It's a GIRL!!!!!!!

Well, last night we FINALLY had the big reveal party! I don't think I have been that nervous in a LONG time. Something about finding out the answer to the question you have been pondering in your head for the past 4 1/2 months is truly nerve-wracking!! It was such a special night with our families and I am so happy and blessed that we got to share this moment with them. As you can imagine, Jono and I are so thrilled that we will be parents to a little girl in the spring!! If you know our family history, then you know that boy genes run STRONG. So honestly, in all our lives, neither one of us ever imagined that we would have a girl first. We both always pictured having a boy first, and maybe even second and third. And though we both would love to have a boy, I have always known that a girl is a MUST for me at some point. I would never have told people this before last night, but I felt so strongly since the moment I found out I was pregnant that I was going to be having a little girl that I would have been so surprised if it were a boy (happy, but surprised). However, the reality that we are ACTUALLY having a girl is still so surreal and I can't believe it! Can't wait to meet our daughter!!

Here are a few pics from the party last night, and a video of how it all went down at the bottom!

This is the table where we had the cake as well as some cute boy and girl things my mom had purchased. As you can see, everything on the left is blue and everything on the right is pink! She will soon be returning the blue items:).

I had the guests publicly state their vote by tying either a pink or blue ribbon around their apple cider mug. I think the blue ribbon was the clear winner last night! But like I mentioned, if you know our family history, this was not surprising:).

Here is a close-up of the cake. Society Bakery did a great job and it was DELISH!

Waiting to cut into the cake and find out!

About to cut it and so nervous!

It's PINK and we are so happy!!

Still can't believe it!

I tried to post the video of us cutting the cake last night, but it is not working!:( Here is a link to the video on my brother's FB profile. Hopefully that works! Thanks for the video, John!

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=800920526773&ref=mf

"Pink or Blue??" Party Update

I figured I'd better update the blog for those of you who have been asking. Yesterday, thanks to stand-by flying, I was lucky enough to get stuck in the San Diego airport from 5:30am-5:30pm, therefore causing me to MISS my own party!! I was obviously so sad and bummed (may have even shed a few tears in the airport by myself), but I am feeling great today and ready for the rescheduled party TONIGHT!! I am getting A LOT of "pink" guesses which is so funny to me because so many people thought I would have all boys since I have 3 older brothers and so does Jono--no sisters for either of us! But I love it! And I guess we will see very soon!

Pink or Blue??

In a crazy and exciting turn of events today, I got to have a sonogram where they were able to determine the gender of our baby!! It was so much fun to FINALLY have a sonogram and see how much the baby has changed. And WOW what a difference 10 weeks makes! So anyways, Jono is actually out of town right now (bummer), and so I had to use every ounce of my self control and have the sonogram techs write the gender on a piece of paper and seal it securely in an envelope that is now in the hands of a Dallas bakery. I know, I am proud of myself too! The bakery is going to make us a cake where the inside layer of the cake will be pink frosting if it's a girl and blue frosting if it's a boy! Can't wait to cut into that cake!!

So Jono gets back in town this Thursday, but that is ironically the day I leave for San Diego for the weekend, MEANING I have to wait all through the weekend to discover the results. This may be the hardest thing I have ever done.

So stay tuned for the results after the big reveal party with our family this Monday, 10/25!! And leave a comment with your guess of the baby's gender if you have one!!

16 weeks and counting...

Today I had my 3rd doctor's appointment!!! Until you are pregnant, you will never understand the torture and pain of waiting the excruciatingly long month in between each appointment. You're probably thinking, "A doctor's appointment every month?? That seems like a lot and definitely does not sound like a long time to wait, Annie." Well, you would be.... WRONG!!!! I feel like it is almost criminal to make a pregnant woman sit and wait and wonder if everything is developing ok in there, and it should be illegal. Yes, ILLEGAL. And don't get me started on my sonogram-envy. Yes, that is a real disease. I feel so jealous of every woman who gets to have a sonogram because I have not had one since 6 weeks, and won't get to have one until 20 weeks. They are depriving me!! Ok, I'm over complaining. Sorry about that. Good news from the doc appointment: everything is going GREAT and we got to hear our favorite heartbeat again today. She said it sounded amazing, and was about 155 BPM. Praise the Lord for a healthy pregnancy thus far!

Here are a few answers to questions people have been asking me:

1) Were you guys "trying"? (Ew, I do not like that phrase): As I said in my first post, the answer is no, we were not "trying". We believe this was totally the Lord's timing for our lives and we are PUMPED that we will soon be parents!

2) Did you have morning sickness?: No, I did not. I almost feel guilty saying that, but it's true. I did, at times, experience mild queasiness that could usually be settled by eating some crackers and Sprite. Thank you Jesus for no sickness because, if you know me, you know that throwing up is my biggest fear in life. And yes, I do realize I will have to get over this as a mom, but it's baby steps. Literally. Ha.

3) What other symptoms have you had?: I have had headaches pretty often, and one that was pretty severe lasting 24 hours. That would be my biggest complaint, so I guess that's not too bad. I also had some cramping at the beginning which the doctor assured me was very normal.

4) Do you have cravings?: Ummm, I would say that I get really STRONG cravings for certain foods, but it's never anything weird and not consistent. It's usually for something unhealthy, so I have to be sure and resist those cravings for the most part, and only give into them ever so often.

5) Do you work out?: Yes, I have maintained my 5 x's a week workout schedule. Before you hate on me, remember that I am only working part-time right now so I do have the time to hit the gym. Also, I didn't START this regime after getting pregnant, I am merely maintaining it, but with less intensity of course. And it makes me feel great! I love it! I hope to continue it for as long as my body will allow:).

6) Are you gaining weight at a crazy fast speed?: No, not yet at least. At my 2nd appointment I somehow lost a pound, and at my third I gained 2, making me +1 from my pre-pregnancy weight. I will not be announcing my weight gain throughout, however, because I'm sure it will only sky-rocket from here!!

7) Can you still fit into your regular clothes, or are you in maternity clothes?: I can thankfully still wear all of my normal clothes, but I did purchase some designer maternity jeans for the future (thank you Amanda, Bromli, and my mom!), and may have worn them a few times already, oops. I mean, jeans with an elastic band?? YES PLEASE!! They are just too comfy to resist sometimes! You know you would do it too, pregnant or not.

8) Are you planning to deliver naturally? Ummm heck to the NO!!!! I am so proud of all you moms out there that delivered sans epidural, but this girl is not as tough as you. DRUGS PLEASE!:)

9) Are you going to find out the sex, and do you have a feeling as to what it is?: We are FOR SURE, 100% finding out. Again, I totally respect and admire all you moms out there that waited or are waiting until delivery day to find out, but I don't know how you do it!! I am not patient enough!! I can barely wait til 20 weeks. And on that note, our gender sonogram is our next appointment--November 11th!! And we both feel like it is a girl, but seriously, who knows?? We are very aware that it very well could be a bouncing baby boy, and we will be happy either way!

10) Do you have any names picked out?: We have had a girl name picked out since before we got married probably, and have ZERO boy names. Why are boy names so hard?? Suggestions please!

Ok, I believe that's all the questions for now. If you have any others, feel free to ask:).

Until the next update!

Times are a changin'.

That's right--things are about to get pretty crazy around here! I say "about to", even though I am already 16 weeks pregnant, because I feel like the really crazy stuff hasn't really happened yet. Well, I better just start from the beginning...

Jono and I had an amazing and unforgettable wedding just 2 1/2 years ago in California, and that's where our marriage journey began. 2008 seems like SOOO long ago, but it truly has been such a blast since then that it also seems like the fastest 2 1/2 years of my life thus far. We have been living in the DFW area since, and on our 1 year anniversary (yes, the exact day--May 11th), we purchased our first home in the Lake Highlands area where we now reside with our dog Teddy and my expanding belly that is currently housing our future beh-beh.

So anyways, that's the boring stuff. On to the good stuff. Jono and I found out in late July that our lives were about to change... FOR-E-VER (cue picture of kid in Sandlot right now). There is honestly NO MOMENT, at least not that I have experienced thus far in life, that you look at yourself in the mirror and say, "this is the moment where my life changes forever", like the moment when you get a positive pregnancy test. Without going into detail I will say that this pregnancy was definitely not in the "plan", but we couldn't be more excited and grateful to move into this phase of life. God has truly blessed us in our marriage together, and this next step is the most exciting yet! For the most part in this blog, I will be documenting our pregnancy and life post-baby. It is sure to be full of excitement! Thanks for reading!

Oh! And for your viewing pleasure, above is a pic of my first "hint" of a bump. This was taken at 14 weeks.