week # 20-it's a..

2 Samuel 7:14
I will be his father, and he will be my son.

...BOY!

It appears as though the boy votes came from behind and won the game! Seriously, we are just as shocked as many of you! However, we are THRILLED to be having a baby boy and we will have so much fun showing him off to you in just a few short months. Between LeVec and my mom, he will be the best dressed baby boy this side of New York!

Half-way there and our suspense is finally over, at least as far as the gender department goes! Our little man gave quite a perfomance during the ultrasound which was caught on film by our stellar sonographer. I hope to figure out how to clearly up load some of his fabulous photos, soon.

I don't know how many of you have experienced the crazyiness of having to drink oodles and oodles of water, then have some mash right on your bladder for 40 minutes! It's crazy! This is especially fun if your son decides to play hide and go seek in your hipbone! In an effort to bring the shy guy into a more visable area of my body, the nurse tried everything from inverting the table i was on (those little things are quite skinny and precarious!), to rolling me over on my side and mashing on his little apartment, and finally digging deep under my pancaked bladder to get a good view of him. When he finally shifted from his indian style seating arrangement we were able to see his boy parts quite clearly, much to the nurse's apparent relief!

I think Josh and I appeared a little dazed and confused when we left the clinic with huge smiles on our faces. Since the verdict was boy, it was Josh's job to pick our date night activity and restaurant for dinner. He kinda laughed when we got in the car, saying he hadn't really thought much about it, since he was convinced we were having a girl! He decided a trip to the park with Shiloh would be appropriate, followed by dinner at RoadHouse. Our time together was fun and it was neat marveling together at the fact that we were having a boy. But, y'all know us, we couldn't keep this secret for long=:)

We gathered the Wheeler kiddo's that night for their annoucement, which especially pleased Clay with his very last minute boy vote. The next day we unvailed the surprise to our friends at work with more balloons (pink and red decoys surrounding an "It's a Boy" balloon!) Friday at work the chocolate fountain flowed blue in celebration. Over the weekend we took a trip to the metroplex to announce this crazy news to our parents and grandparents at Joe's Crab Shack. We presented a strong case (lots of good solid evidence) to lead them to the proper conclusion---we're having a BOY! We love a chance to celebrate!

Thanks to y'all for your sweet words of encouragement and love for our unborn son!

blessings,
kelly, josh, & baby boy t


Our sweet baby's world:

We've made it to the halfway mark — congratulations! Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom, and about 10 inches from head to heel. (For the first 20 weeks, we use measurements taken from the top of the baby's head to his bottom — known as the "crown to rump" measurement. After that, we use measurements from head to toe. This is because a baby's legs are curled up against his torso during the first half of pregnancy and are very hard to measure.)
A greasy white substance called vernix caseosa coats your baby's entire body to protect his skin during its long submersion in amniotic fluid. This slick coating will also ease the journey down the birth canal when the time comes.
Your baby is swallowing more, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky substance that's made up of dead cells, digestive secretions, and swallowed amniotic fluid. This meconium will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first messy diaper. Aren't babies great?