12 weeks and Counting!

IT'S OFFICIAL! We are pregnant and have made it past the 12 week mark! Thank you thank you thank you to everyone who has been praying for us. I cannot tell you how ecstatic Dan and I are to know that we will be welcoming another little gift from God very soon! OK, maybe not until April but still...soon enough! Ellie does not know yet and we plan on not telling her until we find out the gender (sometime in November) or later if we can keep it a secret. This is proving to be very difficult since I am sick every single evening. Now Ellie says, "Mama, it's OK. I will get the bucket." She already knows when Mommy starts feeling icky and automatically brings me a bucket to puke in. Sort of twisted but endearing too. Anyway, baby is healthy and moving a lot. We have had three ultra sounds already and the last one (this past Friday) showed a very active little one. He/She was boxing, kicking, stretching, and crossing legs at the ankles. The best moment was when the ultrasound technician turned up the volume, and the little heartbeat filled the room. Dan and I smiled (and cried) and rejoiced at the reassurance that so far, all is well. Honestly, the three sweetest sounds in life so far have been heartbeat on ultrasound, cries at birth, and "Mama" spoken the first time. Anyway, I am rambling. Here are some pictures from the ultra sound and of my growing belly. It is VERY true that the second one pops out much sooner. I feel like I look 5 months pregnant, not 3! Nevertheless, no complaints here. I hope to be well enough soon that I can really start exercising and eating normal foods (my stomach is very picky these days and I don't eat anything of merit after 4pm). Enjoy and check back for more updates of our now growing (literally) family!

This was baby at 7 weeks.

For comparison...here is our baby at 12 weeks! What a miracle!

Notice how both belly AND butt are expanding outward! YIKES!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures! I hope to add some video of Ellie very soon. Love to all!