It's A.... (For Real This Time)

Wooooo hooooo!  This was such a great Christmas!  As you all know, we decided to wait until Christmas Day to find out if we are having a boy or a girl, even though our ultrasound was on Monday.  To say that it was a long week would be a major understatement.  Several times every night, Sean and I would look at each other and say, "Let's just open it now!"  

Since my doctor didn't take a "money shot" of the babe's defining goods, I asked our Nurse/Sonographer at work if she would take one for us.  You gotta have one of those for the scrapbook, right?!  I have to say that this is a major perk of working where I do!  Luckily, we had some free time before the next ultrasound was scheduled at work, and Kelli was able to fit me in for a quick ultrasound.  It was so much fun to see our little bean again!  I drank some OJ before this ultrasound, and boy, did it get her moving!!!  She was so active!!  Sean was coming to pick me up for lunch (a rare treat since I work downtown, far away from our house) so he even got to come in for a little bit of the ultrasound!  Kelli took a "gender shot" and put it in the envelope with Dr. G's note from the day before.  It was kinda fun having Kelli know but no one else!  She's very trustworthy and can keep a good secret... I am so thankful she was able to do that for us!

So back to Christmas... each time we would say, "Let's just open it (the envelope) now!" our iron will would win out and we decided that we liked the anticipation.  I have to tell you, Christmas has not been this much fun since I was a kid!!  Seriously!!  We went to bed on Christmas Eve, but first I was sure to tell Sean not to wake me up before 8.  :)  I knew he'd be up early!

I kinda had a sneaky feeling that he wasn't getting much sleep that night when I got up at 4:30 a.m. to go to the bathroom (for the 4th time that night- I love pregnancy!) and he said, "Merry Christmas!" in a very perky tone.  When Sean woke me up at 7:45, he confirmed my suspicions... he had woken up every 30 minutes ALL NIGHT LONG!  It was so cute.  

Usually, Christmas mornings are very laid back at our house.  We're all about delayed gratification when it comes to opening gifts... we'll start with our stockings, then take a break to fix breakfast, then go back to opening gifts.  This Christmas was a bit different... first thing, we went for the envelope!!  I told Sean he could open it, since I get to feel the baby all the time, he could have the honor of doing this.  He tore into the envelope, and looked at the pictures.... but didn't know what he was looking at!  It didn't say on the picture!  The picture I took is so funny... it looks like he was disappointed in the gender... but he just didn't know what it meant!

  

So he had to open up the tiny folded piece of paper that our doctor wrote the gender on.  It seemed to take forever for him to open it!!  But he finally did (Seal tried to help, too)... and our suspicions of the last week were true--- She's a girl!!

In the beginning, I was so sure she was a boy!  And almost everyone else thought she would be a boy, too!  But we were wrong.  We have such mixed emotions about having another girl.  Part of us wanted Whitney to be our only girl, because she was so special.  Part of us wanted a boy because in our minds, it might have been a bit easier on our hearts.  But part of me was also really hoping for a girl... the bows, the dresses, the father/daughter dates.  Sean is the kindest, most tenderhearted man I know (along with my own daddy) and I KNOW he will be a great dad.  I believe it takes an extra special man to be able to raise daughters... afterall, its from her Daddy where a girl learns about the love of our heavenly Father,
 where she first learns how she is supposed to be treated by the opposite gender, and where a great deal of her self-esteem is built.  I cannot think of a better man for our daughter than Sean.  

And above all of that, I know that God knows exactly what we need to continue healing from our loss of Whitney.  Yes, when we see our second daughter all dressed up for her first dance recital, we will wonder if Whitney would have liked dance, too.  When she is all dressed up for prom, we'll wonder what color of dress Whitney would have chosen.  But that's ok.  This little girl does not replace Whitney by any means.  And just how people with multiple children tell me that they love each child equally, yet differently, I am trusting that this will be the case with our new little girl.

We haven't come up with a name yet... its so hard!  We loved Whitney Jill from the beginning.  It was the only name both of us liked.  Now, we have several names we sorta like, and a few frontrunners, but nothing that we're just sold on yet.  I'll keep you updated, though!

So thanks for waiting in eager anticipation with us!  We are trying to take this journey one day at a time.  My tummy is growing more and more each day, and I'm feeling her move some, too.  I am over half-way there and we can't wait to meet our little girl!!

We were able to Skype with my parents and brother in Egypt... they were excited too!  This will be their 4th granddaughter!  :)  After a great, leisurely morning, Sean and I went to Woodward Park.  We call this "Whitney's Park" since its where we held her memorial service.  We sat by "her" lake, but it started to get a bit crowded so we walked around for a little while.  It was a beautiful day outside.  And the whole day itself was very bittersweet-- in a good way.  There were moments we missed Whitney so much, we just stopped and cried.  We held her bunny while we did things throughout the day, and wondered what next Christmas will be like.  We are so thankful for the many blessings this difficult year has brought, and this year more than ever, we are thankful for the God who became a baby so that we might be given the hope of Heaven.