Our little "peanut"

So, I've been gone awhile from blogland. It's been busy with work and keeping up with T. He spent a month in Florida doing Navy stuff and was able to combine all of his drills for the rest of the year with his AT to knock it all out at once. That's nice so we don't have to pay for a plane ticket each month, but I'll miss my drill weekend freedom. It kind of sounds bad, but it's nice to have one weekend to yourself sometimes. But, I'll happily give up my weekend for him to be around the rest of the time.

Part of the reason I've been gone is that we found out we're having a baby! I am so excited. It's been a long time coming (at least for me). I just haven't had the energy to blog about stuff for awhile. We are 8 weeks this week and got our first ultrasound this past Wednesday. The baby has a good strong heartbeat - it was 168 during the ultrasound. It was surreal to see it on the monitor. It's one thing to see it on tv or to see other people's pictures, but to see it for our own and ourselves was the coolest thing I think I've ever done. I could have stared at it all day. I loved watching the small blip of a heart beating steadily. We got a few pictures, which unfortunately didn't scan as well as I had hoped, so I'm trying to scan them again. I'll post them soon. The majority of people I talk to think it's a boy. Except for cjoy and the "determine the sex based on heartbeat level" website, both of which say it's a girl. I'd really love a girl because I have such a great relationship with my mom and my friends' girls. Don't have nearly as much experience with boys, but I'm pretty sure it's a boy and have already started to love the thought of a boy.

We've gone round and round with names. We, of course, have boys name picked out. T has, since we first discussed kids when we were dating, suggested and advocated for Bubba Hoss. Bubba is because he will be from the South and Hoss because T loves the show "Bonanz". I have finally determined (I think) that this is a joke, but I'm not exactly sure. Now, he wants Robert Josiah to shorten to Bubba Hoss. I think we have settled on James Russell (the first legit sounding name he gave me more than a year ago). But, I also like Joshua Harrington. The weekend before I took the first test, I kinda new something was going on, I saw the name Joshua everywhere. I looked up the meaning (the Lord is my salvation) and loved it. Harrington was my grandfather's middle name and I just like it. But, I think it'll be James Russell (his and his dad's middle names). We have trouble with girls names. I like Grace as the middle name with several first name options: Caroline, Anna, & Elizabeth. My great-grandmother's name was Anastasia and I love the name, but it's long, so I thought shortening it to Anna would work since that's probably what she'd be called. So far, Caroline and Abigail have been nixed for various reasons. I tried Carolina (like Carolina Herrera), but it got vetoed, too. So, we're stuck with girls names, which means it'll probably be a girl. We find that out August 10. That seems so far away, but I've been told it'll be here before I know it.

So, that's what's going on in this little corner of the world. I've not enjoyed the nausea or the inability to handle certain smells or brushing my teeth, but things are so good right now I don't think I'd trade them for anything. T has been so sweet and comments often about being parents and how cool this all is. I think he's more excited than he's willing to admit. And, our moms are thrilled. My mom asked for pictures of the ultrasound and wanted at least a 4x6 - I jokingly suggested blowing it up to a poster size and she was all for it. It's a first grandchild for her and she's already planned her vacation time around Christmas when it's due. It's fun to see her so excited. I'm not sure how we'll balance both moms wanting to come at the same time, but I think it'll work itself out. I feel blessed to have so many people who are excited and love this baby before they even get to meet him (or her).