Our baby boy has a name, and....

Elijah is his name, oh! :-) Thanks for your contributions, opinions, and solicited advice. We've liked this name for years, and debated a couple of others we liked also, but it came down to the vote of big brother and sister. They both preferred it over Elliott, our second favorite "E" name. Both have the same meaning, "The Lord (Yahweh) is my God." So, that's official! However, we don't know for sure what we'll do for the middle name, which is funny, because we had Michael and Rose chosen for Isaac and Abigail's middle names before we knew their firsts! We'll keep you posted....I know you're all at the edge of your seats.

In other exciting news, we're 23 weeks into this pregnancy, and sinus crud has hit. I'm struggling with ear pressure, congestion, watery eyes, and all that fun stuff. I did have it bad with Abi too, but much earlier and for a long time. So, I'm trying to be positive and pray this doesn't go on forever. This weekend, something seemed to shift though, as far as his position, because though I'm still feeling him move often, and strongly, there is much less discomfort. I'm hopeful the placenta relocated to its rightful spot or something!

A happy thing today was that our beautiful bedding has arrived, making Elijah's arrival seem much closer. Something about seeing his quilt in our house makes me want to nest and set things up, though it's too soon, unnecessary right now, and we have no spot for him. We're working on attempting to put the house on the market, as insane as it seems, just to see what happens. We'd love to have more room before he comes, but also know it's unlikely we can sell in this awful market right now. So, if it does, we'll assume it's ordained of God, and pack up and move on. You can pray about that if you think of us. If it doesn't sell, we think it'll be easier to stay here and be content, despite the lack of space, knowing that God didn't open that door.

Here are some pictures of the crib bedding. It's precious, and will be something that hopefully will last several years, not just those first early baby years, since it would still be appropriate for a bigger boy. The main colors are khaki, white, chambray blue, and spring green, with some red, navy, darker green, and brown in the plaid trim.

"Wiggle, wiggle... nudge, nudge"

This is what we say a lot around here these days, in reference to our wiggly baby boy, and because of a sweet book that Autumn gave Isaac and Abigail. It's called My Special Something, and is the story of a little girl expecting her baby brother, and how she wonders who is in her mommy's tummy, with all the commotion going on - an alligator? a kangaroo? And as the mama gets bigger, a hippopotamus? I've warned our kids to NOT say that one to me, no matter what it looks like I'm carrying inside me. :-)

We may have a name decided upon, and hopefully can reveal it soon. Abigail has made her vote clear, and is typically trying to control things by already talking to baby E and calling him by her name of choice. It's funny. She keeps telling him how cute she just knows he'll be, and Isaac is asking questions about what he'll like to do and if he'll play with him or not. I love their curiosity and interest. It makes the anticipation even greater.

I'm thankfully feeling much better this week, with a great improvement in the pressure I'd been feeling. Tonight I got a maternity belt and it already feels great, supporting my back as this belly pokes out farther and farther. I'll go next week for a 22 week check-up and am eager to maybe get a little more info on where this placenta is. Please pray it's moving where it's supposed to be!

15 weeks

Our little baby is now the size of an orange! I'm feeling well, and am anxiously awaiting the day I feel him or her move. Hopefully it won't be long.

Several folks have asked if we have names picked out, and though we've tossed a lot around, we're not settled on anything really. I think it's just too hard to go there till we know if we're looking at naming a he or she! We do know it'll begin with a vowel, since for some reason, that's our theme...Isaac, Abigail... Feel free to throw any suggestions into the hat!