It's a BOY!!

Brent and I have known about this pregnancy since before Halloween. It has already seemed like a long pregnancy to me and I'm only 21 weeks into it! I think the next seventeen weeks are going to drag by. Initially, we considered not finding out the gender of this baby, but in the end I couldn't stand the suspense and we were really looking forward to the 20 week ultrasound. Last Wednesday, the day finally arrived and we all piled into the doctor's office for a peek at the new baby.
Maura was super excited to be there with us. Tristan could not have cared less. He still has no concept of that baby in my tummy. Maura was really hoping for a girl so she could name her Stacy(Her favorite babysitter's name.) I knew that taking both kids would be a hassle, but I wanted Maura to be a part of it, but didn't want her to have to attend the actual appointment portion. My mom came to help wrangle the kids and find out the gender of her newest grandchild.
We all piled into the teeny tiny ultrasound room and the US tech lost no time in giving us a peek at our new baby. So precious. I love seeing that profile for the very first time. Suddenly the baby seems much more real to me. It has a face and a distinct personality. I love that little snub nose. I asked the tech to give us a quick once over so that the kids could see the head, face, heart, arms and legs and so that they could leave the room after we determined the gender. Maura was just captivated by the onscreen images.
Then, the tech moved on down and got a shot between the baby's legs. She said, "Can you tell what it is?" I said, "Oh, yea. It's a boy!" It was VERY apparent. The first reaction in the room was Maura, saying "Oh no! I wanted a girl! I wanted to name her Stacy!" Brent and I were initially shocked. We both felt strongly that the baby was a girl. I kept thinking, "Wow! A baby boy! I can't believe it!" It's taken some time to sink in, but we're both very excited and can't wait to have two boys and one little princess! Everything else looked great on the ultrasound. The tech spent a lot of time looking at the baby's heart due to the angle he was lying at. While she did all that, I was able to check out the baby's hands, fingers, feet, toes and lips. Everything looks so perfect. We were so relieved! What a wonderful report! After our ultrasound, we talked with the doctor, who wasn't exactly excited that she might be delivering another almost 10 pound boy. She immediately got out her calender to see when she could induce me so that the baby would hopefully not be so huge. It looks like this baby will be induced sometime between June 22 and June 26th. So excited that I won't have to carry this baby to my due date!
Maura recovered from her initial disappointment while she waited in the waiting room. She realized that she could name the baby Austin and perked right up. Now she's very excited about the baby boy, especially when she realized she would be our only girl.
Tristan still has no idea what is going on, but he got into the general air of celebration. He'll only be 25 months old when this baby is born. Maura is exactly 25 months older than Tristan too. How is that for timing???
We headed out to Cracker Barrel for a celebratory breakfast. Brent had the day off school due to snow, so we just took our time and enjoyed the day.
Big sister Maura already has lots of plans for her baby brother! She can't wait to hold him.
Lorie and Alex joined us for breakfast too. This second boy evens things up in our extended family--two boys, two girls!!
Proud Grammy! She was so excited to hear about her newest baby grandson. We can hardly wait to meet him and see his sweet face for the very first time! He'll be here in four short months. How exciting and how terrifying at the same time! I know that God will have to give us the grace to be great parents to three wonderful children. Thank you, God, for our beautiful son!