Monday, October 3, 2011

[Whitney] Dear Whitney...

This ad caught Wes' and my eye a few weeks ago, and it's well worth a watch:


It's prompted us to do this, so now that we know Baby W is a girl, we've created her email address: 


We'll use the account to send her notes of milestones, photo albums, and to share memories. We'd love for our family and friends to send her things, too! Occasionally we'll organize things into folders based on the year, but won't read anything until she's old enough to read it with us. Isn't technology amazing?

Sunday, October 2, 2011

[Pregnancy] It's a GIRL!

I've been hearing of "gender reveal parties" for some time now, and Wes and I thought it would be neat to share the experience of finding out what we're having with our families. We had the ultrasound on Thursday, and had them seal the results of the gender in an envelope... we then drove it directly to a bakery and had them make a cake that was either pink or blue inside.

My Great Aunt Whit hosted a family party so everyone could find out the news... it was so fun!


It still seems totally surreal to me that we're having a baby girl! Wes said it's now "real" to him that we're having a baby, but for me, I still feel like I'm floating above watching this happen, but it's not real life! I don't know when it will sink in, but I am over the top excited, that's for sure! :) Wes brought a blue shirt to change into -- just in case -- but it ended up being totally appropriate that we were both wearing pink for the news.


The highlight in all of this was that my Great Aunt Whit hosted the party, and we're naming Whitney in honor of her. I teared up when I saw the pink cake, and I started to really cry when I glanced over at Aunt Whit and it hit me. She's one of the most incredible women I know, and I am so glad we can honor her in this small way. She's going to be 93 this month, but still walks regularly and swims several miles a week. Up until recently she's modeled in several charity fashion shows, and remains active with a number of charitable organizations. I've never once heard her say a bad thing about another person, and she's the epitome of a classy lady.

She's quilted all her life, and several of her quilts have won major awards. We were so honored to be able to pick out a few quilts for Whitney to take home. They're just beautiful!


Thank you to everyone who joined us today - it was such a fun day, and it means so much to us to have you all with us!

Monday, August 8, 2011

[Pregnancy] Baby W on video!


We had our final appointment with Dr. Lee, our fertility specialist, this afternoon, and it was kind of bittersweet to say goodbye! Our first appointment with our OB is this Thursday. To celebrate our "graduation" from Dr. Lee, we had an ultrasound and as a special surprise, we got to take home a DVD of it!


You can't see much in the beginning, so it doesn't really start for about 40 seconds. At about 40 seconds and continuing for a while you see the heart beating in the middle... then at 1:20 he's showing the head, belly, arms & legs of the baby and you can see the pointer moving in that order... then he's measuring the baby, but says the length isn't perfect because Baby W was curled up a bit... then at about 2:15 - or right when he's done with the measuring - you can see Baby W dancing!!!!!!!! Ah!!! It was so cool!!! I totally started bawling... no surprise, I'm sure. :) 

Dr. Lee is such an amazing man, and we are so thankful to have had him guide us through this journey. 

Monday, June 20, 2011

[Pregnancy] Telling our parents the news!

Once I convinced Wes that four home pregnancy tests couldn't be wrong (three of them different brands), we allowed ourselves to start thinking of ways to tell our folks the good news. We'd broached the subject in the past, but always caught ourselves and said, "Let's not put the cart before the horse." Or "Cart. Horse." as we started referring to it if one of us (usually me, let's be honest), would go down that path.

After the digital test read "pregnant" Thursday morning, we started brainstorming. For my parents, this would be Grandchild #14. My mom has often commented that she needs to get away from "unlucky #13" (not the actual grandchild, mind you, just the total number of grandkids). We decided to get a onesie and I made an iron-on saying "Grandchild #14" for it.


I had lunch with my friend Bridgett on Thursday and there was a Carter's store in the shopping center, so I tiptoed in to get a onesie. I still feel like an imposter in the Pregnant World, so I'm not sure if/when I'll feel like I belong in a baby store of any kind. I was tempted by the adorable outfits and snarky onesies, but knew I couldn't torture myself by looking too closely. I made my way to the plain white onesies and they were only sold in packs of six. I took it to the register, and the salesgirl asked if I wanted to be added to their mailing list for coupons and sales... uh, yeah, I do! My first official membership in Club Pregnant. She rang me up, and the onesies were on sale! Only $8 for 6, so now I'm a bargain mommy-to-be!

I called Wes as I left the store to tell him I'd made my first baby-related purchase. At first he freaked out a bit, "It's too early!" And I reminded him I had to buy *something* to do the iron on for my parents. "Oh, yeah, but that's it!" I think he knows me all too well... :)  I have to say, it gives me warm fuzzies having these little cuties hanging in the closet... and if officially makes the "white room" in our house the "baby room!"


So my parents were leaving on Saturday to drive to Nevada to see Roy's grandson's high school graduation. I knew I wanted to tell them in person, so our only shot was Friday. When I first called my mom to see if they could get together, she hesitated because they had a lot to do to get ready for their trip. I persisted and said we'd be in San Clemente anyway, so we'd just stop by to say hi and wish Roy a happy Father's Day in person. She obliged to having a quick bite since we'd be in town anyway - success!

Roy opened his card, and then Wes instructed my mom to help him with the gift... they both looked at it and said, "Oh, how fun!" but didn't really get what the onesie meant. My mom looked over at me and I said, "We're pregnant!" She jumped up and gave me a hug, with tears in her eyes. It was a very sweet moment.


 
They both had to have a picture 'wearing' the onesie. :)

I am so glad we were able to tell them in person! They were overjoyed for us, and the onesie was the perfect thing.We went out and had a very nice dinner at a new-ish restaurant in San Clemente, Cafe Mimosa. It was great!


We decided to tell Wes' family when we saw them on Father's Day, and we had a few ideas for what to do... we settled on putting a "bun in the oven," and having them find it.


Wes' dad was out of town, unfortunately, so it was just his mom and grandma who came over. When they arrived we pretended to be busy, and Wes asked his grandma to check on what was in the oven, and then said, "Mom, she might need help getting it out." Meanwhile I got the camera ready and we sat behind them and waited...


Martha got it almost immediately and turned to us with this adorable look of shock and excitement, and we confirmed what she was thinking. She cried, and ran over to give us a hug, all the while grandma is saying "Why is there a hamburger bun in the oven? Why is Wendy taking pictures?" It was really funny. So as I hugged Martha, I whispered over my shoulder to Wes, "Your grandma doesn't get it! Explain it to her!" We then headed to Wes' annual Father's Day barbecue/picnic, and all had BIG smiles on our faces. :)