butterflies, bunnies and hearts

i loathe monday’s…but i must say today was pretty exceptional :)

i am 18 weeks today. in my last post i was pining to feel the baby move, kick…something. i think just a day or so after that post the flutters picked up a bit and i could feel things bubbling about. it is hit or miss though and still pretty hard to discern from all the other chaos in my tummy that comes with pregnancy.

today was our fetal anatomy ultrasound at the hospital. everyone we know cast their ballots from friends, acquaintances, colleagues, family and even our doctor. it seemed everyone just “knew” it was a girl (do i bleed pink or something?!) i never really felt one way or the other like so many mother’s say they do. my parents and siblings all voted girl. i think just b/c my sister had a boy last month, so they wanted a girl too – of course they will tell you it was scientific and educated hypothesizing. matthew has voted girl since the day we tested positive. (11/15/09). his parents, brother, sister in law and their kids might be the only ones who voted boy…and unanimously at that. so today, after all the votes were in and the ultrasound tech jellied my belly up and poked and prodded me and baby for a solid hour…we are thrilled to say that Daddy know’s best, and…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

so pull out the pink the frills and the flowers…not really. i actually don’t want any of those in my nursery (i HATE the idea of a pink room in my house– no offense to anyone who has this…they are cute, just not for me). but you get the point. its finally time to shop and buy and go nuts!

it feels special to know what is growing inside of me. the baby was so active during the ultrasound moving and flipping about. she stuck her little butt in our face several times and sucked a finger, both super cute to mommy & daddy. she often had her feet pressed toward my back with her butt pressed toward my bellybutton. this is probably a big reason why i have not felt much movement. though i am pretty small and should be able to feel movement rather early on…they are very difficult to feel when the baby’s kicks are directed toward my back rather than my belly. i was just so relieved to see her moving about and growing like a healthy, perfect angel. we also got to hear the heartbeat. it has dropped another 10 beats since we last heard it. it is now a strong 144 and sounds like absolute music to my ears. matthew and i just giggle every time we get to hear it and find ourselves grinning ear to ear. so, so wonderful!

we bought our first present for the baby on saturday while we were out just shopping around and enjoying our little valentine weekend. surprisingly enough, we had not made any purchases for the little tot until then! so baby’s 1st present is named mudpie and is an adorable blue and white seersucker elephant. it is going to go perfectly with the bedding…yep, i actually went ahead and bought baby’s bedding before finding out the sex. it is pretty gender neutral and i just LOVE it. amazingly enough, so does abby! i had come across it a while back on ETSY. it was the only one left and after we bought the elephant i knew it would go perfectly with this bedding, which believe it or not was sort of my deciding factor. :) little mudpie pushed me over the emotional edge and i was just sold on this whole vision in my little pregnant, over emotional head – haha!

MUDPIE <3 what a cutie!

anyhow…more to come later on the room and decor. i am so excited. Abs has already one several ebay auctions and all my little pieces are coming together quite nicely. yea! i guess this weekend we will have to start considering the real nitty gritty…painting, bead board, etc.

GOD IS GOOD and we are so blessed. this time a year ago we were trying and praying so hard to have a baby. and here we are today staring at our little one flipping around before our eyes. WOW!  PRAISE “to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” ephesians 3:20

what an amazing Valentine’s Day. my heart truly belongs to my Savior for this unimaginable gift. and my most unconditional love and most secret and special places in my heart belong to my precious abby and my baby…GIRL! xoxo

oh…and for record keeping – here is my 18 week photo. i am not sure what stupid part of me decided to always do these at the end of the day in sweats and no makeup. something i regret, but i am always too tired to care to fix :)

(to clarify the title – the butterflies are in my tummy. the bunnies will be in the nursery :). and the hearts…well mine is overflowing this valentine’s day!)