December started with a bet. Many people were starting to ask if we were going to find out if Turtle was a boy or a girl. And even more people wanted to know if we wanted a boy or a girl. Robert, being the mature father already, honestly answered that he would be thrilled with a happy baby, boy or girl. Me, on the other hand, well...I've learned over the years that I have subconscious preconceived notions. Again, unintentional, but there all the same. So at about the 6 week mark I realized that I had never even thought of having a boy. So in my mind we were definitely having a boy. Robert found my reasoning a bit silly, and did what any loving husband would do: asked if I wanted to bet on it. All joking aside, this really was a loving response for me. You may be aware that I am fiercely competitive. In fact, last night I had a dream that I had the chance to go back to high school to play one final season of basketball. In my dream I was still 31 and pregnant, and having a really hard time making the responsible decision not to play. It was an anguishing dream. But back to the bet. Now we've been making playful bets for years now, starting with a late night Silver Diner bet over whether or not Nicole Ritchie was Lionel Ritchie's daughter (in case you're wondering, she is, and Robert won that one). The trouble we have with our bets is determining what the winner actually wins. Knowing that we never follow through, I jokingly said that I was betting it was a boy, and that if I was right I wanted an iPad. (Important to note, I was hoping to buy an iPad after Christmas). Robert then countered, saying it would be a girl, and setting his stakes at a compound mitre saw or a new bike. And the bet was set.
Back to the rest of December. Really not all that exciting. A few parties here and there. Work for both of us. A tree, with lights, and ornaments starting halfway up the tree. Charlie is starting to.calm down a bit, and Sadie is as good as always. And I've really had a normal uninteresting pregnancy. Here's a pic from Week 17:
So as you can tell, the bet gained some momentum. There really wasn't a lot of competition. We ventured to the doctors office on Dec. 20, hoping that Turtle would cooperate with the ultrasound tech. She went through all of the measurements, told us that the baby was in good health and measuring about 19 weeks, then after taking 12 pictures of the face, elbows, arms, legs, heart, ribs, spine, etc. finally said: "well, we're looking underneath the baby and there are the legs...and as you can tell, it's a boy! Robert was quite the gracious loser, gave me a high five, and drove right to the Apple store from the doctors office. So there you have it.
We were excited to tell our friends and family, but wanted to be creative. So here are a few of the pictures we came up with.
Shout out to the nice young woman working at Harris Teeter, where we purchased the balloons. Robert was bursting with excitement and told her that we were buying the balloons because we'd just found out we were having a boy. She didn't think I looked pregnant enough to know the sex yet (sweetest thing a pregnant woman can hear). And we'll just say that Charlie behaved appropriately, well, most of the time he was being photographed. Now we're working on a list of names, although we are going to keep his name a secret until he's born. So you can stop asking.
And woo, our baby boy is racking up already - check out some of the goods he scored this past weekend.
Today is our 20 week mark, so we're halfway there and counting down. Being halfway there makes this all feel a little more real, and also realize how much we still have to plan for. But I love planning and am very excited about all of the change we're in the midst of! Thanks for your love and support!
