I was so wrong!

Well, it's a GIRL!  Much to my surprise, baby Scooter Livingston is not a son.  When the technician was showing me the ultrasound, I searched and squinted, but never found a wiener.  I guess intuition isn't always right!

Dave and I tried to plan a little something to tell the surprise to the local family.  We invited the folks and some friends over to dinner at our house.  The "big reveal" idea is the ghetto version of something I stole from the Duggars.  (That's right, the Duggars.  Those are the people with 19 children, and yes, I watch the show whenever I see it on...  Don't judge me).  On the show, the baby's gender was to be revealed by cutting a cake and seeing whether it was blue or pink on the inside.  The doctor called the bakery directly to tell the chef what to make, so literally no one, including the parents, knew until the big moment.  As for us, I had the technician tell/show me our little babe's crotch shot while Dave wasn't peeking.  Seriously, he had no idea.  I came home to make a strawberry cake (my favorite anyway!) with the thickest icing imaginable to keep away the prying eyes of my nosy family.  First, the guests had to give their vote:

 **Dave has both pink and blue, because he couldn't make a prediction, and my dad is holding a pink card which is Laci's vote. 

This is what the cake cutting looked like:  

Anyway, the evening was a blast because either way, it's good news!  It looks like we have a healthy baby thus far, and we feel so blessed. 

Confession: Although I didn't think until this point we were having a girl, the second I found out, all I could think about were hair bows, dance classes, and tiny ballet shoes!   Gah!  We are in for it... I mean, Dave is in for it. 

See what I mean?  :)

A year ago today...

A year ago today, I was at the airport leaving this place...

and these people...

 

 

and of course my 2009 Valentine...

to come home to this family...

and this boy...

 who, days later would become by fiance, months later my husband, and months after that, my unborn baby's father.

I still miss la Republica Dominicana.  I still miss the babies...

I still miss the kids, the school, Odilcia with her smiles/singing/cooking.  I still crave moro, beaches, fellowship with makarianas, the laughter, tears, and everything else (but the spiders).  You never get over it, a trip like that.  No matter how long or short your stay is, it sticks with you.  And I think that's good.

Thank you Jesus for that trip and for where I am right now.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

So, I've been getting a little stir-crazy to go on a vacation this summer.  I've got the fever.  I loved everyone's semiversary ideas, and am totally planning to copy them in the future...

BUT, as it turns out, Dave and I are taking a long weekend in Chicago in a couple of weeks!  I can't wait to visit Chi-town again!  (Do real people call it that, or just rappers?)   

Last time we visited, it was wonderful, but snot-freezing cold:

 Dave had to help suit me up in real winter wear every time we went out the door.  Luckily, this picture doesn't showcase my frozen snot and watering eyes.  It also doesn't show the wind that made me feel like I might blow away.

On our last visit, Dave was in a 48-hour frenzy to eat all the city food he misses here in Houston.  It turned out to be a little...overboard.  I literally could not keep up with the visits to his beloved restaurants and went into a food coma or two.  This time, I'm pregnant, so I'll definitely be hungry enough to compete!  Yes! 

Thanks for having us, Jeff and Janet!


Oh, and in baby news:

I am a little over 17 weeks now, so our next ultrasound should tell us if Scooter is a boy or a girl.  If you want to make a guess, do it in the next couple of weeks!  At some point soon, we should give the little pooper a name.  Feel free to hold back your opinion if you think the name sucks-- naming babies is hard!  I could barely name my dog, and even now we call her a variety of things... Poor little wiener. 

I'll throw in a partial family pic for good measure:

16 Weeks. Where did the time go?

I'll tell you what-- time flies when you're not nauseated all the time.  The last few weeks have gone by pretty quickly.  I had the 16-wk appointment today.  Baby is still in there with a heart rate in the 140s.  Sweet.

Since this is our (HA! my) first pregnancy, we are doing all those cheesy things that you never do with subsequent children like taking weekly belly pictures.  My family sees me a lot, but Dave's out of towners haven't seen the expasion happening lately, so here you go! 

                                                    Week 10:

                                                    Week 11:

                                                    Week 12:

                                                    Week 13:

 

                                                 

                                                   Week 14:  

 

 

                                                   Week 15:

 

                                                    Week 16: 

My only explanation for why the last picture doesn't look very belly-ish is because I didn't change into a more form-fitting shirt like I did for the other pictures.  Also, my smile looks especially fake and weird in that one because my photographer was too tired/grumpy to count to 3.  

Such is life. 

Thanks, Marmy Sue!

So, my mother-in-law makes quilts for a living.  I can't even describe how awesome that is.  She gave us a beautiful quilt for our wedding, and recently sent another one just for me!  It's the girliest, cutest quilt we have.  I love it.  I should have known that Laci Wiener would love it too.  She has become a total quilt hog.  I'll let the pictures speak for themselves-- she didn't even lift her head to smile for the camera.

What a goober. 

Semiversary

I know I joked on facebook about Cirque du Soleil tickets for our 6-month anniversary, but Dave and I have recently been thinking that a little mini-celebration might not be a bad idea for us around the 6 month mark.  The main reason for this is that it turns out that we won't ever have an anniversary without children...

SO, since I'm such a tightwad and babies are expensive (I hear) we are on a budget!

My ideas on the staycation/vacation front are things like: Kemah, Galveston, Fredericksburg, nice Houston dinner + hotel...

Since I'm not a real Houstonian, but rather a sheltered Sugar Lander, I need ideas!  If anyone can recommend yummy restaurants, fun hotels, fun TX weekend getaways (whether they were on my list or not), let me know!  Don't be shy.  Our 6-month anniversary is at stake.  It's the only one where we won't have to come up with a babysitter. [*see note]

THANKS!

* Note: While I type "come up with a babysitter," I actually mean letting grandparents and other relatives compete in some sort of Olympic competition where the winner gets to care for our little Scooterbaby.  I mean, who wouldn't want to watch our bundle of joy??

Life as we know it

(This interchange occurred after watching an episode of NCIS where an angry wife drives up next to her cheating husband and shoots him dead).

Dave: Well, at least I know that'll never happen with us.

(spoken at the same time)
Me: Why, because you'll never cheat on me?
Dave: Because I don't think you can drive and shoot a gun at the same time


Me: Jerk.