Practically Perfect in Every Way

On Monday we had the privilege of seeing our sweet baby GIRL! It was such a joyful, surreal, and amazing experience. Caroline Lynley is the most beautiful girl in the world. I keep looking at her little side profile on the sonogram and cannot believe how cute and perfect she already is. I love her so much it makes my heart ache and I haven't even held her in my arms yet.

I have seen a lot of sonograms and usually think something along the lines of "Cool. Looks like a baby." But this time, obviously because she is ours, I am in awe of how precious this sonogram is.

 

Looking slightly alien-like but still so cute holding her little toes!

 Cutest spine I've ever seen

World's cutest little foot! I love this one.

The sonographer did all of the measurements first and said that she is "practically perfect in every way." But he couldn't tell if we had a he or a she b/c our classy girl had her ankles crossed and was sitting on them. I had to go walk around for a few minutes and do a few jumping jacks. When we tired to get a glimpse again she had move her legs down just enough. When he said "you've got yourself a girl," we were shocked and so excited. We would have been just as shocked and excited if he said it was a boy. Babies are really a win-win situation.

Looking at the top of baby girl's skull. Cutest skull ever if you ask me.

Pure joy after finding out that its a girl! And as much of my stomach as the internet will ever see again.

Once we told our families we were having a girl, my mom and Nana had to do a little shopping. And by a little, I mean that Caroline has more clothes than Brad does now.

Before I went to the appointment, I had my students vote on whether they thought it'd be a boy or a girl. They voted half and half. Then, once I returned to school, we had a baby naming contest. Maddie Haley Ringler was the winner. There were tears over Cupcake not being picked a winner. I personally thought Teddy or Nice should have won. The point was made that she "will probably be a nice girl anyway."

As you can see, someone suggested Caroline but no one voted for it. They were sure disappointed when I told them the real name and it wasn't Maddie Haley.

 



As special as it would've been to have our first child named by a bunch of 7yr olds, we think Caroline Lynley is a pretty special name. We chose Caroline because my Nana's name is Carolyn so it is to honor her. I hope Caroline is as determined, hard-working, wise, and respectable as my Nana. Lynley, her middle name, is my best friend's name. I've always loved the name but love the friend even more. I hope Caroline is as loyal, trustworthy, and genuine as Lynley. If she is anything like either of those women we will be blessed!

 

We are full of joy and gratitude! Praise God for this wonderful blessing!

 



Gender, Belly Pics, & 25 years old

We have lot of exciting things going on around here! The most exciting would be that we find out TOMORROW if we are having a son or a daughter. It'll be so cool & surreal to start calling our baby by his or her name instead of just "baby." We have names picked for both genders. If you are on our inner circle, which I'm sure you're hoping you are, we'll let you know tomorrow.

Today, because we thought it'd be fun (and it really was), we did all of the gender prediction tests we could find on the internet. They ranged from somewhat ridiculous to just crazy. The most ridiculous was the one where I had to pick up a car key. If I picked it up from the round end that meant that we're having a boy, if I picked it up from the skinny end that meant we're having a girl (spoiler alert: I picked it up from the round end). We thought it was pretty funny that of the 11 tests we did 6 showed girl and 5 showed boy. Good thing we don't really believe in this stuff or we'd be frustrated and confused. And good thing we get the real answer tomorrow!

People are constantly asking what we think it is. At first, I always said girl. But lately, I've been thinking boy. Really I just have no idea. Brad said boy at first but now he has no feeling one way or the other. Almost all of my students, including past students, say they think its a boy. They're just about as excited as I am to find out.

Also, I had dreams all night long that we were getting the sonogram and the doctor would say "Congrats! You are having a..." and then the dream would end. This happened over and over and over last night. I was really disappointed when I woke up and it was Sunday, not Monday. Needless to say, we are keeping our fingers and toes crossed that baby will cooperate tomorrow and we can find out! We'll be shocked and so, so excited either way. Its a win win!

In other news, Friday was my 25th birthday. I took this picture that morning & texted it to Brad saying "I never thought I'd look like this on my 25th birthday."

But I am grateful to be ever-growing! I could do without my face pudging up though...oh well.

21 weeks

22 weeks

21 & 22 weeks fruit- zucchini

My two babies!

 

I had a great birthday. Probably the greatest of all my birthdays. I felt surprised and loved by all of the people that mean the most to me. I was given thoughtful & generous gifts, ate way, way too much good food, went to a Ranger's game, and spent the whole weekend with family and friends. 25 is even better than I pictured it being!

21 weeks again- just thought this was a more fun background

 

 

And I almost forgot- I can feel the baby move now! It is the coolest feeling and there is no way to describe it adequately. I thank God for every little flutter I feel.

 

Ok, that's all. We'll see if I can actually sleep tonight...I doubt it! 

"Don't pregnant women have a lot of gas?" -student

Soon I will write a post dedicated to all of the hilarious things my students have asked me or told me about pregnancy. Its awesome. But for now I will leave you all with pictures of my ever-growing self. And of course solo pictures of Brad holding fruits & veggies.

16 weeks in Guatemala. Sure beats the black background.

The fruit this week was avacado but we forgot to do it in Guat...which is crazy b/c fresh avacados were growing everywhere!

17 weeks
After a full day of working in my classroom...yikes.

The fruit this week was turnip. Couldn't bring myself to buy it. It looked disgusting.

 

18 weeks

18 weeks- sweet potato

19 weeks

20 weeks

Baby was a mango for week 19 & this far into week 20.

I cannot believe that we are already halfway through this pregnancy. 2 weeks exactly until we know if we're having a boy or a girl. I can't wait to meet our sweet, little baby!