are infected after having tubes, but the doctor assured me that the tubes are working and this is just a random infection. Let's hope so. But, I am so excited that she does not need surgery...thank you to all who were praying.

BUSY TIMES

Such fun. Sorry it's been so long, but we've been super busy. Jason's parents came into town for a very fun vacation time. Arianna LOVED being spoiled by her grandparents and loved all the different activities that we did. We had a slip-n-slide, a day at the park, went to the beach, a visit to the mall and just fun playing and relaxing at home. It was a jam-packed few days, but it was very fun. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the week...notice the 2nd to last one, classic senior picture pose. Is she 18 already?! Some days, I swear she is...