Sugar and Spice and everything nice, that's what little Girls are made of!

Tuesday, October 25, 2011 was a day that neither John nor I will ever forget.  It was the day that we found out the gender of our first child.  With many sleepless, antipcipated nights beforehand, we went to the hospital with so much excitement on Tuesday afternoon and found out that we are having a little girl! 

We are amazed at the development of our little girl and are so thankful that everything looks normal.  While we were in there, John and I were both in awe over the details that an ultrasound can show.  We saw her whole body, facial features, kidneys, bones, parts of the brain, all parts of the heart, blood flow directions, etc.  We even had some 3D pictures done and she put her little hands and fingers over her face to cover it up like "that is too bright".  It was so cute.  It was an amazing experience and definitely an eye-opener and reminder to us that we all are here purely by God's grace. 
While John and I were in there, he looked over at me and asked if we could name her _________. (we will tell when she is here)  It was the name that I had liked all along.  I will never forget knowing it was a "she" and her daddy naming her right there.  It was very sweet and special.  He hasn't stopped smiling since Tuesday! 
I bought paper products in pink and blue for the dinner with our families on Tuesday night.  I had the house perfectly spotless and the table set, but without plates and napkins on the table.  John and I immediately drove to the grocery store to get the baby pink and white balloons.  I came home, cut the lights on, lit candles, put out the pink paper products, pink M&M's, pink gingerale, and the balloons before our guests arrived.  We also had to shut the door to the dining room so that noone could peek.  

Our parents arrived and we had appetizers in the kitchen for a little while before letting them loose into the den and dining room to see what their future grandchild was.  It was hilarious because John and I had to be so careful in our conversation with them....we were about to pop.  The time came for them to see blue or pink!  We felt like the parents on Christmas morning and they were the children coming around the corner.  The pink and white balloons were the first thing they saw.  It was a moment filled with screams, laughs, and tears.  It was so much fun!  My brother-in-law was with us and had my other sister-in-law and brother-in-law on Skype so that they all saw at the same time.  My other sister-in-law was still making her way to our house because she had to work late in the ER that night.  After telling the story, we sat down to eat a delicious meal of lasagna, salad, bread, and apple crisp for dessert.  It was so nice and relaxing, even though our phones were buzzing away in the midst.  

John's Mom gave her a precious, smocked bubble and my Mom gave her a pretty linen and pale pink pillow for the crib.  

Since Tuesday, I've added more and more pink to this house.  I went the the children's store on Thursday afternoon and bought our daughter a white, smocked onesy, a white bib (to be monogrammed), a super soft pale pink and white burping pad (to be monogrammed), a pair of sweet, white socks, a hat, and a pale pink bunny lovey.  I had so much fun picking out all of these little pretty things for her to have on her way home from the hospital.  I had to get that "need to buy something" out of me and so I decided to buy for the hospital time and make it all coordinate.

We are so thankful for all of the many, many sweet messages!  Thank you to everyone for sharing in our excitement.  We are overjoyed and can't wait to meet the little girl that the Lord is forming into His image even now.