Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star...

Dear Sweet Baby Kay,

We no longer wonder what you are!

You are a CARROT!  Ha!  We learned this week that you are the size of a carrot - 10 1/2 inches long and you now weigh about three-quarters of a pound. After our visit to the doctor last week I started to feel you more and was actually able to feel you kick, punch, headbutt, whatever you are doing in there from the outside with my hand on my stomach!  Would you believe your Daddy felt you move for the first time too?!? Your eyelids and eyebrows have begun to form along with another development that we want to tell you about....  Your Daddy and I have been working on a special project for you for several weeks now.

It all started with this cardboard box and a can of black paint.

Your Daddy got to work painting it black...

...and I got to work painting it with an extra special message...

I had a dear friend who you will know as Ms. Misty pick the box up at a local party store after we dropped it off to get it filled with an extra special surprise...  We took the big black box to the USC horseshoe where we were engaged....

...and we met a photographer there.  He took some great photos of us with some fun props like these two...

These are items from when we were kids; your Daddy's little league baseball glove and my pointe shoes...

And then we opened the BIG BLACK BOX to find 6 of THESE!

Yes, darling, you are our DAUGHTER!!  It was such a beautiful moment you can see captured here:

http://www.craighewittphotography.com/blog/lifestyle-erin-and-wade-columbia-sc-family-portrait-photographer/

Overjoyed is an understatement!  We both cried!  Your Daddy said to me "I thought I didn't have a preference if the baby was a boy or a girl, but as soon as I saw those pink balloons, I knew I wanted a daughter."

We cannot wait to fill these tiny pink shoes with your tiny, perfect feet!

Here is a card handwritten by our dear friend Ms. Misty that we also used for the pictures.  The pin attached was my Sherbert Grandmother's.  It was her guardian angel pin to represent her guardian angel who she called Andrew.  It is who we named your tiny brother after.  We wanted him to be with us on this day so our entire family could be together and celebrate the miracle of you, precious one.

My hope and prayer for you is that you too will be a "Daddy's Girl" like me and share many special moments with your Daddy like the ones I have shared and continue to share with my Daddy.

What a beautiful day it was learning that you are a girl and to know that you will forever be our daughter.  We have your name, and I cannot wait to share with you what your name is, what it means, and why your name is so specifically and specially selected for you.  Next week - we will share with you how we shared the news with your grandparents...

With all my love, to you my daughter,

Mom

Halfway There!

Dear Sweet Baby Kay,

We cannot believe how fast the time is flying!  We have waited so long for this journey, I wish at times it would slow down just a little bit.  We are so thrilled about meeting you, but I am also enjoying every little movement you make and feeling you grow.  Speaking of growing, you have hit a little spurt!

You weigh about 10 1/2 ounces now and you are about 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and 10 inches from head to heel which is about the length of a banana!  Pretty soon you will start to stretch you legs out from your comfy curled up position.  You are beginning to swallow more which is great practice for your digestive system. 

We had our 20 week appointment and had the chance to find out if you are a boy or a girl.  Daddy even wore his pink and blue shirt!

You looked beautiful!  We got to see you jumping up and down, sucking your thumb, taking a nap and rolling all around.  We saw your brain and your spine as well as your face, lips and most important we watched and heard your heart beating.  The sound and sight of your heart beating moved both of us to tears.  What a miracle you are!  We didn't get a picture of you as nice as your 12 week appointment, but they are pictures nonetheless.

Your Grandpa was nervous when he saw this picture.  He thought something was wrong.  You were just moving around so much that we did not get a pretty profile picture.

This is your face looking straight at us.  Your Daddy thought that was your ear to the right, but it was really your tiny hand saying hey!

So... the moment you have been waiting for... Did we find out if you will be our son or daughter....

The answer lies within this envelope!  I am slowly creeping back up to my pre-pregnancy weight, but I am still not there.  The doctor assured us everything was just fine because you are continuing to grow right on schedule.  After our raving reviews visit, we headed to the beach for the rest week with your Daddy's family. 

I still continue to enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables and lots and lots of lemonade.  I made this delicious salsa for us to enjoy together while we enjoyed the sand and sun.

Here is a picture of your Daddy being silly in the sun.

We took our family photo together at the beach.  You can really see where you are helping my tummy to poke out now!

We are greatly looking forward to spending some great family vacations together making our new memories and traditions.  We know the story of our family will be nothing short of beautiful.

We are halfway there!  We can't believe it.  I have a feeling we will have a great next week with you....

With all my love,

Mom

Do You Hear What I Hear?

Dear Sweet Baby Kay,

Wow the time is just flying by.  We are almost half way there sweet one!  So what is new this week?  You are about the size of a large heirloom tomato and are growing so fast.  Remember the picture of the bell peppers in our garden that we posted last week?  Well,  look at how big they got in just 6 days.  It reminded me of even though I cannot see you growing, you are growing very rapidly just like our garden peppers.

You have tiny little hairs sprouting on your head.  I wonder if you will have dark thick hair like me, or will be born with blonde hair and blue eyes like your Daddy was.  I have heard that the more acid reflux a mom has while pregnant the more hair the baby has on it's head.  Good or bad, the way I have been feeling, you will be a precious bald baby as I have not had any issues with acid reflux.  Speaking of hair sprouting, your Uncle and I used to call alfalfa spouts that go on sandwiches or salads "hair".  I am pretty sure we got that from a Saturday morning show we used to watch called PeeWee's Playhouse.

While we are on the topic of sprouting, my tummy finally has sprouted a sweet baby bump filled with your sweet self.

In addition to growing in size, your senses are also rapidly growing.  Your brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that you may be able to hear my voice now.  I love to know this because one of my favorite things to do is to sing.  It makes my heart happy to know you can hear me singing.  I am so excited for the day that I will get to hold you and rock you to sleep while singing sweet lullaby's.

You weigh about 8 1/2 ounces and measure 6 inches, head to bottom.   Your arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of your body now. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on your skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.

We have had another wonderful week loving you.  Everyday that goes by we get more and more excited to meet you.  My sweet friend went with me this past weekend to straighten the registry out and she was so much help.  We met for a very long and enjoyable lunch and had a great time.  We pray that you will have nothing but wonderful, sweet, genuine and caring friends like we have.

Tomorrow is a big day!  We head to the doctor for our 20 week ultrasound.  We are thrilled to be able to see you again.  After we see you, we will head to the beach for the week to enjoy some relaxation at Litchfield by the Sea.  You will love it there.

Your Dad and I are looking forward to seeing your beautiful face tomorrow.  We love you more than you could ever know.

With all my love,

Mom