Ultrasound Pictures

Looking between her legs (which by the way, she did not like). Definitely a girl.

Her little foot

She looks just like me when I was her age!

It's a....

GIRL!

To be honest, I was kind of expecting a girl. I don't know why, and I don't know if I would even call it a "feeling". I think it's probably because Ella and Maiya lived with us for 4 months and we got used to having little girls in the house.

We are SUPER excited! I've told Greg I'm going to start toughening him up, because I know he is just going to be a big sucker for this little girl and she's going to wrap him around her little finger, just like Ella did!

Everything on the ultrasound looked fabulous. Baby is right on schedule, and is already sucking away at her hands. I was a finger sucker, so I'm guessing she's sucking her fingers and not her thumb. She was very lazy this morning, hardly moving at all. The ultrasound technician kept bouncing my belly to get her to move, but it didn't really work. She obviously couldn't be bothered to accommodate our ultrasound. (I'm thinking she takes after Greg.) They were able to get two very clear pictures of the gender, so they are very certain in their announcement that it's a girl.

The doctor says my placenta is low-lying, but should move as I get bigger. He also said my uterus is tipped forward which makes it difficult to feel the baby move. I guess that's why I haven't felt much movement. On Sunday I felt my first flutters, but it was after I VIOLENTLY sneezed. For anybody who has heard me sneeze, you know that it really does scare small children...in this case, a very, very small child.

No, we haven't thought of any names yet. I might have been able to come up with a few boy names, but when it comes to girl names I am at a complete and utter loss. My student told me yesterday that 51% of parents have name regret after naming their child. So much pressure!

By the way, I was voting it was a girl, and Greg was voting it was a boy, and the loser had to buy the winner cheese fries at Outback. We plan all our bets this way so that either way we get cheese fries.

Looks like it's Outback tonight!

Jamming with Stevie Wonder...yes, in person

Yes, it's true...I jammed with Stevie Wonder.

No, really, I did. Look at the pictures. That's Stevie Wonder sitting at the piano with the sunglasses!

I played with the Atlanta Symphony on Sunday for the 90th birthday part of Reverend Lowery. Look him up if you don't recognize his name - MLK's right-hand man in the Civil Rights movement, an amazing man who has literally changed our country.

It was a 4-hour birthday extravaganza!

Also sharing the stage with me and Stevie Wonder were the Attorney General of the United States, Pres. Obama's personal assistant, Soledad O'Brien from CNN, Al Sharpton, Andrew Young, and Martin Luther King III to name a few.

And yes, of course we played "Sir Duke!" It was AWESOME!

Glamping

Definition of Glamping: Glamorous Camping

Necessities: Oversized tents

with air mattresses

An awesome cook stove with taco soup for dinner

And not pictured: flushing toilets, bugless restrooms, and showers

A supposed 8-man raft that only fit 4 adults, a two-year-old, and a cooler very tightly

Bonus: Chattachoochee River Access

Awesome friends who have all the necessary Glamping Equipment -- Mark, Nicole and little Anna

And a camp site that is just outside of Newnan: Chattachoochee Bend

We highly recommend it!

Update

For my family who doesn't live close to me....16 weeks!

I think it's finally true...I am pregnant

Some people are under the impression you have to have sex in order to conceive. We have found this not to be the case. Due to our struggles with unexplained infertility the last 3 years, we bought our baby from Emory Reproductive Center.

And these are the shots I did for the In-Vitro Fertilization process during the course of 3 months.

And a close-up of the worst part of all - 10 weeks of progesterone shots with a 1 1/2 inch needle in the bum. That's 77 shots, folks. Don't worry, I have chronicled the whole journey, and this child will know all that I suffered to get them here!

But we are pleased to announce all of our efforts were worth it this time around, and I am currently 14 weeks pregnant!

Due date is March 16th (really March 20th according to the ultrasound, so Greg is hoping for March 21st which is his birthday).

Next Dr.'s visit is Oct. 20th where we will hopefully find out the gender of our baby.

So anyway, if you see me and are wondering why I'm got a big belly lump (not so much a bump yet), you will know why.

A Hiking We Will Go!

Have you...

1. Scaled to the top of Amicalola Falls
2. Explored the depths of Providence Canyon
3. Braved the swinging bridge in Tallulah Gorge
4. Faced the daunting staircase in Cloudland Canyon

We have! Apparently we are eligible to be in the Canyon Climbers Club for a $10 fee. Ummm....I think we'll pass and instead explore new GA parks.

Today we went to a park we'd never been to before, Sweet Water Creek, located near Six Flags.

Similar to Roswell Mill, this mill, called New Manchester, was burned per Sherman's orders during the Civil War invasion of Atlanta. Roswell was burned first, and then New Manchester. The women and children working in both mills were charged with treason and put in prison in Louisville, KY. Sherman is not highly regarded here in the South.

It was a beautiful day for a hike, and so great to find a new place to explore! Thanks for the tip, Jaimee!

And in other news, Greg got to see the DragonCon Parade this year while I was stuck in a building one block away adjudicating orchestra auditions.

We are kind of in love with "Dr. Who" at the moment. Okay, more than kind of....it's an obsession. :)