It's a....

GIRL!!! We went to the dr. on Wednesday the 23rd and had our ultrasound. We walked into our room and Anthony told the technician that we didn't want her to tell us the sex of the baby. We would like for her to seal it in an envelope so we could place it in our stocking and open with our presents (which would be Christmas Eve morning). She was excited for us. Apparently, we were the first ones to suggest that that day.

The technician went over every part of our baby, from the top of her head, to the tip of her toes. She then went to take some 3D pics, but admitted they wouldn't really turn out because she was hiding her face between her arms. Either she is defiant already, or she is really shy like her mommy. After the exam was over, while we waited for the pics to download to our CD, our technician left to write down the sex of the baby and seal it in an envelope. She returned and said she checked really hard to make sure we couldn't peak, holding it up to the lights and everything. What a fun lady she was!

On our way home I just agonized over the envelope. What was I thinking!? I just wanted to know. Anthony was strong though. He took the envelope away and took me back to work. It was a long afternoon at work wondering what my child was. It's all I could think about. When I got home, I begged my husband to open the envelope. He was pretty firm and strong about holding out til morning. Around 10pm that night though, he couldn't take it any longer either. He said we could open it at midnight, and technically it would be Christmas eve. It was such a long wait!!! We both stated what we thought the baby was. I was confident it was a boy. Anthony was pretty sure it was a girl. He said God has a lot to still teach him about sensitivity and such and so God would do it through his daughter. I handed him the envelope and had him open it. We both hung onto the paper like it was our child, slowly opened the note, and read it...."Congratulations, you are going to have a GIRL!" I couldn't believe it! We both teared up a little, and I was speechless. I was going to have a daughter in a few short months! My husband was going to have a daddy's little girl! I am still in awe!

We talked about names from the day we knew we would be a family before we were even married. We decided on the name Claire Marie. She is already such an important person in our lives! We quickly decided how we would share this with our families, and went to bed. It was 2:30 in the morning. I was exhausted!

I woke up at 6:30 sick to my stomach, so I had to get up to eat. I went back to bed, only to have my husband wake me up at 8 like a little child ready to open presents! I got about 4 hours of sleep and Claire and I were feeling it! Christmas was amazing knowing we were going to have a daughter. The feeling of being a mommy is indescribable to me. I have no words, only tears, and feelings of overwhelming joy.

Today, we went out shopping for a little while. All I wanted to do was find an outfit for Claire. I have waited for this day for so long. I couldn't wait to find out if the baby was a boy or girl so I could buy an outfit that wasn't gender neutral. We found the cutest dress ever and brought it home and hung it on our tree. I love her more than words can say already, and she already has daddy wrapped around her little finger.

Here is a picture of her hiding behind her arm.



Here is a picture of me at 18 weeks, just before we found out that we were having a girl. It's one of only 2 I have so far. I wasn't really in the picture taking mood up until recently. I've just been so sick.