So Excited: Baby's Looking Like Baby & a Little Grandparent Talk To!

First, I should start by saying that on November 3rd, Josh and I went to my doctor and had the overwhelming pleasure and indescribable experience of witnessing the flicker of our 'lil kiddo's heart beat.....that was 10 days ago.....

Today, when I opened my email, I received the message below-no more tadpole. My little one (and very very little right now) is now looking more like a baby....He/she's about an inch tall! I'm so proud of her (or him)! My email read:



Hello, Crystal!
Your new resident is nearly an inch long -- about the size of a grape -- and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. She's starting to look more and more human. Her essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Other changes abound: Your baby's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form -- as do her tiny teeth. The embryonic "tail" is completely gone. Your baby's organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. The external sex organs are there but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks.

Josh and I are becoming more and more excited. I always look forward to my next doctor's appointments, especially if I'm getting an ultrasound, I get to see the little guy and know that everything is okay.

Today is the day that we will let the rest of the family know and I'm certainly looking forward to that. Its such a cool feeling knowing that in my belly is a human being, a person that will one day have face that will reflect mine (and Josh's!) a person that will have unique ideas and a person that I will be beside every step of the way, to nurture, teach, lead, guide and eventually give away, a person that will one day have children of their own. Someone who will one day (hopefully) give me little grand-babies of my own!

I've never stopped to think about how special the relationship between a grandparent and grandchild is until recently. When I found out I was pregnant, I don't remember crying, I remember an abundance of feelings from surprise and giddiness to being anxious and nervous. When Josh and I told our parents for the first time that I was pregnant, I don't think there was a dry eye in the house....looking back to that moment and stepping out of my shoes, and into theirs, I feel that there must be something magical about watching your child, your baby, the one whose diapers you used to change what seems like yesterday, now bring new life into the world......that is something pretty darn cool if you ask me--- It's witnessing God's hands at work: seeing life that you made, make new life.

I believe maybe it's also a little bit of being able to welcome a baby into the world, that without you, technically wouldn't be here, and having the opportunity to forego most of the discipline part of child rearing and spoil them rotten!!

Quote of the day:
What a bargain grandchildren are! I give them my loose change, and they give me a million dollars' worth of pleasure. ~Gene Perret

A Whole New World

On October 12, 2009, 2 days before Josh and I were to celebrate our 2 year anniversary, our lives were forever changed....

For the past few months, we had both been 'throwing' around the idea of adding to our family. Still feeling like kids ourselves, we knew that if it happened, we would prepare ourselves, yet neither of us could completely convince ourself that we were 'ready.'

What is 'ready'? In literal terms, its being 'completely prepared or in condition for immediate action or use or progress.' As prepared as one may try to be, how do you truly prepare for raising a precious littly baby when you've never done it before.

Well, little did we know, that on this day, 10/12, our life as we knew it, would no longer be the same!

As always, Josh woke up that morning and hopped in the shower, as much as I'd like to say I was up, hard at work in the kitchen, preparing an AM cuisine for the 2 of us to partake in, I was still in bed, sleeping through the alarm radio.

After getting dressed and then kindly scrounging for my cell phone, then laying it gently beside me, Josh gave me a kiss goodbye and was on his way to start his week at work. After a few more minutes of pretending to sleep, I finally hopped out of bed and as most of the population does first thing in the morning, I entered the lavatory to relieve myself. It was halfway through this morning ritual that on a hunch I stopped, held it, and opened the bathroom drawer to find an unused pregnancy test. I opened it, followed the instructions, finished the job, and then went about my morning preparations.

After a few minutes (and almost forgetting about the test) I went to check on the results, thinking that it would be the same as any other day or time. To my surprise, I saw one DARK pink line and parallel to it was a very faint, and slow forming lighter line....could it be?

Needless to say, immediately I called Josh and asked him to meet me for lunch. It was in the second booth from the back of the restaurant near the servers station that I commenced to prop open a menu and stand it up on the table. I did this in order to discreetly announce the news to Josh via the test I'd taken earlier that morning.

Josh was proud....immediately he was proud, as if we already had birthed the child and he/she had finished their first day of kindergarten!


That evening, we told both sets of "future" grandparents who needless to say, were elated!