Man, I can offically say I’ve got pregnancy symptoms!  My ankles were swollen to the size of cantalopes last night and my feet weren’t any better.  Jason always teases me that my feet look like Barney Rubble’s feet (he calls them “Barney Rubs”).  I hate to admit it but they truly were living up to that name last night.  I am having the same feet/ankle swelling today, too.  I think that’s just going to be part of it for the next few months.

I’ve also had swelling in my fingers and hands and I’ve been having the occassional bout of heart burn.  I am also starting to feel really tired again.  I feel asleep on the couch at 6pm tonight.  I slept for about an hour until the phone rang and woke me up.  I go in on the 17th for mandatory diabetes testing, the doctor said she would also check my blood for antyhing else that might be contributing to my fatigue, like anemia.  Chances are it’s just a result of the pregancy itself combined with the extra stress that’s been going on lately.  We’ll see….

Your father and I went for our monthly check up today.  Everything looks really good!  We got to see you on the sonogram again…it was pretty amazing that we could both tell how much you’ve grown just in the 4 weeks since our last appointment!  Your arm and leg bones are longer and you just looked bigger overall.

We confirmed yet again that you are a girl.  And like every other time, you were VERY active.  You were moving around so much that they had trouble getting you to sit still long enough to hear your heartbeat.  We also got to see you fold up into the shape of a U and play with your toes.  I guess you’ve gotta do something to keep yourself entertained in there.  The nurse said “oh, the active ones grow up to be leaders, not followers”.  I had to politely explain to her that there were already two very strong leaders in our household and that adding a third would be challenging for everyone involed.  🙂

You weighed in at over a pound and are measuring about 11 inches long.  I can definitely feel you moving around these days; everytime you move it makes me smile.  I am going to have to start  sleeping on my side now which is less than thrilling for me since I am a full time back sleeper.  It’s officially the beginning of the many sleepless nights to come.

Well, I am disappointed that I’ve gone so long without writing! Let’s see, what’s happened since last entry…

We’ve pretty much narrowed down most of our registry items. After much debate, it looks like your bedding will be the Nojo Ladybug Lullabye collection. It’s soooo cute – we hope you like it as much as we do! We have your bedroom furniture narrowed down to a few options and hope to decide something on that soon.

I am about 99.9% sure that I’ve been feeling you move around for the past couple of weeks or so but I haven’t been certain. Although I feel certain you were feeling very active today – I felt some movement at work this morning and on the way home today!!!

We’re about 22 weeks pregnant right now. Nicole and Grady are only 5 days behind us so it’s very possible you and your baby boy cousin might be born on the same day! We also realized this weekend that we really only have about 3 more months to get everything in order. We figure we should be prepared by the beginning of May just in case you decide to make your debut early.

We’ve got 2 showers planned. The first one is being hosted by Christine Hernandez and will be held on March 14th. That one is a more formal, female only affair…all of your grandmas will probably be there! Knowing Christine, every detail will be tended to! The second is on April 4th, hosted by my work friends, and will be a more casual type co-ed party atmosphere. We didn’t want your dad to feel left out. 🙂

I’ve also come to the painful realization that it will probably be another year or so before I actually get to sleep soundly through the night. I must admit, I am missing the days when I could fall asleep mid sentence and not wake up until 12 hours later. It used to drive your dad crazy that it was so easy for me to come by a good night’s sleep! I knew those days would be over once you got here, but I didn’t realize it would actually start much sooner than that! 🙁

From what I hear it will ALL be worth it!

Well, it’s official – you are a GIRL! Your dad picked me up at work and we drove to the doctor’s office for our 11am appointment. After much anticipation we were called to the sonogram room. The lady who did your last sonogram was there and so was a nurse in training – she was there to observe and practice.

Well, it wasn’t long before the lady doing the sonogram said she was “pretty sure” but not 100% sure what you were because you kept crossing your little legs. She asked if we wanted to hear her guess or come back for another sonogram at a later date. My response, “Neither. I want you to keep pokin’ around until you can be 100% sure!” We all got a good laugh out of that one…but I was pretty serious. 🙂 She must have picked up on that fact cause she continued to move you around until she said she was 100% sure. Then she said it, “It’s a girl!”

After much excitement your father and I wanted to know how she could be so sure. That’s when she pulled up a picture of your bottom and showed us the three lines she said resembled a hamburger. Ha! A hamburger?! Then we asked what she would look for if it were a boy and the answer made us both laugh – a turtle! HA!

So, you’re a girl!?!? Wow! What a blessing! Everything looked great – your measurements were right on, your heartbeat was a healthy 164, and your growth appears to be right on track – she said you were 6-7″ long and weighed about 9 ounces. I am absolutely amazed at how good I feel! No weight gain and no heart burn, I keep thinking this is just the calm bef0re the storm. 🙂

We left the office and immediately called our parents. Luli was ecstatic, Terry and Sue both said they knew you were a girl, and Karen was jazzed to finally have a baby girl in the family. We both texted all the other important people. I couldn’t help but wonder so many things: what color will your eyes be, will you have light or dark hair, how much of my Arab heritage will you inherit, how tall will you be, what will your skin be like, etc? I am looking so forward to watching your relationship with your father blossom – you will definitely be Daddy’s Little Girl from here on out.

We spent a good portion of the afternoon/evening registering for the sex specific items like bedding, blankets, an clothing. Still only 2 names in the running – Hailey and Nicole. We’ll keep looking just to make sure we’ve got the best options to choose from. You are going to be one very special, spoiled, and lucky little lady! We can’t wait to meet you!!!

Our sonogram is scheduled for 11am tomorrow – only 21 more hours before we know what you are! I am getting super excited…and anxious.

I am going through one of my “am I still pregnant” stages. You’ve been so good to me (hardly any symptoms at all) that I sometimes question if you’re still in there! Your father laughs at me and says I am silly….while I know he’s right, it’s hard sometimes not to worry. 😉

We had a wonderful New Year’s – we had some friends over for a house party…entertaining is one of the things we do best. Oh, and we found out that our neighbors/friends, Noah & Cheryl, are also pregnant! They are about 9 weeks along and due at the end of July. I have a feeling we’ll be spending some time with them and their baby since we’ll pretty much be making this journey together. Hopefully, we can trade out baby-sitting nights so each of us can have some couple’s time. New Year’s day we cleaned up the house, watched lots of TV and had dinner at Chili’s – the same place we had our first date. 🙂

Only 3 more days and we’ll know your sex! Your father and I are both anxious to find out but neither of us have a feeling one way or the other, really. And neither of us have a preference, either. We can both think of so many reasons why it would be wonderful to have a girl, and likewise for a boy. Either way, in just a few days this major question will be answered!

We looked at our first daycare yesterday. It was a pretty interesting experience. We’ll have many more to look into before finalizing this decision, but at least we’ve gotten started.

Your baby showers are coming together nicely,too. Looks like Christine is going to throw a very traditional shower on March 14th, probably at a restaurant with a private room. Karen and Jacob should be able to make it down for that one, so it will be nice.

Then our other friends (the party crowd) are going to host more of a shower/party on April 4th at our house. We did a similar layout for our friend Kristin and it worked out great! It should be especially nice since the weather should be good and we have the perfect backyard for entertaining. I am really looking forward to being on the receiving end of all these events; quite a change since I am always the planner.

I think we are going to look at baby furniture and registry items today. We probably won’t actually register until we find out if you are a boy or girl – that way we can get the right colors – but we figured it couldn’t hurt to start looking…since this process may take a while.

My tummy is definitely getting bigger…and more round. My waist is slowly disappearing. I’ve picked up a few maternity clothes, but I am most worried about finding work clothes. None of the maternity places really sell long skirts…which will be my attire of choice given Uline’s wacky dress code. I may just end up buying elastic waisted skirts at the regular stores.

What an exciting time in our lives this is for your father and I! While still a little unsure of all the changes to come, we are both excited and anxious to have you in our home…and we can’t wait for you to meet your BIG sister, Maddison…or Maddie for short. She is absolutely going to love you to pieces!

Not sure if it was the plane ride or what, but I had swollen ankles for a few days after Xmas. And it begins…

We flew into Iowa for Xmas on 12/23. We had dinner at Okaboji Grill in Newton with the Morgans and Brad’s family. We spilled the beans at the dinner table and it’s safe to say…everyone was very caught off guard, but all were VERY surprised and excited! Karen probably the most!

We spent the entire day with Jeremy and Stacey on 12/26. Stacey and I went shopping while the boys stayed home and talked politics. Jeremy and Stacey’s new house is absolutely beautiful – we are so very happy for them! And I am very happy to announce that they have agreed to be your Godparents. They also recently found out they have a new baby on the way! They are due 7/13 so they’ll soon be a family of four.

Just think…this time next year, you’ll be almost 7 months old!

My mom drove to town today. I left work a little early and we had a late lunch at Luby’s and did some light shopping. It was fun to talk about you with her – she is getting excited now. I have an appointment on 12/29 for some follow up testing; nothing major. Since I am off that day, I plan to use that time to register at the hospital and find out about birthing classes and the like. I think my mom may try to gi with me that day.

For now, we are looking forward to our trip to Iowa. We are so excited to tell Bruce, Karen, and the rest of the Iowa clan….I think they will be very surprised!

I had a dream last night that you are a girl! In my dream you were having explosive diarrhea and projectile vomiting…both at the same time! That part of the dream was not so great; I think it’s just a testament to my worries and fears, but it was cool to dream one way or the other on your sex. We’ll know in less than a month if that dream was right or not.