Baby Lamb #3 is....

a BOY!!!!!

Surprise, surprise, Little One is a boy!  Actually, I was a little surprised.  This entire pregnancy has been so different from the beginning, that I was starting to think baby was a girl.  But, nope.  Definitely a boy.  My appointment happened to be on my birthday (ok, maybe I planned it that way), so it was a really fun birthday present to myself!

Baby looked healthy and strong, moving around just as he should be.  I was 18.5 weeks at this appointment and Little One weighed 9 oz, with a heartbeat in the high 140s.  That seems to be pretty consistent with this baby.  The other boys were always in the high 150s.  One thing the doctor did say was that since I got pregnant less than a year after having another baby, there are a few things they want to watch, so I'll go back monthly for sonograms.  As my due date gets closer, I'll go more frequently.  All this was fine by me because I think it's a great way to bond with baby and I get to see him every month!  How great is that?  (Apparently having pregnancies close together--less than a year--can be associated with slow growth and preterm labor among other things.)

After the appointment, Philip and I put together a little surprise box for Cooper and Austin to open.  We bought a huge box and filled it with blue helium balloons, so that when the boys opened the box, all the blue balloons would come flying out.

Then, we met my family at lunch to tell them the exciting news.  I quickly picked up some cupcakes at the grocery store and asked the bakery to decorate them for me.  After we were all sitting at the table at lunch, everyone closed their eyes, I pulled out the cupcakes and surprise....it's a BOY!!  Annie captured a few cute pics of the moment.

Later that evening, we brought the huge box inside and let Cooper and Austin open it up.  Coop knew that if blue balloons came out, he'd have another brother, but if pink balloons came out, he would have a sister. 

Coop quickly began having so much fun with the balloons, I think he forgot why we even had them.  I reminded him that blue meant he would have another baby brother, and he was super excited...for about five seconds, and then moved on to playing with the balloons!  

 Me and my boys.  Can't wait to have three to wrap my arms around!

My Little Pirate Fireman

Austin stayed up a little later than Cooper tonight.  Not because we made a conscious effort to keep him up later, but mainly because he was being so darn cute that Philip and I couldn't take our eyes off him and whisk him off to bed.  He was playing in the playroom, wearing his favorite pirate hat, when I heard him making his "I want that" noise.  He was pointing to one of Cooper's firemen coats.  I put the coat on him, and Austin was excited!  He looked like ET walking around with that huge coat on.  But he was just so joyous and CUTE.  Philip and I just sat in the room with him watching and smiling at our sweet, joyous boy.

A THIRD Surprise

So, here's a story for ya...I'm pregnant!!!  Surprised?!  Yep, I was, too.  :)  Let me back up a bit...

In the fall, I just wasn't feeling well.  I couldn't figure out what was going on; I just thought I was tired, run down, needed more "me" time, needed more sleep...those kind of things.  Well, the day before Thanksgiving, I was sitting in Austin's room, just before we were to get on the road for Austin, and I started adding a few things up, all together, from the last couple of months.  My eyes grew a little wider when I thought about being pregnant...could I be?!  I thought it was slim, but...maybe?!  A positive test very quickly answered that question.  My mind was racing. 

Since it was a holiday week, my doctor's office was closed and I'd have to wait before I could call and get some concrete answers.  I told Philip immediately and our drive to Austin was...interesting.  We were both wide-eyed, in a daze, wondering how long this little one had been making a new home in my belly.

I was able to see my doc early that next week, and a sonogram revealed the sweetest little heartbeat of a tiny 10.5 week-old baby.  I started laughing, looked at the screen, and asked, "where did you come from?!"

It took several weeks for the news to sink in with Philip and me, but we are both excited and looking forward to meeting our sweet new baby.  Due date for Little One is June 30 and this Thursday, we find out if baby is a boy or a girl.  (Thursday also happens to be my birthday.  I can't imagine getting a better present on my birthday.)

So, here I am with baby #3 at 18 weeks!!

New December Posts

Getting caught up on posts from December...

Colorful Forest

Christmas Afternoon/Evening 2012

Christmas Morning 2012

Merry Christmas from Team Lamb

Trains with Poppi

Phew.  Happy reading!

Waking Up Austin

Today I saw yet another time when Cooper shows just how much he loves his little brother.  I went in to wake Austin up from his nap (I RARELY do this, but it was late and we had dinner plans), and Cooper snuck in the door with me.  He could have gone through that door, energy flowing, acting like a pirate or a fireman or an astronaut, flung open the shutters and turned on the lights.  But he didn't.  Without me even saying anything about being quiet as we wake up Austin, Coop tip-toed in and as soon as he saw Austin asleep, he turned to me and said, "Aww.  Look, Mama.  He's curled up with his blankie."  Then, he gathered a few stuffed animals and quietly and gently placed them in Austin's crib "so he'd have some more friends to cuddle with."  Then he stood there and stared at his sleeping little brother, reached his hand through the slats on the crib and gave him a little love pat.  So sweet.

After I opened the shutters, Austin began to stir and Coop, still in awesome-sweet-loving-big brother mode, reached up and gave Austin a hug and a kiss followed with, "Good morning, Little Buddy."  Coop proceeded to tell Austin why we had to wake him up and where we were going.  And, he made sure to tell Austin that he'll have fun at dinner and can go back to sleep when we return home.  So SWEET.

15 Month Cowboy

On our way to the doctor for Austin Boo's 15-month checkup, he insisted on being a little cowboy.

 

Captain Awesome Hair Returns

Captain Awesome Hair made an appearance after nap time the other day.  Reminds me of this little Captain.  Love my bed-head boys!

Welcome, Spiderman and UT Football Player

Thank you, cousin Carter, for the new dress up clothes.  My little firefighter can now add Spiderman and Longhorn football player to his list of "people."  Carter gave these to Cooper while we were in Austin for Thanksgiving.  And for the first two weeks, Cooper was Spiderman all day long, even sleeping in the costume.  I had to convince him every couple of nights to sleep in something else so I could wash the outfit so it would be ready the next day.  He. Loves. Them.

Painting Fun

I love that Austin enjoys painting.  At this age, Cooper wasn't a huge fan of it.  He was a little more cautious in touching the paint and getting it on his hands.  Now, however, he likes it.  Phew!  But Austin never showed any hesitation with getting messy.  He jumps right in with the paint!