The verdict is in...

Sorry for the delay folks... Amidst the excitement of Tuesday's news and my traveling on Wednesday, I neglected to update the blog...

Anyway, the baby was a little shy and wouldn't come out of a little pocket it was hiding in. In that position, the cord was right between the baby's legs so the tech was a little worried about getting a good shot, but luckily she worked her magic and the last shot we got was a definite answer (according to her):

IT'S A....

BOY!

We have a better (clearer) picture printed that even includes a little arrow to help guide your focus, but we don't have a scanner and this one was already on a CD for us so sorry if you can't see it.

It was an amazing experience to see our little baby rolling around in there, or not rolling for that matter (he hid in a little pocket and covered his face with his hands most of the time). Honestly, with my lack of any major symptoms, not being able to distinguish baby movement quite yet, and the fact that I really don't have much of a belly yet I was beginning to wonder if he was really in there. But seeing him on the screen was definitely reassuring. Everything about him measured up to the average for his age (18 weeks). His head seems to be following the Richards tradition (i.e., his head measured at 18 weeks, 4 days when the rest of him measured at 18 weeks), which should be interesting... The tech tried really hard to get a profile picture, but he wasn't cooperating. The picture below is the closest she got.

Right after this one, he opened his hand (the one just above his face) which was really cute, but that picture is printed so I couldn't post it. We also got some cute 3D ones of his face and feet (which he had tucked over each other just like his father does every night...how sweet).

Anyway, I'm done gushing. I could write quite a bit more, but it'd probably only be interesting to me, which means it belongs in my journal :) We're excited that we have a healthy growing baby. We can't wait to see him again in 6 weeks!!

Your Vote Counts!!

Actually, it doesn't, but that's a much more exciting title than "You can say what you think, but it's already been decided..."

I've been delaying this post for a while, but I guess it's about time... You see, I didn't think I'd be one of those people who post the "Yay! I'm pregnant" post (and there's nothing wrong with the people that write those posts) since I'm not the type of person who likes a lot of attention and an announcement like that definitely draws attention. Yet, here I find myself writing this post...and you can all thank the wonderful Piper for encouraging me to do so. So here we go...

In case you haven't figured it out, Shane and I will be adding a new member to our family in December. Many of you already know this--some from us, others from Facebook, my mother's mass emails, etc.--but if you didn't know, you do now! So first, here are some answers to the FAQs:

1. How far along are you? 17 weeks (and 1 day...but who's counting?)
2. When are you due? December 8 (when the doctor measured at 9 weeks, they calculated the 11th but they never changed it, so I'm sticking with the 8th)
3. Have you been sick? Nope. I've only been sick once and that was because I let myself get way too hungry and then ate some berries, which I think were too acidic for my already hungry stomach.
4. Do you have any pictures? Not quite yet...we should probably be more dilligent in documenting, but I'm not really showing much yet so I don't know how fun it would be...
5. Are you going to find out the gender? Absolutely. That's actually the point of this post...read below for more details.
6. Have you started getting ready? Yes, but if you ask Shane he'll tell you he's done most of it...which is very true. He reads all the baby development websites and can tell you the appropriate fruit/vegetable to illustrate the approximate size each week. We already have a crib and a glider chair (both awesome craigslist deals) and we may have a dresser/changing table soon... Obviously we haven't decided on colors or things like that just yet because that may depend on gender...we'll see.
7. Have you thought about names? Surprisingly, we have already agreed on first choice for either a boy or a girl (granted, the boy's name was decided when we were first married so really the girl's name was what we agreed on). I don't know if I want to share them yet...but maybe once we know which we're having...stay tuned.

That seems to cover the basics, but if you have more questions, feel free to call, email, or post a comment. Now on to the main purpose of the post. Next Tuesday (July 7) I have my 18-week appointment, which includes finding out the gender of the baby. If you are so inclined, please feel free to chime in on whether you think we will be having (a) a boy or (b) a girl. No votes for one of each...the doctor already checked for twins...

Here's a brief overview of some of the views of those I've spoken with. (Note: Shane and I have discussed the fact that we are excited no matter what the result. We would just love a healthy baby first and foremost!):

• Shane: Would definitely like a boy, but feels that it's a girl.
• Jessica: Would definitely like a girl, but feels that it's a boy.
• My mom: Boy--she says every girl needs a big brother, so we need to start the family with one.
• Shane's mom, sisters, and neice: GIRL!!

Those are the only ones I've been privy to. Every time she sees me, my cute neice Paige says, "Who thinks Jessica is going to have a girl?" And then she raises her hand and won't put it down for quite a while. She's tired of being the only girl grandchild on BOTH sides of her family. I told her I'd think girly thoughts...

There you have it folks...the big news. Sorry to those we didn't tell personally. Life's been crazy with figuring out our plans for the future, family, work, and everything else... Stay tuned for the results next Tuesady!