Baby Makes Four

We have some really fun news to share. We're going to have a baby! We had our first ultrasound this morning and I am 9 weeks along. The "official" due date is December 31--so get ready for our New Year's baby! Maybe the first baby of 2009! Everything looked great on the ultrasound--there is only one baby, it's growing in the right spot, it's the right size, and we could see the heart just pumping away.

We have known for over a month now and have slowly been telling family (we got to tell Joe's mom in person when she visited a few weeks ago!) and close friends. I guess that this blog posting makes it fair "public" knowledge!


The above picture is Rowan's interpretation of our growing family. Joe is blue (with ears below his arms...unless that's supposed to be under-arm hair), Rowan is green (with a rather long arm and left fingers), and I am the red one with an alien looking creature on my chin (which I'm sure she intended to be the uterus). You can also see Rowan's attempt at spelling her name...she gets all the letters (W is upside down here)...and actually writes them in the correct sequence, she just hasn't caught on to the importance of letters being in a straight, left to right line!

I am really excited to do this pregnancy thing again. Rowan's pregnancy was a surprise, and while I had always looked forward to having children...it took some getting used to in the early weeks. With this one, I've wanted to be pregnant for awhile...so we feel especially grateful and celebrative about it. When we took a pregnancy test and found out we were pregnant with Rowan, Joe claims he had to hold down a "holy $@&#" because he knew it would be the wrong thing to say at that moment! With this positive pregnancy test, there was nothing but joy and happiness. Because I've done this once before, I'm trying to let go of any expectations or preconceived notions I may have about pregnancy, birth, and raising a child...and just let myself and my body experience this as it unfolds, in all its differences, beauty, and mystery. I almost kissed the nurse on the lips today when she said she was having trouble finding my uterus because of my abdominal muscles--I feel like I'm already starting to "show" and seems like my belly looks like it did at about 4 months with Rowan. Like I said, I'm letting go of any preconceived notions...

Praise God for the blessing of life!