Oh Boy...Or Girl!

its...A GIRL!!

As most of you know by now,  Matt and I are blessed with a little girl!!  The idea for the gender reveal we chose started when Matt came home from the first deployment with a Minnie Mouse and a Mickey Mouse onsie he bought at Hong Kong Disney (where he went on a day off at port).  That's when I thought it would be a cute idea to have the tech at the ultrasound clinic off base put the gender in an envelope and seal it.  I would then take the envelope, the wrapped gift box and the onsies over to my neighbor who would then put everything together for us.  I also wanted to get a photographer to come over to take some couples maternity shots and capture the moment of Matt and I opening our little present (the photo above shows our genuine reaction!).  Right after this shot was taken is when we both started crying/tearing up. I am so glad we did it this way. It was truly a special moment we will remember forever: heart racing with anticipation, shock, surprise, overwhelmed with joy, tears, laughs, lots of kisses, sniffles, and more smiles and laughs.  Matt is completely thrilled and, if you can't tell, I'm totally surprised..as I have been thinking we are having a boy!! But nope, we are getting a little princess this time around! 

*I have to add: I'm a tad bit nervous about the doc being correct on the gender. His English was limited and I remember him having to ask which symbol means boy and girl (I drew the boy and girl symbol for him to circle..to make it easier). The letter that was left in the box after opening it showed that he circled the boy symbol but then crossed off the title of boy I wrote above it and wrote in "girl" and underlined it a few times.  Luckily, he threw in a photo of the gender parts which definitely looks like "girl" to me. Matt calls me a worry wart, "if he wrote GIRL and underlined it, and added the pic of the girl parts..then it's a girl. Don't worry". lol  We shall see at our 22 week big ultrasound tomorrow! I'm confident it's a girl though :) 

no teeny weeny in sight! Matt says it looks like the baby sat on a copy machine and xeroxed her butt haha

** Savannah Grace  **

Savannah Grace is our baby girl's name we had picked out way before we ever got pregnant. I have loved Savannah ever since my oldest sister decided not to use it with my niece, Jessica...who is 16 now (so that should tell ya how long I've had that name in mind!).  Lucky for me Matt loves that name too!  As for Grace..well I've always thought it was a pretty name, but it stuck with me because of my love for old Hollywood movies and a wonderful actress that came with that era: Grace Kelly. So that's how we have our little Savannah Grace! 

Now, the only stressor I have with going with Savannah is that a very dear friend of mine loves that name, too. Only, for her own potential daughter.  I remember the day I told her over the phone that Matt and I decided on a girl name way back in the Spring or last Fall and the immediate response was, "omg that's my name too!". LoL..I'm like "of all the times we have talked about future baby names I have never once heard you mention it!" She had kept it secret, for obvious reasons that many women keep their baby names close to their chest (is that the saying? I keep saying it over and over and it's making less and less sense! haha).  It's funny...just another thing to prove we have been friends for so long and are that much alike.  I think knowing that neither one of us stole the name idea from each other (the proof is in that one convo we had!) makes me feel better that it won't cause any issues (God, I hope not). I have no regrets...I've wanted a baby Savannah for as long as I can remember..and in the end I let Matt make the final decision between Savannah and another girl name I liked. But...a part of me still feels a little bad. Not in the sense I feel like I've done something wrong, but, I do actually care about my friend and her feelings too. 

 And speaking of my little Jelly Belly...she's kicking away as I type this. Feeling the presence of this little miracle really does put a lot of things into perspective. The big picture is getting clearer and clearer. Things I used to worry about in the past seem so insignificant now.  My purpose in life has shifted a little. Make that a lot. Matt can sometimes tell when I am feeling it because we will be sitting on our recliners watching TV or something and he'll notice I'm not even paying attention and apparently have this look on my face. One where he just looks at me and says, "you're going to be the best mommy ever. You already are. The look on your face right now and when I catch you looking at Jelly Belly on the fridge...". Hearing things like that make my heart swell. Gosh, I love him. 

he's so excited for a girl! He's wrapped around that little finger already..