A Different Kind of Labor Day

If you follow this blog regularly, you know that I've been on a bit of a sabbatical from posting!  Sometimes you just need a break, you know?!  But, the long duration between posts is not without reason.... Jordan and I have news!..... (pause for dramatic effect)

I am pregnant with our first child! 
Wow, it feels weird to even type that!

We found out about our little one over Father's Day weekend which only added to my excitement!  The last few months we've had lots of new emotions and thoughts about our little brewing baby.  Of all those emotions, my overwhelming feeling has been joy and peace!  We both feel so thankful for this blessing and we are looking forward to meeting our baby (admittedly with some trepidation)!


I have sonogram pictures to share.  Is that weird?  It's extremely personal to show the world these precious pictures, but it's just amazing to watch this little miracle grow!

Top: This was our first sonogram at almost 7 weeks.  At this point, our little sweet pea was just 7.1mm in length with a heartbeat of 122bpm!  At our first sono, Jordan and I were just in awe listening to the heartbeat.  It's amazing that a tiny human was nestled in there, but even more amazing to me that doctors could find a heartbeat so early!  I got a bad case of the giggles at or first appointment because I thought it was hilarious that they have a measurement called the CRL (Crown to Rump Length).  I was tickled that a term like "rump" would be an official medical term!  LOL!
Middle: Second sono at about 9 weeks and measuring at 23mm with a heartbeat of 176bpm!
Bottom: Third sono at about 11 weeks.  This was a surprising appt because the baby was measuring 6.3cm long which was a full week ahead of schedule!  Whew!  Heartbeat was 162bpm!  In this picture, the baby was starting to actually look like a baby.  In some scans you can see such detail like fingers, hemispheres of the brain, and even a wave with the tiny arm/hand!



Fast forward to last weekend when we found out the gender!  My doctor gave us the option to find out the gender via blood test at 11 weeks which is incredible technology! It took a couple weeks for the lab to churn the results and then our doctor wrote the gender in a sealed envelope for us.  With the help of my work friend, Heather, we were able to put together a reveal box so we could find out the gender with our family.  I like happy surprises!

Our little gender reveal moment turned into an incredibly fun afternoon!  My SIL, Elizabeth, pulled together some AWESOME decorations and made the whole thing so elegant (pictures of the decor below)!  Our whole family really made us feel very special that weekend with gifts, balloons, and their shared excitement!  I was truly touched!

Top Left: Elizabeth made Abby this adorable Raider Red bandana that said "Big Sister"!  I just love it, plus, she can wear it for football season!
Right: Jordan indulged my craziness in making this reveal box.  This box was gigantic, but we needed the large size to fit all the balloons!  Instead of decorating the whole box, I opted for a foam board that could easily be removed.  The foam board was much more manageable and can even be reused if necessary!
Bottom Left: Jordan, Me, and Abby.  Abby looks unenthusiastic!  I didn't realize until later that Abby was kind of stressed out with all the noise and activity. 

Top: Look at these amazing decorations!  Elizabeth really made every detail so beautiful!  I got a good chuckle out of the M&Ms that she had on either side of the table.  One bowl was peanut M&Ms and one bowl was regular M&Ms.  She had cute signs that said "Nuts?" or "No Nuts?"  So funny!  She also had a cute little blue tackle box filled with gummy fish, gummy worms, and gold fish (crackers)!  
Bottom Left: As I mentioned, my friend, Heather, made some yummy cupcakes!  These were the "boy" cupcakes with little bobbers on top (made from white chocolate Lindt truffles)!
Bottom Right: I loved the little girl cupcakes with pretty pearls and tulle poofs on top!  Heather is quite the talented baker!

And then the moment of reveal!
I was genuinely surprised which made the moment very special!  I just love Jordan's smile in the bottom picture.

I told myself I would NOT cry!  Boy or girl, I knew I'd be happy.  And yet, I couldn't help the water works!  After we pulled ourselves together (lots of hugging), we took a few group pictures.  Photo credit to my Dad for graciously capturing these moments for us!  Thanks Dad!
Top Left: Jordan and me
Top Right: Us with Mom!  My friend who coordinated the balloons put a little tackle box in the bottom of the reveal box filled with sweet booties and hats!  The balloons and tackle box made perfect props for our pictures!
Bottom Left: The girls - Elizabeth, mom, me, Aunt Cindy
Bottom Right: OMG...I loved these shirts that Elizabeth handmade!  They are going to be the best Auntie and Uncle!  This little boy is going to be surrounded by SO much love!

Top Left: I got a kick of of S&E's pup, Lucy over the weekend!  She had a blast chewing on a big piece of wood!  She'd drag her lumber all around the yard slowly making mulch!
Top Right: Abby was not thrilled.  She hates wearing any kind of clothing so the bandana, plus the noise, plus all the people were her last straw.  In this picture she is in the middle of her escape to the house.  Hopefully she doesn't have too much of a Lady-in-the-Tramp complex when the baby arrives!
Bottom Left: Daddy and me!  He and Mom are already awesome Grandparents but it's going to be exciting to add a little boy to the mix!

Lastly, I have a few videos to share!
An then Jordan had the brilliant idea to create a time lapse video of the whole process!  It turned out great!  Video below:


That's it for today!  Since I have neglected to post the last month you can expect to see 3-4 retro posts! 

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