Three's a Happy Valentine

Valentine's Day was extra special for the two of us this year. In spite of it being flower and chocolate heart-free for the first time in our relationship, it will probably stand as the most memorable "love day" for the rest of our lives. We had our big ultrasound yesterday and not only did we see that our baby is developing normally (prayer of thanks inserted here) and is very active, but we also discovered that we will be expecting a boy this July! I had a hunch that this might be the case, but it was still very exciting to hear those words from the doctor's mouth. Growing up in a family with two brothers and mostly boy cousins, I am as well-versed in "boy" as a girl can probably get. And we couldn't be more excited. Here's our little man! Isn't he handsome? I am smitten.

I also used this as an opportunity to tell my speech students that I would be having a baby. During our Valentine's day themed conversations and activities last week, I had each of them vote on whether they thought the baby would be a boy or a girl. I had printed instructions to target language and following directions. It was so fun to hear their choices and reasoning! One of my Kindergartener's said "I think it's a girl... because I'm a girl." Cuteness.



I promised my students that I would give them each a Valentine that would tell them if they had guessed correctly. I found these cute pirate templates from Mer Mag, wrote a note on each one, and taped a Jolly Rancher (my favorite) on the back. Blue for boy, of course. About half of the kids got it right away. The others needed more explanation. :)


I hope you had a memorable holiday, filled with joy and love as well!

Babies on the Brain

Babies, babies everywhere! Lots of people I know are pregnant with their first or second babies, and most are due before me. One of my friends from work, Kristie, just had her adorable, perfect baby girl two weeks ago. In November, we threw her a shower at work. I had the honor of organizing a lot of the aspects of the party. This was the first baby shower I've had the good fortune of planning and it was so much fun! Now that there is already talk about a shower for our little one, I thought I'd reminisce with photos of some details from the party.

We had planned a diaper cake for the event, but then decided to kick it up a notch with a whole dessert bar, including washcloth lollipops and receiving blanket cupcakes. I got the ideas for these from a couple of different of Etsy shops. Our colors were pink and orange. Kristie also loves giraffes, so we topped her cake of with a Sophie, of course.


We topped it off with a handmade card for "Baby G," our loving nickname for her.

Excited to search for some more ideas for our shower!

Week 17

Dear Baby,
We’ve finally decided that we have felt you move a couple of times this week. Sometimes it feels like a swoosh or a tickle, and sometimes it feels like a tiny thump. When we feel a “thump” Mamma laughs and pictures you bumping into things, like the sides of her belly. Maybe you’ll be a little clumsy like she is, but you’ve definitely still got your Daddy’s ways about you. We feel you most a night, and Daddy loves to stay up late to do just about anything. Mamma’s belly has also started to get bigger, and it seems like everyone who knows you’re in there has been commenting on it. We also talk about how different things will be when you get here. For example, this Sunday was the Superbowl and Daddy did such a great job planning the party, that everyone was asking if we would have another one next year with you in tow. We love thinking about what the world will be like with you in it. All this thinking about you has made us extra lovey-dovey towards one another, other children, and even the cat! We always thought she was cute and pretty awesome, but nowadays everything she does is irresistible. The two of you will be quite the pair. She’ll have to adjust to you, but it will be worth it. Hugs and kisses!

Week 16

Dear Baby,
You now weigh approximately 3.5 ounces and are about the size of an avocado. Mamma has been anxiously feeling for the first sign of you moving. Sometimes she gets excited, thinking she might feel you squirming around, but then she decides it’s probably just digestion. We finally got to hear your heartbeat this week; it was registered at 140 beats per minute. The same doctor who guessed you were a boy at our last ultrasound now thinks you might be a girl! Looks like you’re just going to keep us guessing! We will love you to bits either way! Hugs and kisses!

Week 15

Dear Baby,
You are 4 whole inches long now! Some articles we read compare your size to a navel orange, which is fitting since Mamma can’t seem to get enough of these and devours at least one orange every day. And speaking of navels, Mamma’s has already started to pop out… a lot. Daddy likes to push it like it's the home button on an iPhone. Life is starting to get back to normal now that Mamma’s energy has picked up. Daddy keeps chasing her around, telling her to slow down, to take it easy, not to do so much. We’ve been talking a lot about how we want to raise you, what your interests might be, and what type of personality you might have. We can’t wait to find these answers out! Hugs and kisses!