Survey says...

50% of poll respondents thought it was a boy. 50% were....

WRONG!

It's a GIRL!

Annika is VERY excited to have a little sister, and Mommy and Daddy are excited about it too. :)

Two videos: the first is Annika's Valentine's Day present from Daddy... she loves him very much (both Daddy and the bear)! The second is a little dancin', and a little bit of cheese.

Pregnancy status: we find out this week if it's a boy or a girl! I'm so excited. Also, my count continues to go down... I'm at an 8.6. Before, we had said this would be blood transfusion point, but since my body seems to be getting used to it and I'm functioning better, we decided to hold off for now.

Such a Girl

Before I get to the pictures, if anyone had quit reading Andy's blog or took him off your Google Reader because he took a really long blogging hiatus, he's back with a post you can read here.

It's all good in the hood...

Climbing in and on things is the newest hobby around here...

And she also likes to put accessories and clothes on: scarves, hats, etc. And then she likes to look at herself in the mirror, pose, grin, and say "hi" to herself. I try to tell myself it's positive self image and not vanity. :)I think she looks so grown up. [Sigh.]

First a pregnancy update...

We are at 17-18 weeks. A few more weeks, and hopefully we get to find out whether he or she is a boy or a girl! (If you get a chance, submit your vote for what you think it is!) How exciting. Baby continues to look healthy.

As for me:
They don't know what's wrong with me. How fun is that?! Basically, my anemia is not caused by iron deficiency, so the tests that they would do next they can't do on a pregnant woman (like bone marrow biopsy, etc)... so the rest of my pregnancy, I will wait. Patiently. (Or not.) If my levels get any lower, we will talk blood transfusion, which hopefully would lead to me having a little more energy.

It is SO easy to get discouraged because I am not myself, and the thought of not being myself for the rest of the pregnancy and who knows how much longer afterwards (until they actually figure it out and hopefully fix me) is quite a downer. God's in control though, and I still am thankful that the doctor is not concerned it is anything too serious (i.e. my white blood cell levels are good, so it's not leukemia, etc), and I'm thankful that the baby sucks everything he/she needs from me, so the baby is fine!

And our other changes...

Since Annika was born, God has been changing my heart... from a goal of working mom (which I always planned to be) to being a stay-at-home mommy (something I NEVER thought I'd be, let alone long for!). Thankfully, my husband's heart has been changed too. Today I put in my notice at work, to be done mid-February.

It feels so surreal. I think I imagined it would be more of a celebration feeling. After all, this change is simplifying my life- as in, how easy to have only one job to juggle, right?! And no more 6:00 am start time... But I know being home is a huge job, a huge responsibility...and if it's my only job, I can no longer just survive it all- I want to do it well. I'm also leaving a great company, a job I like (most of the time), and some coworkers I love behind.

I don't have any idea the sacrifices and the changes that are yet to come for us. I do know that we're doing what God is asking us to do right now. There is peace in that. And hopefully I'll be a little less exhausted? We'll see. :)