Family Additions

Well, for those of you who don't know (and for those that do)...WE ARE...

On September 20th Brantley and I found out we are expecting our first little bundle of joy. We are so excited and have been anxiously waiting to reveal the big news to everyone!!! So here it finally is. I am now at 12 weeks and our due date is May 29th. We had our second doctor's appointment this past Wednesday and he said everything looks great and it is safe to spread the wonderful news. We were thrilled to hear that! So far we have had an ultrasound (pics below) and we got to hear the heartbeat for the first time on Wednesday. It is the most amazing sound ever! We only got to hear it for like not even a minute, so it seemed, but I could have listened to it for an hour. It was very reassuring to us that things are going well. He measured the heart rate at 170. So far, things have been pretty good, but my 9th-12th weeks have been the worst. NOTHING ever sounds good to eat and to top it off I had to take off work for a week because I got the flu. I have never had the flu and the one time I really don't need to get it of course I do. As of right now I'm just dealing with the aftermath of the flu. So being sick and pregnant has made me extra tired especially when also caring for eight 1 and 1/2 year olds every day. We are just so thankful we have made it to this point. I am already dying to know what we are having so I can start shopping! So really I guess for Brantley it's a good thing we don't know yet. We should be able to find out boy/girl the week after Christmas. Well, I feel like there is so much more I could say, but that will have come later. For right now enjoy the pictures and don't miss the second half of my entry!

Ultrasound at 8 weeks 5 days

We call this the gummy bear picture! It's a 4D pic and it looks like he/she is looking right at you. You can see the little arm and leg buds sticking straight out towards you. Crazy!

The news isn't over...

Within a few weeks of mine and Brantley's exciting news, we found out we are adding another girl to our family! Michael proposed to Emily on October 10th. My brother definitely knows how to give Emily the best of the best. He really went all out with his proposal. And I would have to say it is one of the best, if not the best, engagement story ever! Let's just say (to put it shortly) it involved he and a friend driving to New York, Emily getting surprise plane tickets in and envelope to fly to NY, a walk around Times Square, a drive up through New England with a stop along the way to enjoy fireworks and a romantic dinner, then ending up in Maine at the summer camp where they were both counselors and first started getting to know each other over a year ago. To add to that there was a ping-pong match (has to do with them at camp, but that's another story), romantic candles and a fire burning in the fireplace, with 20 amazing compliments to Emily, a letter, and a BEAUTIFUL RING! There is even more to the story, but you'll just have to ask. It was actually more like an proposal weekend. It also included two of their close friends, who also met at that camp, getting engaged too. We could not be happier and I know Michael could not be happier. It will be nice having another girl around! Congratulations (Aunt) Emily and (Uncle) Michael! We love you!