10 and counting down...

 10 more weeks!!! That's it!  I can't believe that's all I have left until we meet this little girl!!  We are in prep mode now... getting rooms painted, picking out big boy furniture for Brian, getting the nursery ready... all the fun (yet exhausting) stuff!  We are painting Brian's room tomorrow and his furniture should all be here next week, so we'll be making the big move soon.  I'll be sure to posts pictures of his room when it's done!

It's Official...

Can you see my feet?  Yeah, me either...  (if I really bend over, I can see those little piggies!)

A Change is Gonna Come...

Well, here I am, 11 1/2 weeks away from meeting our daughter.  11 1/2 weeks!  The thought of that brings on a ton of emotions for me - excitement, anxiousness, fear (yes, I fear delivery this time - I know what to expect!!), blessed, nervousness... all rolled into one.  I'm not sure what will be the bigger transition - going from zero kids to 1, or going from 1 to 2. I have a feeling it will be the latter.  There are so many changes that are taking place right now that it's a bit overwhelming to even think about!

Let's see...

* Brian's turning 2 in a few weeks. I can't believe he'll be 2. It just doesn't seem possible that 2 years have already come and gone. It has been an amazing two years and I feel so privileged to be Brian's mom.  He's definitely a handful at times (ok, a lot lately!!) but he really is an amazing little boy.  We must be doing something right :)

* We are getting everything ready to move Brian into his "big boy" room.  The mere thought of that is stressful!  The thought that he can just get out of bed anytime he wants to is, well, frightening!! LOL  We are aiming to get him moved into his new room by his birthday, so that he has a couple of months to transition before the baby gets here. My stomach is nervous just writing about it ;)  But, for us, it doesn't make any sense to buy a second crib when he'd be moving out of it soon anyway!

* Sleep.  Or shall I say, the lackthereof.  Brian, 99% of the time, is a good sleeper at night.  I'm not sleeping well because I'm pregnant, but except for the past few months, I've (we've) been very fortunate to be able to sleep through the nights.  That luxury will come to a crashing halt in a few months.  Thank God for coffee ;)

* It makes me incredibly happy that Brian's sister will be here soon. I cannot wait to meet this little baby girl and hold her in my arms. I can't wait to see what she looks like and kiss her sweet face.  There is a part of me, though, that is sad for Brian.  He's been the center of our world for 2 years now and now he has to share us. I know it's going to be tough on him at first, as he gets used to our new addition.  I want to cherish the next few months and spoil Brian with all of the attention that I can.

* We will now be a family of four... or as Vahe likes to look at it, we'll be playing man-to-man defense now :)  I am overjoyed about adding to our family. I can't believe how perfect it's turning out that we will have a boy and a girl. Welcome to the world of double strollers, different nap times, separate feeding schedules, etc. Welcome to the world of needing an extra set of hands, eyes and ears. But also welcome to the world of double the awesomeness of being a parent.  Double the smiles, double the fun, double the pride, and most of all, double the love.  It's hard to imagine me loving someone as much as I love Brian, but at the same time,  I can't imagine loving another child any less!!

I've learned so many valuable lessons as a parent over the past two years. Things that I've done right, things that I've done wrong, and I'm going into this feeling much more confident.  Change can be scary, but with change also brings new beginnings and new adventures.  I am so excited to be on this journey, and can't wait to see what all of these changes bring to us!

Yay for PINK!

Move over blue and brown, make way for pink and purple!!!  We are SO excited that we are having a little girl!  Vahe and I went for my 20-week ultrasound on 1/4 and we saw our little sunshine on the monitor moving around and kicking my bladder like crazy :)  She is perfect!  The ultrasound tech was very happy with all of her measurements, my fluid levels and all of the other medical stuff they need to check!  We saw the 4 chambers of her tiny beating heart (151 heart rate!) and her perfectly formed spine.  Based on her measurements, the tech said that if she keeps growing at the rate she is right now, we'll likely have an 8-9 lb baby on our hands!  Technology is so amazing, in that we get to see what is going on inside of me, and make sure that everything is developing as it should.  We were SO thrilled to learn that she is growing and developing so well, and equally excited when she told us that our little baby was a "she!"

Brian is going to be such a wonderful big brother - he is even calling the baby "sissy". Too cute!  I told him the other day that our lives as we know it were going to change dramatically in a few short months. His response to me was "Oh no..."  :)

On a somewhat related, though separate note, I am continuing to feel well... though getting bigger every day!  Nights are becoming restless for me, as I'm getting up 2-3 times to pee and falling back asleep can be challenging.  I feel movement all the time from this little girl, and she loves to kick my bladder.  That's fun :)  I'm having some serious "sweets" cravings right now.  My current craving is Hostess Ding Dongs. I haven't had or even thought about a ding dong in years, but I saw them as part of a game on "Minute to Win It" last night and now I so have to have one. I'm fighting the urge, but I have a feeling I may cave...

Here is the latest belly pic that I have. This was taken at 20 weeks (I'll be 21 weeks tomorrow).  This was taken on New Year's Eve before a wedding :)  I feel like I'm so much bigger already!

Well, that's it for now! Happy 2011 everyone!

Lauren