18 weeks and a bigger belly...

I’m so excited to announce that…I can’t see my feet! One morning, I woke up and thought “huh, I’m bigger today than I was yesterday.” And sure enough, I had gained two pounds. After Thanksgiving, I gained 3 more pounds. I should be ashamed, but since I’m just now starting to gain weight, I’m excited about it. I CAN'T stop eating. It was so wonderful to be able to enjoy all of our Thanksgivings and not be queasy. We ordered a pizza the other night and I ate more than Nick. Eeek! But, I love it. With my first pregnancy, I always told people that I loved to eat because it felt like I was doing a good deed by feeding someone else too. I haven't felt that way with this pregnancy until now. I feel like my over-eating is serving a purpose because I'm keeping my baby alive. (If you know me, you know that I can justify just about anything. Pizza is healthy because Tomatoes give you Vitamin C and you get Calcium and Vitamin D from the cheese. And if you look at the food pyramid, grains and breads should take up most of our daily diet, so there's where the healthy crust comes in. See how good I am at justifying things? ha)

Our BIG ultrasound is getting closer and closer and we are SO excited. I can hardly contain myself. I’ve had fun experimenting with all the old wives tales that supposedly predict a baby’s gender. Obviously, I know that they aren't true and that I should take them with an entire shaker of salt, rather than with just a grain, but it will be fun to see which ones are accurate. Well, as accurate as anything can be when there is a 50/50 chance in the first place. Here are some of the results, just for fun...

The Ring Trick: GIRL (you hang a ring on a string above your wrist and if it rocks back and forth it’s one gender and if it moves in a circular motion, it’s the other gender)

Chinese Gender Chart: BOY

Heart Rate: GIRL

I'm carrying low- BOY

Cravings: BOY- My Chick-Fil-A Lemonade and the occasional milkshake are really the only sweet things that I have wanted. And they say that if you crave sweet things, it’s a girl. Lately, I can hardly finish dessert. Sweet things taste 10x sweeter than normal. That deeply saddens me. They say that if you crave meat, you are having a boy and one day we drove past Ingles and their sign was advertising the London Broil that was on sale and my mouth immediately started watering. I ate an entire T-Bone steak that night for dinner.

And last but not least, the poll you’ve so sweetly voted on says that it’s a GIRL.

People ask us what we would rather have, a boy or a girl, and I can honestly say that we would be equally excited over both. Boys seem to be a little easier, from what I've witnessed. And since I have a little brother, excuse me, younger brother, (I can't call him "little" anymore) I have an advantage because I know boys. A girl would be a blast because I need someone to share my love of Audrey Hepburn and Disney Princesses with. I had the best time being a little girl and I love the relationship that I have with my mom and I think it would be awesome to have that same relationship with my daughter. So, all that to say, we are so glad that God chose our baby's gender and we didn't have to, because we would have NEVER been able to choose! We know that He has a special purpose for this child and he or she will be who they are because He made them that way.

Now, here is the picture that I have been promising my mom. There is definitely no hiding it! Not that I would want to, of course.