Hello Baby Boy!

Guess what? Guess what? It's a BOY!! Yep, a brother. A son! We are thrilled! Honest to goodness, I would have been thrilled either way but it is so fun to know and dream about our new little guy. Of course, now I just want to meet him that much more! It may just be me, but he looked sooo cute on the ultrasound. Just like our other babies, he was waving and kicking and rolling all around. They are fun right from the beginning. =)

While Kevan had to work, my mom and the kids got to come and see the newest member of our family. Here's Bekah Jane waiting patiently to get called back to the ultrasound room:




When the tech got a good "visual" of the baby's gender, she gave me the thumbs up to get Kevan on the phone. Then, with the kids gathered around, we all heard the news together: "It's a boy!" Tears and cheers! Ezekiel was super funny when he dramatically gasped and said "A brother!"


Some fun pictures commemorating the special day we learned of our son! (This is my new birthday dress I bought with my cousins/aunts/sis-in-law when my mom surprised me with brunch and shopping earlier in the week!)

I'm sure I've said this on here before, but I am truly amazed at how interested the kids are in this whole pregnancy thing. Especially Ezekiel. He "checks on" the baby every day, talks to my tummy, and already seems very protective. It is so precious to me. I leave you with a conversation we had last night:

Ezekiel: Mom, is that your baby? (pointing to my belly)
Me: Yep, it sure is.

E: (Throwing his arms around my tummy) I'm hugging the baby. It's my baby brother. I love her.

Me: It's a "him", honey. Can you say "I love him"?

E: Yes, I love him.

Then Bekah Jane wanted to get in on the fun so she tries to sit on my belly.

Ezekiel: Baby, no! Don't sit on him! That's my baby brother! He's crying. Mom, I gotta check on him.

Ezekiel then looks inside my belly button to check on his baby, then turns to me and says sadly "He's still crying."

Oh, this is fun! =)

EEEEKKK!

Today is the day! Today is the daaaayyy! I cannot WAIT to see our little bug on an ultrasound today and (hopefully!) find out if it's a girl or a boy! I will update as soon as I can! Drumroll....

Blessed sleep.

This morning I woke up soooo refreshed because I - finally! - had a good night's sleep. The kids have been up a lot for over a week now due to sickness (or hurt toes, or hunger, or bad dreams, or whatever else they can think of to drag mom out of bed in the wee small hours). This does not do good things for a mom who a.) is used to getting her beauty sleep and b.) is making a person. I am GRUMPY. Oh, and did I mention that my neighbor's awesome dogs are also conducting bark-a-thons in the middle of the night? They might as well be in our bedroom, it is so stinkin' loud.

Soooo...that leads me to reason #12 why I love my husband:

When I woke up this morning and told him how incredibly glad I was for zero interruptions to my sleep last night he said "I know, babe. I slept on the couch so I could hear the kids first if they got up. And, I went over and oh-so-nicely asked the neighbors to shut their dogs up at 1 a.m." (I guess the neighbors were already hanging out in their front yard - just counting shooting starts, I'm sure - so he didn't have to actually knock on their door in the middle of the night!). Thankfully, the kids slept all night anyway, but I sure appreciated the effort my hubs made to protect my sleep!

Our newest Valentine

Sweet baby belly at 17 weeks.

In spite of the nausea (which, thankfully, passed around 11 weeks), and the suuuper low energy (which, I hope, seems to be fading more every day), I am so incredibly happy to be pregnant. Such a joy to feel the little flutters and anticipate meeting this new addition to our family! I am determined to enjoy every stage and soak it up...keep me accountable if I get sensitive about being huge! =)

Easy.

So, it's been a GREAT weekend so far and LOTS of wonderful things about my hubby are coming to mind. Quick, write them down while I'm thinking about it! And hopefully I will meditate on such things.

#9: Kevan makes it a point to take the kids on little outings one-on-one as often as he can. Nothing big, usually just a trip to the grocery store or to get ice cream. The kids love it and seem to understand that it's a special time. What I love? The kids know that their daddy wants to be with them....aaaand he usually brings me back a little treat too! (Yesterday it was a People magazine - usually it's chocolate!).

#10: Kevan usually calls me on his way home from work to get a pulse on how my day is going and to offer to help in some way. Well Friday was one of those not-so-great days, and I was at my lowest point with the kids when he called. As much as I wanted to sound chipper and excited to see him, I could not hide the frustration and discouragement in my voice. He immediately offered to take the kids out when he got home to give me a break. Thankfully, I got them both down for a nap instead (he gets home at 3!) and then thought to myslef, "Now, what would Kevan like to come home to?" I thought about doing the dishes, finishing the half-folded load of laundry, and a few other chores. And then I remembered that what he REALLY wants is a happy wife. So he came home to me relaxing in a bubble bath. The first thing out of his mouth? "Good for you, hon! I am so glad you're taking some time to yourself!" Good man, good man.

#11: He plans super fun family outings! Yesterday we went to the Natural History Museum in LA (perfect for a rainy day...especially with the "kids can touch fossils and other cool stuff" room downstairs!). On our way home I was nearly nodding off when he suggested we just stop by the house to pick up all our left-over tokens and head to Chuck E Cheese to play some games. Ummm...ok! It was CRAZY there (Chuck E Cheese on a rainy Saturday? What could be better?? We'll probably get a season pass.), but the kids seemed to have a great time anyway. We ended the night by BBQing steaks, playing hide-n-seek, and going for a family walk right before bedtime. I told you it was a great day. =)

Flutters.

I am feeling the baby move. Teeny tiny flutters and wiggles. It is incredible. I love how it makes me feel like I always have this little friend with me. I can be up early, all alone, and feel those itty bitty kicks and think "Oh, hi baby, you're here too!" Sitting in church, laying in bed at night, making dinner....kick, kick, kick...such a sweet reminder of our growing baby!

Less than 3 weeks til we find out what we're having!! Aaaaahhhh! Tell me, tell me, tell me!

More for today...

Here's what came to mind as I thought about why I love my husband today:

#6: He's not afraid to say he's sorry. And he's pretty darn good at it.

#7: This is a super humbling one: He shows me grace - all the time - even though I am so quick to judge him. Real-life example: When I locked the keys in the car - along with our baby son - on a scorching hot day and AAA had to come rescue him, Kevan was totally understanding and didn't make me feel bad for a second (I felt horrible anyway). When Ezekiel colored all over the walls on Kevan's watch, I was....ummmm....not so understanding. Let's just say that I did not handle it well. I love that my husband is my example in an area where I am weak.

#8: The other day I sort of not-so-subtly mentioned that "the baby" really wanted some hot and sour soup from a Chinese take-out place. After the initial "Are you serious?" and "You know we're having friends over for dinner in like 2 hours?" comments, guess who happily ran out to satisfy his wife's (er, baby's) craving? And it was soooo good! I mean, at least the baby thought so.

Challenge.

The other day I wrote on facebook "Reason number 247 why I love my husband..." and one of my cousins asked "Do you really have 246 other reasons why you love your hubby? Just 5 would be great!"



And she is right. But it got me thinking...there is something to be said about purposefully and intentionally focusing on our spouse's strengths. Granted, I think my job is easier than some because my hubby is a pretty great guy to begin with. But, let's be honest, everyone has weaknesses and things that just drive us crazy, and it's a choice to focus on the positives, right? Not in a pie-in-the-sky, love-is-blind kind of way. I'm talking about seeing the best in people, because God calls us to focus on whatever is virtuous and praiseworthy. And why not start with the people we love most - like our spouse?



So, here is my challenge to myself: I am going to start jotting down all the little things I love about Kevan. Wait, that's not the challenge. The challenge is to focus on the things I love, so that his wonderfulness will come to mind in those moments when I am frustrated or disappointed. And you, lucky readers (aka "mom"), get a sneak peak at that list.



Hopefully, this is just one of many quick posts adding to the list of things I love:

#1: One time, when the baby was crying in the middle of the night, he jumped out of bed so fast he hurt his ankle. Watching him limp around the next day only made me smile because it was evidence of his great love for his daughter. Plus, it was really funny.

#2: For the past 5 nights he has done the dishes without me asking. In fact, a couple of those nights I was out (once with friends and once for work) and I came home to a cleaner house than I left. This is definitely not something my husband would do naturally (what mess??), so I know he was really trying to make me happy. And it worked. Like a charm.

#3: Whenever we've gone through something traumatic, he still can keep his sense of humor. Unmarried girls: Look for a man who can make you laugh!! It will keep you sane in insane moments. (And sometimes drive you insane when you would otherwise be sane but, hey, the trade-off is worth it.)

Ok, just so you know, I'm stopping to think here. I know there are LOADS more, but it takes effort, right??

#4: A few weeks ago, he sat with a member of our church as her husband went to be with the Lord. Now that is beautiful.

#5: Right after we moved into our first house, I spilled an entire gallon of paint on our hardwood floors. As I stood there staring at the enormous mess I'd made, he scooped up our dog with lightening-like reflexes and then said to me without missing a beat "Babe, don't worry about it. They're our floors, we can paint them any color we want. I wouldn't have gone with white....but whatever."

Hey, that's 5! Now, to keep such things at the top of my mind...that is the goal.

"...Whatever things are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things." (Phil. 4: 8)

To be continued....!