The goods...

He's got 'em!

Our little boy.

Our little Jack!

I was shocked and so very happy.  One little girl and one little boy.  It just feels right.

Jack Ellis Dismukes

Jack was my grandmother's brother's nickname.  It means "the Lord is gracious" and He certainly is.  He knew exactly what our little family needed.  Ellis is Brandon's mom's maiden name and I love it.  It means, "the Lord is our God."  It's a simple, strong, and masculine name.  It's one syllable like Reese's name and more importantly, she can say it!

And now for the details:

At our appointment yesterday, we did not find out what it was.  We had the ultrasound tech write down what it was and put it in a sealed envelope.  Everything else about our baby was "perfect."  He was measuring exactly on schedule and estimated to weigh 13 ounces.  My blood pressure was very high, so I will have to be on meds, but the doctor doesn't feel like it's something to be overly concerned with.  At 34 weeks, I will begin having weekly non-stress tests and ultrasounds to check on the amniotic fluids.  We will deliver {probably} a few days before 39 weeks, so I'm guessing around March 1st or 2nd?  As long as everything stays on course, that is the plan!!

So, after we left the appointment we took the sealed envelope to Lauren who had already baked a pink cake and a blue cake.  She saw what the verdict was and iced the cake with white icing.

After we left her house, we got pulled over {I mean, why not?} for not wearing our seat belts {oops!}.  Luckily, he gave us a verbal warning and we were on our merry way.

We then met my parents, B's parents, Scott, Cat, Noah, and Lauren up at The Pub {thanks Blake for the hook-up} and had a private room.

We couldn't really wait any longer, so we decided to cut the cake before we ate!  As soon as we cut it, we could see the bright blue!!!  We all teared up and really had a great night surrounded by our family!

It really was such an exciting way to find out!

And now for the video:

 

Sorry it's dark, but you get the idea :)

And here's my preeeeeeeeeeeecious little baby who's so excited about baby Jack that she woke up this morning saying his name!!

18 weeks and 18 months!

Disclaimer: this post was obviously started a few days ago :)

How often does that happen?? 

The new munchkin is cookin away!  I've been feeling the kicks since about 14 weeks {much earlier than Reese} and I'm ready for other people to start feeling them too!  There's not much new to report....until October 25th...the day of the big reveal!!

Now, onto my 18-month-old going on 18-year-old.

She's all over the place.  Speaking in sentences.  Running around in big girl shoes.  She's a mess!

She's got some pretty cute phrases that she's picked up over the last few weeks:

I'llllllllllllllllllllll do it!

Hold you, mommy {when she wants to be picked up}

Are yous?  {where are you}

Hug {she walks up sideways to you and puts her cheek against you!}

Der he/she is!

Booooog {bug}: whenever she sees a black speck that may or may not be a bug!

Uh oh spaghetti-o!

She can also identify most body parts: eyes, nose, mouth, tongue, teeth, hair, head, face, arms, hands, fingers {neeners}, belly, booty, legs, feet, and toes.

When she wants something and can't reach it, she says "REACH!" or "have it peas"

That cold I mentioned last time, well that turned into strep throat.  Really though, you wouldn't have known it because she didn't act at all like she did last time she had strep! 

Have I mentioned she's a creature of habit?  Like, hardcore.  She has a memory like you would not believe and you can't get anything by her or distract her once she sees something she wants.  And what does she normally want??  Peepaste AKA toothpaste.  I'm not sure why the "tooth" part was replaced with "pee" but I hear the word many, many times a day.

She knows exactly where certain pages are in books and wants to read those pages.  She's a puzzle master and is obsessed with the "eepane" {airplane} puzzle.  

Her newest accomplishment?  She can count to 10!  I'm not sure she could count out 10 objects, but she can say all the numbers 1 through 10 in order.

We are working on colors but so far everything is blue or orange {can't say I object to that!} and occasionally pink!

We had her 18-month-appointment yesterday and here are her stats:

weight: 26.6 pounds {50-75%}

length: 32 inches {50%}

head circumference: 45.5 cms {50%}

Who would have thought that a short 18 months ago, her weight, length, and head circumference were less that 1% {not even on the charts!}

What a big, growing girl!