Boy or Girl - Drumroll Please, It's A...

GIRL!!!!! We're having a beautiful Baby GIRL!!! AHHHH!!!!!

OK OK everyone stay calm and refrain from buying every single baby girl hair accessory in stock at target. At least, that's what I keep telling myself. Joe and I are beyond elated by the news and almost every moment that goes by, we think of another thing to look forward to once our daughter arrives - tea parties, ballet recitals, GIRL SCOUT COOKIES, beauty salon with daddy, dress up, barbies. Did I mention girl scout cookies? And in case you're wondering, this little girl will also be playing soccer/baseball, swimming, riding bikes, snow boarding, wake boarding, skate boarding, any kind of boarding really, and whatever else her little heart desires. You better believe her mommy is going to encourage her to do anything boys can do, except she'll look better doing it.

I know it's cliche but we're so in love with our daughter already and she's only half way cooked. I'm not sure how we're going to handle meeting her for the first time in 20 weeks without exploding with love and adoration. For reals, get a mop.

We had our 20 week anatomy scan ultrasound this past week and it went great. They counted 10 fingers, 10 toes, 4 heart chambers, 2 kidneys, and zero boy parts, so baby girl it is! The technology for these ultrasounds is pretty amazing and they even measured her height and head size to be the exact right size to the DAY of how far along she should be in development. Right on time, just like her mama. I tried my best to persuade the ultrasound tech into telling me that she had a smaller than average head circumference and narrow shoulders (to build my confidence that labor won't be what I'm dreading it to be) but to my dismay, he said she's right on schedule to be just as big as every expectant mother fears on delivery day. Joking aside, she's perfect. And we have the photos to prove it.

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3D Head Shot

Do you see the attitude in her already? Hand on forehead like, "Ugh, more pictures? Can't a girl just get a little beauty rest in here without this camera in my face all the time?" Sorry kiddo, better get used to the pictures, it's only going to get worse when you come out and meet us.

Announcing the gender at work was fun for both of us. As soon as I got into work the next day I proudly hung Baby Girl's first onesie on the wall at my desk.

SF Giants'  Newest Fan!

Baby Girl's going to be a Giants fan incase you hadn't noticed.

Joe had a different idea to break the news to his office (which is all male by the way but almost all of them have daughters) That morning he brought in donuts to share with the guys...

"It's A..." on the front

Pink donuts inside. mmmmm

I'm not sure if they guys congratulated him for having a daughter or for bringing in a dozen donuts, but we'll take it either way.

Hurry up and get here Baby Girl, you've got a lot of people anxiously waiting to fawn over you.

19 Weeks - Movement!

How far along? 19 weeks

Baby size? 6 inches long (head to bottom), 8-1/2 ounces

Total weight gain/loss: I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours.

Maternity clothes? Yes please! And I think I've officially retired the "demi" maternity pants that come up half way (about belly button height) because it cuts into belly space too much. I've initiated a new over/under rule. Pants must come up over or under my baby gut. 

Stretch marks? Nope. But only time will tell with this one! I've been using this Burt's Bees Mama Bee lotion, which I still find hilarious every time I use it. "It puts the lotion on it's belly skin!!!"

Sleep: Still up a couple times every night, using a different arrangement of wedged, hugged and propped pillows every time. I'm pretty certain Joe will be sleeping on the floor by the time I'm ready to pop because the bed will be filled with pillows and me.

Best moment this week: MOVEMENT!!! This time I'm sure it was! It mostly happens when I'm sitting and more so when I'm driving - baby hates my commute as much as I do. I feel these adorable little "knocks" in my lower belly. The ultimate greatest part about this happened Thursday morning. 6 am Joe was getting ready to leave for work while I was being lazy still and lying in bed. I had been feeling the "knocks" especially high that morning, about 2 inches below my belly button, so when Joe came to kiss me goodbye I told him to put his hand on my stomach. well BOOM! baby gave dad a BIG high five and Joe felt it!!! His facial expression was priceless. This early in the pregnancy, feeling baby move from the outside is super rare and I think that was the only time it was strong enough to do so, but this kid definitely just wanted to say hi to dad. That was the most incredible thing so far of this whole pregnancy. Joe just made contact with his child for the first time. Swoon.

Miss anything? Runny egg yolks on my toast. mmmmmmm...

Movement: Ah-yup!

Food cravings: Anything and Everything. Really, it's more like what am I NOT craving?

Anything making you queasy or sick? Still milk. bleh.

Have you started to show yet? Yep, a little bit! I must have had my baby Wheaties or something cause my belly grew quite a bit this week. Hooray! I will most likely curse these words at 9 months, but I cannot WAIT to get a huge baby bump! 

Gender prediction: I still think girl, but we'll have to wait a few more days because we find out THIS WEEK at the anatomy scan!!! AHHHH!!! Finding out the sex of the baby just seems like it will make everything that much real and amazing. I am soooo excited to have a girl. or boy. or girl. or boy.

Labor signs: No! sheesh.

Belly button in or out? In.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or moody most of the time? Happy!!! It's crazy how much feeling the baby move brightens my day.

Looking forward to: Feeling more movement and finding out the sex of the baby this week!!! Also I'm just praying that everything looks good in general at the anatomy scan. They count fingers, toes, chambers of the heart, all of it!!! and make sure baby looks good in general. This will be the last big photo shoot for this kid until he/she comes out to greet us!

Half of that is baby, the other half must be pizza from last night.

18 Weeks!

How far along? 18 weeks

Baby size? 5 1/2 inches long (head to rump), 7 ounces

Total weight gain/loss: There is no way I am comfortable enough to post this. Get over it. I am.

Maternity clothes? A few of my girlfriends were amazing and lent me their old maternity clothes, which is awesome because most of my regular clothes are not "agreeing" with my body these days. I also broke down and went to the Motherhood Maternity store for some jeans and black work slacks. I literally teared up with happiness when I walked in that store and realized everything in there would fit me. On the other hand, my recent Target and Kohls shopping trips left me crying for an entirely different reason when I realized what a small and terrible selection they both had. 

Stretch marks? Nada, but my belly still hasn't "popped" yet either.

Sleep: I'm up 2-3 times a night to pee and at least one of those times it takes me at least an hour to fall asleep. This must be some evil way of preparing me for nightly feedings when Baby G arrives.

Best moment this week: Anything that involved eating?

Miss anything? Salmon sushi and wine! Obviously these are minuscule sacrifices in the scheme of things but MAN I miss me some wine.

Movement: Twice this week I thought I may have felt the baby move, but then again everything I've read says that it could also just be gas. Who knew our baby would so closely resemble a fart. Classy.

Food cravings: In-N-Out, Donuts, Pad Thai, Lucky Charms, PB&J, Ice Cream... so basically nothing out of the ordinary.

Anything making you queasy or sick? Milk. For some reason any time I drink a glass of milk, I want to hurl. So soy milk it is!

Have you started to show yet? Kind of? But it really depends on what I'm wearing. I still think I only look like I just ate a gigantic burrito. at 5'-8" I'm a little taller than you average bear girl so I've got more space in my torso for baby to spread out. And yes, I am jealous of all preggos with bigger and more "legitimate" baby bumps than me. Belly envy - it's a thing.

Gender prediction: I think girl. (which probably means boy) But we find out in a couple weeks at the anatomy scan!!!

Labor signs: Nope. And it better stay that way for at least 19 more weeks

Belly button in or out? In. Like, REALLY in. I cannot fathom what it would take to make my severe innie become an outtie. 

Wedding rings on or off? On. But so much as a really salty meal has always been able to tip that scale, so we'll see how long it stays on. Especially in the heat of August and being a gigantic, swollen 9 months along. Oh lord, what have I gotten myself into?

Happy or moody most of the time? Happy mostly. Unless there is a really sad song on, or a Hallmark commercial. Or dinner isn't ready on time. Or there is traffic. Or my socks don't match. Or it's raining. OK fine, I'm kinda all over the board on this one.

Looking forward to: Starting to create the nursery. Joe's got a huge 16 hour exam in April that takes up almost every weekend and some week nights, so we don't exactly have time to work on the baby's room yet. I'm definitely getting excited and antsy to get that going!!! But once that test is over, Ikea beware. We're coming for you.

First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage, Then Comes...

A BABY!!!! We're having a BABY!!! You heard it right folks,  Joe and I are thrilled to announce we are expecting baby Givens to arrive on August 17th, 2013. Pretty crazy huh? And before you go and start subtracting the numbers to nervously question those hundreds of Pina Coladas I had back in Cabo... no, I was not pregnant in Cabo. So breathe easy.

Joe and I found out in December early one Saturday morning when we started the day with this little bad boy...

Honestly, Christmas morning has NOTHING on this. After peeing on the two sticks in the package, we immediately drove to Rite Aid for about 4 more packs and peed on the rest of them. JUST to be sure. Joe peed on a couple too, so we would have a "control" sample. It was official! I was PREGNANT! (And Joe was not.)

Fast forward to 8 weeks along and we were at the doctor's office seeing our baby for the first time. The image was small, but it was there. Our baby! And with that, the most amazing little train-like thumping of the heartbeat! A strong 166 bpm. We were in love. Thankfully so too, cause that first trimester was not all fun and games. Nausea, exhaustion and a whole lot of other crazy things happen to your body during those first 12/14 weeks. But then the glory of second trimester kicks in and you kind of forget about all that. At least that's how it was for me.

SIde note: Ultrasounds have got the be the coolest invention of mankind. Yeah yeah, the wheel's okay and so's that light bulb thing I guess, but neither of those can show you THIS..

Baby Givens - 12 weeks

There's baby waving Hi! Or as we like to consider it, fist pumping. I guess I should stop watching so much Jersey Shore cause TV really is more impressionable that you realize.

What's that you say? You can't really see Baby G in that primitive 2D photo? Oh OK. Well then maybe this will help you...

Baby Givens - 12.5 Weeks

Now if you can't see our little 3D nacho-cheese-covered baby in this picture, you have no eyes. Or just no soul. Head tucked into chest, arms tucked in and legs curled up. SWOON! Pretty nuts that in only 12 weeks, this little one is already looking so baby-like!

So there it is folks. Our big big big news. (Hopefully not that big come time for delivery, sheesh)

Oh and in case you were hoping to see pictures of me getting fatter... er I mean more pregnant and "glowing", here's what you've missed so far...

Where's Week 15 you ask? Well, there isn't one. I was busy that week, you know... gestating! SO LAY OFF ME! ;-) Oh, yeah did I mention I'm a little more moody these days from the hormones? Lucky Joe.

Well, that's about it. I'll try to keep up with weekly updates so stay tuned!!! This is going to be a fun journey... and that's probably nothing compared to the day Baby G arrives.

Excited? Yep. Scared? You betcha. Blessed beyond belief? Nailed it.