It's A Girl!

Yes, I know it is pretty unusual to be able to announce a pregnancy and a gender at the same time, but we had a 12 week ultrasound yesterday, and the gender guess was girl (85% accuracy).

We are so excited to make this one public. It was a long 12 weeks, and I am horrible at keeping secrets, but hopefully this is a surprise to most of you. Our official due date is August 9, 2009. I am so happy to see our family grow and can't wait to meet this little one!

The ultrasound yesterday was SO cool. I wasn't sure what to expect. There is a fetal screening for Down's syndrome that is becoming pretty common and it involves an ultrasound during the 12th week of pregnancy. I have to admit that I mostly took advantage of the fact that our insurance covered this test 100% and I thought it would be fun to get a peek at the baby this early.

The moment the technician got the baby on the screen I was blown away. I don't really know what I was expecting to see. The whole pregnancy has seemed kind of surreal - I kept thinking maybe I made a mistake and I am just feeling sick for some other reason. It is hard to really comprehend the fact that there is a new life growing when I can't feel it or see it (I don't know if he was teasing me or not, but Erik told me he didn't think the ultrasound tech would be able to see anything because the baby is still too little). Then, up on the big screen on the wall, I saw my baby moving and larger than life. 4 inches long and she even LOOKED like a baby. It is hard for me to believe that a 12 week old fetus looks so human.

The ultrasound lasted almost a half an hour. I have included a short highlight below so you can get an idea of how clear and awesome it was:

They also did some 3D ultrasound as well. I can't decide if I like these or just think they are weird. The still shots are hard for me to get used to because the baby looks lumpy, but the baby moving in 3D is pretty cool. If you are interested, you can see a sample of that here:

We are welcoming name suggestions - we are going to stick with the Scandinavian theme we started with Soren. So send 'em on in!

Love,

Ashley

I'm Baaaaack!

Well, I really don't have a great excuse for neglecting to post for over a month... I'll just get started!

We had a great Christmas vacation. We hit the road on the 13th of December to visit Erik's mom in Kansas City. It was great to catch up with her and let her reconnect with Soren. It was COLD! The one and only thing I like about cold weather is that I instantly feel Christmas-y when I am cold. Linda and Sandra have a beautiful place, it was great to finally see it in person.

Soren enjoying the gingerbread house at Gramma's.

After a few days in KS, we flew straight to Salt Lake. We spent a few days hanging out with Aunt Steph while we waited for my parents and Jenny to fly in from Japan. They arrived on Saturday. Meanwhile, Erik made the long drive up from AZ by himself so he could be at his dad's house to watch the Poinsettia Bowl. Sunday morning, Erik came to get Soren and I and we headed down to Draper to spend a few days with Larry and Kristen. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner with Kristen's family on Sunday. We enjoyed some snowy days up on the mountainside!

On Christmas Eve, we headed back up to Pleasant View to my parents' house. We had a nice program and dinner on Christmas Eve, and Christmas day was fun because Soren made the present opening last a long time. He really understood the idea of presents this year. He had to help EVERYONE open each gift, and spent time with each of his gifts before he was ready to move on.

Soren helping Grandma open a gift on Christmas Eve

Our budding musician

Erik headed home on the Sunday after Christmas, once again to drive the lonely road to AZ by himself. I was grateful to have a car while we were in Utah, especially since I got to enjoy the short flight each way as well. Soren and I stayed a few more days with my family, and we were able to celebrate New Year's day with them as well.

Soren's first Snowman

Happy New Year (Yes, surprise, surprise, he is up at midnight)!

Coming home was a little bit lonely, but a relief as well. Soren has settled nicely into his usual routine, and he is enjoying the freedom of a child-proofed house. He picked up lots of funny things from his grandparents and aunts and uncle that we are still discovering. It was so nice to be able to watch him reconnect with family this Christmas, and to see him finally starting to understand who his family is.

I know I have missed out on a lot of the details of the last month and a half, but now that I have this update done I can start fresh. I will include a couple of fun photos I don't want you to miss, the rest are in the slideshow, and I won't let myself get this behind again (this is supposed to be fun for me, not a chore!).

Ashley

Soren LOVES his bath - he got in before I could get his clothes off!

Playing in the "fall" leaves in the park. Yes, it is January.

Soren's spiffy new bike (Thanks Grandpa & Grandma)

The boys watching the Cardinals conference championship game.

Soren didn't stay awake for much!