Anatomy Scan and Gender Reveal Party!!

We had our anatomy scan, also known as the BIG ultrasound yesterday. Most importantly, everything looked great with the baby. As far as they can tell, it's perfectly healthy. It was so nice to see it in there, looking like a baby, moving around. At one point, I saw the baby move it's arm, and felt it as well! We laughed and joked around with the tech and the doctor. I don't know if it's because I'm comfortable now or just didn't have time, but I wasn't nearly as nervous as I had been with Kadence or Gavin.

From the ultrasound, we dropped off the sealed envelope to a local bakery.  Just an hour or so later, the baker called to tell me the cake was ready. Kadence and I went to pick it up, and I asked her in front of the baker if it was a boy or a girl- she replied, as usual, "It's a boy". I thought for sure she would want a sister, but for months now, every time we ask, she says it's a boy and she's going to have another baby brother.

Well...

She was RIGHT! It's a BOY! And boy, she couldn't wait to tear into that cake, which may or may not have been her dinner. Whoops.

Here's all of us just after we found out! Clearly, my little superman is so excited. :)

I have to say, I did this "party" because I wanted to do something different this time. Even though I thought it was kind of cheesy, I figured it could be fun. I had no idea how much I would love it! I loved finding out with my kids and family and friends. I loved that we all found out together. It was a great moment, and I can't believe I'm having another boy! I'm so grateful, and I know this little miracle baby has a special purpose in life. I can't wait to meet him in 5 short months!

Should we just name him/her Veto?

Naming a child has got to be one of the most difficult things in the world! It was a little easier with Kadence and Gavin, though we spent months going back and forth on Cadence or Kadence, and sometimes I fear we made the wrong decision. Oh, and Gavin's name was William until I was about 6 months pregnant. This time is even more challenging. See, we were DONE having kids. Our girl name for Gavin was Lucy. We ruined that by getting a cat and naming her Lucy. Why wouldn't we? It was our ONLY chance to use our perfect girl name. Except now I'm pregnant. Thankfully, I am finding out the gender in 5 days because I could not take obsessing over all these names a second longer. I swear, I've contemplated begging my OB to do a quick ultrasound just to tell me what the goods are.
Here are some of the names we've been throwing around:

• Giselle- Reminds Luis of Gazelle. Veto
• Addison- We lived just near Addison, TX and though I like the name, I associate it with a city, not a person. Veto
• Noah- that was our boy baby name way back in 2006 when having kids was only a pipe dream; we still love it, but we don't feel that it's the right name for our potential son. Veto
• William, but call him Liam. No, Luis says just use Liam as the name. Okay...then Luis says no. Veto
• Hailey- we sat on Hailey for a while. So much so that Kadence is insistent that if the baby is a girl her name will be Hailey. I hope she forgets, because I got over it. It's still a very cute name, but it's not my daughter's name. Luis still wants to use it. Veto
• Willa- I love it, Luis is not a fan. Veto

So, a la Phoebe on Friends, "Is it me or is Veto starting to sound really good?" And those are just a few of the millions of names we looked through. We had a blast one day wishing on baby name genie. Diamond Luna? VETO!

Words to live by...from none other than my insurance agent

Yesterday, we had to get insurance on our new (to us) car, so of course I had to call State Farm and get it all situated. The woman I spoke to, Linda, was very nice, and in the course of our conversation I ended up telling her about our kids and that I was pregnant again. She then sold me on life insurance for our kids, and explained how they could grow up with the policy and if they ever became uninsurable later in life, they would always have this. I told her to go ahead and send me the quotes, even though it was quite alarming to think about life insurance for your babies! Along with the quotes, she emailed me this quick note:

Myndee, didn't realize until I began to quote the life for your children, how close in age they are!  You have your hands full right now!
I had three little girls in 4 years and it was hard when the third one came along, but it was wonderful after a short time.  I can tell you in looking back, these are the best years of your life. Enjoy every minute with your babies..........time passes too quickly.  My girls are all married now and I can't believe how fast the years have gone.

Those few sentences, and especially the words "enjoy every minute with your babies" really got to me. I cried when I read it, cried when I told Luis about it, and am crying now. I have spent the last few months fretting more about HOW we are going to manage three kids, and hell, some days just figuring out how to manage two full on toddlers. I have my almost 3 year old who gets rather upset, and tells you...loudly, when she is unhappy about doing or not doing something specific. Then, my 15 month old who is so determined to do what he wants that he will pinch you or bite you when you stop him from doing something, often something that could injure him; not to mention how much they fight with each other. Clearly, the past few months "enjoying my kids" is not happening as much as it should. That's changing now. I'm not going to worry about how we are going to survive. We will. Tons of people do. I'm going to instead focus my energy on enjoying these next 5 months with my two kids. Once baby 3 arrives, though I will be overwhelmed, I will make a determined effort to enjoy those hectic few months. I didn't do that when Gavin was a baby. I was strictly in survival mode. Things will be different this time. And I'm open to suggestions from people who have been there, done that.

It's crazy how a few simple words from virtually a stranger can make such an impact on my life. I wonder if I should write state farm- hey, maybe I could be on one of those heart tugging commercials! ;)

Adventures in Toddlerhood

My kids. Phew. They are something else. When I tell Kadence that- that she's "something else". She replies emphatically, "NO I NOT. I KADENCE!!" She has been saying the funniest things. The other day, when I was on the phone with her while at work, she hung up on me. Luis called me back to tell me she was pressing buttons on his phone and told him she was "texting mommy". Good Lord. Today, as she played on the computer's keyboard, she informed me that she was checking her email. When she starts saying stuff about Facebook is when I will be taking a long internet vacation!

While Gavin doesn't talk much, he sure knows how to tell you what he wants. We have Netflix instant, through our Wii. We put on Yo Gabba Gabba through it. He knows the difference in the TV remote and the Wii remote. Although he only says, "Go Go" for Yo Gabba Gabba, he will find the correct remote, and lo and behold, the child can *sometimes* get the show on using that remote. My mom can't ever do that. I think it's a fluke when he does it, but still- it freaks me out a bit. He also has no trouble letting you know he's upset, by walking right up to you and pinching the hell out of you. He learned that from Kadence, who frequently pinches him, but at least she doesn't pinch me. She didn't share with Gavin that you should only pinch other kids when adults aren't looking. It took me a while to figure out that he learned this technique of pinching from her!

I can only imagine what bringing a 3rd child into this mix is going to be like.I already feel sorry for him or her. Speaking of baby 3, t-minus two weeks until we find out if it is a boy or girl!!! I can't wait, and I'm doing something totally cheesy, but fun and cute even. It's this new thing, well newer than when I had my other two; it's called a "gender reveal party". We will have the anatomy scan, and the tech will write down the gender and put it in an envelope. We then take said envelope to a local bakery, where they will bake a cake for me and put pink or blue frosting in the middle layer of the cake. That evening (cuz I'm not waiting any longer) a few friends/family members will come by, and when we cut into the cake, we will ALL find out the gender together. I think it will be fun this way because with Kadence, we found out she was a girl at our anatomy scan, but didn't tell anyone...not even my e-friends. Then, with Gavin, we honestly didn't find out until he was born. Now with this one, we will find out with our loved ones! My money is on this being a girl. I thought Kadence was a boy and was wrong, thought Gavin was a boy and was right, so I have a 50/50 track record. We'll see soon enough.