Announcing Baby Christian!!

The tech couldn't get a good profile shot cause his arm was in the way, but this is the best she could get.

Freaky alien eye baby

And the tech was really excited about the boy's bum, and it's Kate's favorite picture, too, so I thought I'd post it. :)

It's a BOY!! I was a little surprised, actually. When we were looking at the TV screen, I thought I saw girl parts and yelled out, "It's a GIRL!" Then the technician replied, "No...no, it is not a girl. I can guarantee you it's a boy." I was like, "WHAT?"

We've always planned on naming our first boy Christian (Andrew's middle name), but now Andrew is having second thoughts about that. That's what we're calling him for now. And even Kate didn't seem to mind that it was a boy. I think we're all glad the guessing games are finally over. She likes the idea of having a "Baby Brother" and calls him Baby Christian already. It's cute. So no worries about him being called "Girl"--at least for now.

We are very excited and have a lot of boy clothes shopping to do! :)

Pink or blue?

As I've been waiting to find out the gender of our baby (since I found I was pregnant), I have frequently asked for Kate's opinion on the matter. Early on, she would guess both boy and girl, equally. Now, here's what the conversation goes like--

Me: "Kate, do you think the baby in my tummy is a boy or a girl?"

Kate: "Girl!"

Me: "Really? What should we name the baby if it's a girl?"

Kate is contemplative, but I suggest a name before she gets too fixated on something like "Princess" or "Cinderella." She accepts my suggestion with excitement, and I move on.

Me: "What if it's a boy? What should we name the baby if it's a boy?"

Kate, without hesitation: "GIRL!"

Me: "We should name the boy 'girl'?"

Kate nods enthusiastically.

Other times I'll say, "What if it's a boy in my tummy?" And she'll respond emphatically, "No! The baby in your tummy is a girl. The baby in my tummy is a boy." My guess is she understands she doesn't really have a baby in her tummy, and that's why it can afford to be a boy.

She often will get a sad face, and I'll ask her what the matter is. She'll say, "I don't feel so good. I have a baby in my tummy. The doctor's got to get it OUT."

Poor girl, I know she's tired of hearing that I'm feeling sick or tired because of the baby. She is so excited to see the baby in my tummy tomorrow at the ultrasound. I hope she won't be too disappointed if it's a boy! And I hope she won't call him "girl" his whole life.

Andrew really would like a boy, and I would, too. But since Kate has become obsessed with it being a girl, for her sake I hope it is. Of course, we would be happy with either, we would just like to be guaranteed at least one of each. I will let you know TOMORROW.

And the winner is...

...Andrew! Last night was the award ceremony and opening night of the Bean Museum Photography exhibit. Andrew entered again this year and won 2nd place in the landscape category for this beautiful photo of Mesa Arch in Canyonlands. He also got an honorable mention for a photo he took in California. Last year he entered and won 1st place for "Ashen Flame."

Andrew recently had a lot of his pictures scanned and has been working late nights to get them all edited. The ones he entered still need some tweaks before he is going to put them on his website. But he let me put this up for now (the others will have to wait)--excuse the glare of the camera that pretty much ruins the picture...I'm not the photog.

If you live in the area, you can check out the show until March 8th.

Some pics of the place

My mom has been asking to see pictures of our new apartment since we moved in. I finally found the camera--so here are some. I only took pics of the clean rooms. So below is the kitchen, the office area (which is not all clean, but pretty close), Kate's bathroom, Kate in the living room, and the gorgeous view. And above is just a cute bonus picture of Kate and Daddy.

Done and done!

Wahoo! My mom's book is completely done and printed! I just got my copy in the mail. I really had a lot of fun working with my mom on this. I've read this book many, many times now in the process of editing it, and I love reading it every time. She is such a great storyteller. And Candis did another awesome job on the cover! It is so fun to see a project like this from its very beginning stages all the way to the end. It is so fulfilling, I love it! I love you, Mom!!

Cut off!

Yesterday was one of the longest days of my life. Andrew had the car at work and our INTERNET went down. 'Gasp!' You have to understand that when the internet goes down so does our phone because we have internet phone. And now, at this new place, apparently the television feels the need to jump on the bandwagon. And the router is not in our apartment.

It was a long day of hearing Kate (who is very sick and sad) say, "I want to do something else." Yeah, me too!

Well, part way through the day I realized that our toilets (BOTH toilets) were clogged and would not unclog, try as I might. They would just slowly drain. Then I looked in the tub and it had a slight discoloration to it--like light tan. Agh! Sewage!!

Anyway, I endured all day and all night long--cause Andrew was gone until LATE with his boss at work (who is also our landlord). I literally had NOTHING else to do but clean, but I just didn't have it in me. So I watched a movie with Kate and tried to relax.

When Andrew got home he told me that the Christmas lights on the house had tripped a breaker that was the reason for all our troubles. It messed with the internet and with the water pump. A plumber is on his way now to replace the pump. Until then, we are not supposed to use the toilets or any running water. No dishes, no wash, no shower! As a pregnant lady, I go potty about a million times a day, so this was not welcome news.

Anyway, it's almost over--the plumber has just arrived! And I already feel better with the internet working.

For anyone still checking my blog...

I don't know if there's anyone there or not, but my cousin has reminded me (once again) that I should post something. This has been one of the craziest months of my life, but things are finally calming down, so I will take a second to write.

Of course, there was Christmas and all that goes along with that. That was fun, by the way. I'll try to find pics later. One step at a time. :)

But mostly this past month has been spent packing, moving, cleaning, stressing, laying (I am pregnant, after all--did I ever mention that on here? Well, I think everyone knows already anyway), interviewing a new client during the week of our move, finishing the editing on my mom's book, ordering my mom's book, organizing, throwing away, and lots more laying and eating. Maintaining Kate's survival is mixed in there someplace, too.

So please excuse the lack of blogging. OH! And Andrew fixed my computer, so you are likely to see more of me on here.

We LOVE our new place and are just trying to get settled. Andrew is working a crazy lot of hours, so it's basically up to me...and well, I'm tired.

I finally have a doctor's appointment now that things are settled down, insurance is finalized, and I chose a new doctor. SO--we'll see, finally, just how far along I am !! I am thinking I should be about 16 weeks on Monday. Crazy. Things are so different the second time around. I don't want to say I'm not as concerned...but I don't obsess at all like I did with the first one. I was constantly reading pregnancy books and analyzing every twitch and gas bubble. :) Either I'm more relaxed about this one or I just haven't had a whole lot of time to think about it. It sure makes it go a lot faster!

Anyway, I am actually making dinner tonight--yay! My sister came over and completely organized my kitchen and helped me throw away bags and bags of stuff I haven't used in years. It was great! If I could just do that with the rest of the house now. Sometimes it just takes someone saying, "Are you REALLY going to use this?" or "How many whisks and wooden spoons do you really need?" to realize you could part with a whole lot of stuff.

Once I find my camera I'll post some new pics of our new place. Until then!