... A Girl!

I held my breath a little as the ultrasound tech started looking for the gender... when she told us that it was a girl I laughed and told her that was a big moment for us because we already had two girls at home! She started to laugh and apologize but of course we interrupted and said were excited for another girl. I would not say that I was disappointed at all, BUT I was a little surprised because I had convinced myself it was a boy. I mean the odds were kind of in our favor this time for a boy, right?! I was already planning on giving away all of the girls clothes to some friends who are pregnant with girls right now and dreaming of blue but it looks like I won't be passing on any clothes or bows or ballet flat shoes just yet and that's fine because I love my girls.

Mark said he knew all along it was a girl so he definitely wasn't disappointed either. 

We just laughed and smiled talking and imagining our family of 3 pretty girls.

We stopped at Party City on the way home and picked up some poppers with pink streamers in them for the girls to open. They were so excited to find out if they were getting a baby brother or a baby sister. 

My original plan to video the girls opening them outside was changed by our neighbor having her yard mowed by a loud industrial lawn mower right when we went outside to pop the poppers, but it was probably a good thing we went back inside because they made a mess!

The popper idea was a little bit of a fail in general because Reaghan wasn't strong enough to twist hers to get it to pop and as I was helping Lilly, she put her hand over the top of hers right as it popped, so the streamers didn't go flying up in the air as I imagined. *facepalm* Oh well!

We decided to video them instead of take pictures right when they popped so these are the only ones I have, but you can still see they're excited and I know the video is something we'll enjoy looking back on!

They both thought it was going to be a baby brother, so Reaghan was surprised to see the pink! She said she was still excited and was happy just to know who would be coming! She's the sweetest. Lilly still thinks its going to be a boy sometimes... in fact I had to go back for a repeat ultrasound the next week to recheck baby's spine because they couldn't see it well the first time and I took the girls with me. Lilly asked about 3 times during the ultrasound if it was a boy. Haha I think she's finally coming around to the sister idea though. : )

Aside from finding out about her gender, baby #3 appears to be healthy and growing nicely. She is in the 50th percentile, which seems about right for my babies, and I think her side profiles look a lot like Lilly's did. 

I'm 22 1/2 weeks now so I'm starting to feel her move in more regular patterns and can finally feel and see movement from the outside. I can usually count on feeling her move first thing in the morning and late at night, an hour or so before I go to bed. 

I'm still nauseous every day and occasionally throw up if I've gone more than 2-3 hours without eating or randomly she's not a fan of something - like the few cheese cubes I ate while fixing lunch today. But I was able to stop the Zofran right around 20 weeks and I feel like I've been able to manage it by eating sufficient protein at meals, especially breakfast, and not letting my stomach get empty. You know, the usual advice for the 1st trimester that doesn't make a bit of difference for me until I'm well into my 2nd. I am happy to be off of the medication though because I definitely felt a drowsy side affect this time around and it was rough feeling still feeling that 1st trimester exhaustion when I was supposed to be enjoying the energy of the 2nd trimester. I wasn't sure if I was just tired because it was my 3rd and I have 2 toddlers this time, or if I had low Iron ({I don't, they checked} or if it was from the medication. Thankfully it seems like it was the Zofran and now that I'm off of it I'm not nearly as tired during the day and even feel up to working out here and there. 

So far I think this pregnancy has been the hardest of the three, but overall I'm healthy and I'm thankful for a healthy baby! I can't wait to meet her in October. <3

We just need to decide on her name!

OBX Beach Week 2019!

We had another fun week with Mark's family to kick off the summer.

DAY 1 

{Beach Day}

DAY 2 

{Beach Day, Ice Cream Party}

DAY 3 

{Dolphin Watching, Craft Night, Glow Stick Party}

DAY 4

{Aquarium, Manteo}

DAY 5

{Beach Day, Date Night, Family Soccer}

DAY 6

{Beach Day, Putt Putt}

DAY 7

{Goodbye Beach Pictures}

It was a fun week. Reaghan was unusually brave and enjoyed every bit of the ocean, sand, digging for sand fiddlers and swimming in the pools. Lilly was her usual two your old self and required an exhausting amount of correction and discipline (but that's parenthood in this season I suppose!) but she definitely had her sweet and fun moments to try and make up for it!

We love the memories we've made taking this trip the last several years, especially as the girls grow older and are able to do and enjoy more on their own. 

I'm especially fond of spending an uninterrupted week with my 3 favorite people in the world. <3