Oh, Boy

Dear Little Babe,

We had our gender and anatomy appointment about five weeks ago. We saw your stomach, bladder, every vertebra in your spine, your growing brain, and each chamber of your heart. You are fearfully and wonderfully made! Praise God for his intricate design for your life and for forming your tiny body. My favorite part of the appointment was when your dad and I saw the lenses of your eyeballs forming behind your closed eyelids. I could not help but wonder what color your eyes will be, and I cannot wait to look into them. You are absolutely amazing already. You seem to have taken after me with your yoga moves. You were so flexible and had your foot all the way up by your forehead. IMPRESSIVE! We also watched you poke yourself in the eye. It was pretty cute and hilarious. We understand that your eyes are still closed, so you couldn't see what you were doing, but it was funny, and we got a good chuckle about it. I know your hand-eye coordination will only improve, and I cannot wait to play catch with you.

By the way......we also saw your BOY PARTS. Holy cow. That really threw us off. We were expecting you to be a girl, but you are our sweet baby boy, our son. We are having a son! How crazy. Your dad and I had your name narrowed down to two different options, and we came right home to pick which one we felt was right for you. Two nights before our appointment, I had a dream that we found out you are a boy, and I started calling you Brantley Isaac without even running it by your dad. When we found out your gender, we just knew the name was right for you. Neither of us have met anyone named Brantley, which we love, because we have no positive or negative experiences related with your name and no memories of anyone else that come to mind when we say or hear your name--you are the only Brantley in our world, and we love that! We love the way Brant sounds as a shortened version of your name. Your middle name, Isaac, comes from the Old Testament. We love that it means laughter and that it is a reminder of God's fulfilled promise.

To be perfectly honest, when we found out we were having a son, I was in total shock for about three days. I even cried to Chris because I feel completely unprepared to be a mother to a little boy. I even said the words, "I've never been a boy!" while tears ran down my face. I'm certain your dad was happy to hear that, but I felt as if I have no clue how to raise you and that I would do a lousy job at it. The more I think about it, though, the happier and happier I get. I spent so much time at the ballfield as a kid, and I cannot wait to play catch with you and teach you how to swing a bat or field a bunt. Your dad is thrilled, and I already know you two are going to get yourselves into a lot of trouble with me.

We love you already, Brantley, and I am so thankful for the man who is your father. He will teach you how to be a gentleman, and he will do a great job at it.

The Friday after the appointment, our wonderful friend helped throw a gender reveal party at our house for you and our family here in Alaska. Here are a few pictures from that night.

Cupcake station, gummies, cotton candy

Pink and blue drinks with lips or mustache straws

Just a few wives tales

Pink and blue jolly rancher party favors in baby food jars

Some pictures of baby and the gender guesses

Hey, Babyyyy

 

WHOA, have there been some changes since I last posted. That was several months ago, though. That's my bad. I have been meaning to update the blog, then we found out about the baby, and I've been meaning to start a journal for Little Babe. I guess this will just become both.

Our sweet Little Babe, 

You are SUCH a blessing to us already. You are wanted and loved. Honestly, when I found out on Mother's Day that I was not pregnant, I cried a lot. I was so upset! Chris (your daddy) hugged me while standing in the living room in our Alaska home. I looked up at him through my tears and said, "Maybe by Father's Day." "Maybe," he replied as he held me. I was so very selfish to want to be made into a mother until it dawned on me. One of the biggest reasons I want to be a mother is to see your daddy as a father. It has been something he has looked forward to for several years, and he is just MADE for it. You and I are amazingly blessed that he is Daddy in this family. You seriously have one of the best already!

I found out I am pregnant with you on Monday, June 9th. Guess what-- Father's Day was only 6 days later. I think I took 10 home pregnancy tests. I just couldn't believe it. Finally, Sunday came around. I woke up, made breakfast and coffee, and poured a fresh cup of coffee into a mug that was made special for Chris. He loves local, handmade things, and he is obsessed with coffee. He loved the mug (and the bacon and eggs, of course). When he was almost finished with his coffee, I told him that the lady who made the mug wrote a message in the bottom of it. After his final sip of coffee, he looked down into the new mug and read the news, "I'm pregnant!" He was shocked and completely thrilled! He drank out of that mug the ENTIRE rest of the day. He also said, "wow" a whole lot. After how sad I was on Mother's Day, it was an even more amazing blessing to be able to love your daddy and focus on him on Father's Day instead of focusing on myself.

Since that day, things have been crazy. Your Pop and Uncle Jeff came up to Alaska to visit us. I think they had a good visit, but I was throwing up most of the time they were here. Haha! It's ok. You're worth it. We found an awesome "Made in Alaska" onesie for you while we were in Anchorage, and we decided to use that in our announcement photo. After your Pop and Uncle left, Chris and I took a short trip to Seward, Alaska to do some kayaking and hiking, and we were going to camp, but I wasn't feeling well. 

Here's a picture from the kayaking and hiking day. You didn't like the waves too much, and you let our tour group know it!

Today, we are 19 weeks and 1 day, which means less than a week until we are halfway through this pregnancy with you. Soon, we will know your gender. Your dad and I think you are a little girl, so please don't be upset with us if you're a boy. We will be completely thrilled either way, and we are thankful for every day we get to be your parents! We pray for you every day. Your daddy is in the field right now. He is in the Army and is a very awesome guy. You're going to love him! Anyway, when he gets home, we will find out your gender and will stop calling you Little Babe and will start calling you by your name. 

I'm getting sleepy, so I will be finished writing for now, but I will try to be better about writing to you. By the way, you already have your own precious tiny fingerprints. God is knitting you together perfectly in His image, and He already has a plan for your little life. We can't wait to see you grow as you learn more about Him and His love for you!!! 

Good night, my baby.