It's a...

GIRL!!!!

She's waving hello :)

According to the ultrasound, our little munchkin is healthy as can be. Praise the Lord! She measures about 6 1/2 inches from head to rump and weighs about 9 oz. Now we are working on a girl name. We were so convinced that baby was going to be a boy! Actually the only people that I knew of that thought it was going to be a girl were Joel's mom, Carol, and our sis-in-law Bryana. They were right! :)

Here's the story of ultrasound day:

At the ultrasound we asked the tech to not tell us the gender, but to instead write it down and put it in an envelope. When she was checking for the gender we all closed our eyes so there would be no way we could tell. After the u/s I gave the envelope to Bryana. She got to have a sneak peek because she made a very special cake. The cake was to be either blue or pink depending on what baby was. She frosted the cake yellow so we could not tell what color the inside was. Joel's parents and brother and family came over for dinner that evening. When it was time for dessert we connected with my parents on Skype and my brother and his fam on speaker phone. We cut the cake and, lo and behold, the inside was PINK! We all got to find out it's a girl at the same time-so fun! We were so caught up in the excitement that none of us thought to take pics or video. Duh! I did get one pic of the remains of the cake after we all dug in. So there you have it. What a great day.

That evening Ethan and Lyla were having a little party of their own!

Door County!

We had the opportunity to travel to Door County last weekend for 3 days/3 nights with our dear friends Mark, Karn, and Nelson. What a fun-filled trip in a beautiful place with lovely friends! We packed as much into 3 days as we could, and enjoyed every minute. :)

Nelson and Lyla on a beach in Bailey's Harbor--you can't exactly tell from this pic, but Lyla is absolutely crazy about Nelson :) They're buds. It was fun to see their interaction throughout the weekend.

Karn took these cute shots of the little princess

Had to share this pic cuz it's cute, but it was actually taken a few weeks ago on our way home from the fair--they were both zonked. :)

Little farmer Lyla

We got to go to Plum Loco Animal Farm which I think was the highlight for Lyla since she loves animals so much. We got to feed and pet the animals as you can see...

The baby goats were her favorite--just her size :)

We went to Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant where there are usually goats grazing on the roof, but today was mowing day!

TV aquarium

Joel and Mark went salmon fishing and caught some good-sized fish!

Sunset view from the deck of our condo (over Green Bay)

We also went to a fish boil--a very "Door County-ish" thing to do. We learned that it's actually an Icelandic tradition

The bean fell asleep in my arms about two-thirds of the way through a very busy day!

Joel doing "The Crane"--hard to tell the difference between him and the Karate Kid

This was at a pebble beach--the beach consists completely of stones that are very round and smooth from the constant force of the water lapping against them.

Mark, Karn & Nelson :)

Also, it was cherry season in Door County so we got to enjoy many cherry delights, which included cherry pie, cherry salsa, cherry bread pudding, cherry juice, and of course fresh picked sweet cherries! Yum! It was a great weekend. :)

Summer Fun

Post-bath Lyla in her bunny towel :)

We went to the fair and Lyla was crazy about the animals!

We had a visit from my friend Suz and her 3 kiddos--here's Lyla and Grayson taking a stroll together. :)

Grayson & Lyla in the pool

"I guess I better massage her leg since she gave me a back rub."

They were too cute together

All the kiddos in the baby pool!

Lyla was wiped out after a busy, busy morning

My Aunt Jane & Uncle Mike also came to visit that day--what a special day it was!

Baby Update: I am now 18 weeks along and the baby is probably measuring about 5 1/2 inches from head to rump. As I am typing this, I can feel baby kicking and squirming. I actually started to feel the first movement at about 16 1/2 weeks! So much sooner than I felt Lyla--didn't feel her move until 22 weeks! But of course I wasn't familiar with the sensation with the first pregnancy. Anyway, it's fun. The ultrasound is in one week--can't wait!

Happy 1st Birthday Naomi Rose

My sweet niece Naomi turned one year old today!

What a cutie.

These are the amazing cupcakes my sister-in-law Abby made for Naomi's 1st birthday party! She's so creative. :)

Happy Independence Day!

Our Little Firecracker

(Lyla & Daddy--I love this one)

Baby belly at 16 weeks :)

I've been feeling great, and I'm amazed at how much earlier my belly started to pop out this pregnancy. We will have our ultrasound 3 weeks from today and find out if the baby is a boy or girl--can't wait!

Also, just wanted to express how grateful I am to be an American. Even with all the crazy stuff going on in our country right now, there is still no other place in the world I would rather live. I have been to several third world countries, and I hope if you are reading this, that you have had that opportunity as well. It has surely helped me to truly appreciate the USA. We are so blessed to have all the rights and freedoms that we have, and to be able to live without oppression and everyday hardship. I still believe that the majority of the people here in the U.S. would rather help you than hurt you. I thank God for all that we have here.

May God bless the USA!