It's a...

So... we had our big ultrasound. First and foremost, baby appears healthy and growing well. That is certainly a relief and the best news. But, of course, then everyone wants to know the other big questions... it is a boy or a girl!

I have just assumed we would have a boy for a few different reasons... like the time of conception, my lack of nausea/morning sickness and because there are a lot more boys in our family than girls! I always wanted at least one little girl but just assumed we would have more boys. So, as a result, I was in a little disbelief when Chet and the ultrasound tech announced it looked like a GIRL at our ultrasound! I made her go back for another look!

We are pleased to announce that we are expecting a sweet (and active) little girl this coming December. Chet looks pretty good holding pink balloons, right?

Montana Trip and 19 weeks

It had been 8 months since we lasted visited family in Montana. It seems hard to believe that time passed that quickly but we had asked for time off in July to go out and make one of our bigger Montana, "visit the family" trips which includes seeing both sides of the family. We were definitely excited and managed to cram a lot into a week!

We have given up eating fast food while traveling so now we have started discovering new places to eat. We looked online and found a place in Spokane that serves locally grown food with a Southern vibe. Um, and we are in love with this restaurant now! Casper Fry is in a neighborhood that is being revitalized. You can tell it got rather run down over time but now hip new restaurants, a farmer's market and other events are common there. The farmhouse wedge salad was spectacular and the atmosphere was very cool.

There was a big fire in Superior on our way to Missoula so we stopped and watched the tanker helicopters for awhile filling up with water to fight the fire. Their efficiency was impressive!

It was quite warm in Missoula while we were there... hanging in the 90s during the day and cooling down to the 60s overnight. This was a little much for me (I'm a Western Washington Weather Weenie for sure) but the sun plus the smoke from the fire produced beautiful sunsets. We floated the river one afternoon, went to a choral concert and hung out with friends. It was nice to just get to relax a bit.

Then we headed east to Hobson, Lewiston and Great Falls to visit my extended relatives. Unfortunately, I was bad with photos so don't have any of that time. We got to see aunts, uncles and cousins and catch up a bit. And, we spent a fun afternoon with Grandpa and Flo at his retirement housing playing cards. That certainly was something I wouldn't trade for anything.

After that, we headed west to visit Grandma in Kalispell. We went the scenic route on the south side of Glacier Park. One of these days when we have more time, I would love to actually stop and camp/hike in the park but we always seem to be too busy visiting while we are out there! It was a beautiful day though and the wild flowers were out.

We saw Grandma, Chet's aunt and uncle and my aunt, uncle and cousin in Kalispell. Lots of nice visiting.

I made it to 19 weeks on this trip! Baby keeps growing though it still doesn't show a ton.

On the way home, we definitely took the scenic route on smaller highways. It was beautiful but took us so long to get home! One place we stopped was Kootenai Falls... absolutely beautiful and worth the stop.

Overall, it was a great trip... but I think we arrived home more tired than we left after the long drive home! Sometimes I think that we need vacations from our vacations. Very excited for next week when we get to find out if our little one is healthy and if it is a boy or girl!

18 weeks

Due to timing, I'm just going to be posting pictures every couple weeks. Life is getting busy for sure!

I am noticing a growing belly though I think others still don't notice. People at work don't necessarily notice on their own but I am happily sharing the news at this point. When I wear certain shirts, my growing belly certainly shows but other clothes hide it quite a bit. It probably looks like I just ate too much. :)

I am happy to be able to be active and have more energy while exercising. I tried to run a couple weeks ago (I've never loved running but thought I'd try to continue it intermittently) and developed horrible hip pain so that my have to not be continued. I won't complain as there are other types of exercise I enjoy more.

I'm noticing more and more flutters and little baby kicks. Amazingly, Chet has been able to feel a few of them if he is very patient. Our little baby must be a pretty active one as I know a lot of husbands can't feel movement for awhile!

It has been a beautiful summer in Seattle... really warm weather. My good friend, Mindy, was out visiting so we took a ferry ride over to visit some other friends on the 4th of July and have a BBQ. I also got to spend some time at my parent's house... cutie nephew Eli went in his little pool and entertained us all with his splashing. I sure hope our little one enjoys water as much as him!

We are headed to Montana next week so hopefully the heat won't be too bad. We have lots of miles to cover and family to visit and it will be my first longer trip in the car while pregnant. Good thing I don't seem to have to urinate frequently like some do (maybe all those years of being a nurse?) but who knows when you are sitting the care for hours on end.

16 weeks

I'm not sure who all will be interested in weekly posts, but I think Chet and I will enjoy looking back on changes that are happening in our lives right now. This is a unique and special time for us. I actually hadn't taken any belly photos prior to last week because I didn't feel like I looked different but now I kind of regret not taking some to show before and after!

Things are going well and the weeks are starting to go by faster. It is nice to have our extended family know and to not be keeping the news a secret at work anymore. This is especially good because I feel like I have been working a lot (or just a lot of a day on, a day off, two days on, one day off without any stretches of time off).

I think it is kind of fun to journal a few memories of the weeks as they go by and so will try to use some of these questions each week.

How far along: 16 weeks

Total weight gain: gained 6 lbs total

Maternity clothes: Not yet... using a rubber band and the Bella Band. And I have 2 pairs of work pants that still fit fine so I'm using those a lot.

Sleep: Sleeping fine as long as my schedule for work doesn't flip flop between days and nights too much... and as long as the fan is on because it is so hot here right now!

Best moment of this week: hanging outside in the evenings around our fire pit with the hubby, dinner with friends, sharing news with family and friends

Miss anything: my clothes fitting, having the same energy during workouts as before.

Movement: Thought I may have felt something while laying down to fall asleep but not sure yet. Hopefully soon!

Food cravings: Trader Joe's dark chocolate covered almonds with sea salt... and fruit. :)

Anything making you queasy or sick: nope!

Have you started to show yet: To me and Chet, yes... other people don't seem to notice as much.

Gender: TBA late July or early August

Happy or moody most of the time: Doing pretty well except when I discovered the neighbors pruned our side of the lilac as well as theirs without asking... :(

Looking forward to: Two days off in a row at the end of the week! Having friends over this weekend.