It's going to be...

a GIRL! We found out today. She cooperated, so we saw with pretty good certainty. Ashlynn was right all along (she called it before I even knew I was pregnant). Also, we are scheduled for a c-section on June 12th. Pretty exciting!

Aren't you glad you checked our blog... now you can be one of the first to know!

Ashlynn's Happy Day

Ashlynn is having a great day, and it isn't even half over yet! It began like most weekday mornings when I am home with her... her cup of milk, playing in the living room, a little "Sesame Street" while I take a shower, and breakfast of two Yo Baby yogurts with a little granola and blueberries on the side. After that she tinkled in the toilet and earned her 21st star sticker for using the toilet since Friday night and got to put on real underwear.

Then it got really good... we went outside and she got to paint pictures for Valentine's Day for Daddy and her grandparents using pink and purple (her favorite color!) paint and a sponge paintbrush. At the end I painted her hands with the purple paint and we made handprints too. Then she spent a little time exploring our backyard. It is a beautiful day, with sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 70s. We haven't been out in the yard much over these past few months because it has been cold and yucky, but today is perfect! She had fun just checking things out, but then I opened up her sandbox and she was thrilled. Ashlynn can spend forever digging around in the sand and scooping it into buckets. She actually had a little tantrum at the end of sandbox time because although I gave her a five and two minute warning she was still not ready to get out. We came inside after almost two hours outside (and no bathroom accidents... which was our reason for coming inside). She cried a bit but soon pulled it together when she realized that she was going to get to take a shower-bath (her latest favorite way to bathe). She was very happy to splash around in the tub while the shower water fell down on her head. After tub time came lunch, which included granola (her request), dried cranberries, pita pizza, and milk.

She is now finished with lunch and is happily looking through a Lakeshore catalog. She loves looking through the catalog and finding toys and books that she has. Sometimes she'll go find the item and bring it to the catalog where she'll compare the real thing with the picture. Luckily she doesn't talk about all the things she wants from the catalog; she just looks through it. I'm sure it won't be long before we hear many "I want"s, but for now it's nice to see her content to look at all she does have (it's hard for many of us to do that!).

It has been a great day! These are the days when I especially feel blessed to get to stay home with Ashlynn part-time and get to experience the world with her.

Changes

There are going to be many changes in our lives over the next 8 months or so. We're (hopefully) adding onto our house, we'll probably lose Eric's mom to cancer, there will be the new baby in June, and Ashlynn will start preschool in September. I worry the most about Ashlynn and how she'll work through the transitions, since she's only two. My mom assures me that she is a solid and secure little girl and that she'll do fine. Some of my worries were eased yesterday when we toured the preschool Ashlynn will likely attend. She was so excited. She loved all of the toys and she wanted to play in their sand area and swing on the swings. Later in the afternoon she said, "I might go to preschool again tomorrow!" which is her way of saying that she hopes to do something. I'm sure the first few days of school will be tough, but I think she's off to a good start by being so excited about going!
Please continue to keep Eric's mom and the family in your prayers. Linda's condition continues to worsen. It is all happening so fast. She was just teaching in June and now she's receiving services from hospice. We are still praying for a miracle, but if that is not God's will, we are praying for comfort and peace.