baby girl.

these are our most recent sonogram pics - they were taken on march 24, 2010, at about 27 weeks. it was actually a surprise sonogram. i had been feeling some pressure and stuff that i didn't remember feeling with emma. when i expressed my concern, dr. hsu wanted to go ahead and do some fetal monitoring, a sonogram and an exam, just to make sure what i was feeling wasn't contractions or pre-term labor.

and we were fine. :) my fluid level is great, baby rylie is movin' and groovin' like a little diva, and there is no progress whatsoever... which is GREAT news at 27 weeks... maybe at 37 weeks, if i hear that there's no progress, i'll be a little frustrated. :) but for now, it's great!

right now, we're 30 weeks along - that leaves only 10 weeks - 70 days!! - until we are expecting to meet our sweet baby girl! we can't wait to meet her and see what she looks like, and begin getting to know who God has already made her to be. what a blessing!

here are the pictures of our girl - we already think she's so beautiful - and just might have mommy's nose. :) it will be so fun to see how different/similar our two girls are!

sweet rylie's profile - mommy's nose?

touching her toes! :)

her little foot is on the right, her fist on the left

another profile shot - see her fist to the right?

and her eyelid, and her sweet lips & chin?

i LOVE this one... you can see her little poochy lips & her chunky cheeks!

creepy, i know... but look how you can see her eyes!

...in this one, too - you can see her left eyeball (the top one)

crazy!!!

gender reveal invitation.

i whipped up this little invite today for a gender reveal party we're throwing for our family next week after our "revealing" sonogram for baby rains. :)

i actually made this on powerpoint and just saved it as a jpeg file. i'm really excited about how it turned out... i think it's super cute, cheery, and fun. :) cupcakes will be a big part of the evening... our little announcement will be made with them!

can't wait!

cast your vote.

i've added a fun little feature to our blog!

at the top of the right sidebar, you'll find a little poll, asking for you to make your guess on the gender of the little one growing inside me!

we go to the doctor to *hopefully* find out on thursday, january 28th, and i'd love to see what the popular guess is! :) make your guess, and sometime on the 28th or 29th (after we've revealed baby's gender to our family and closest friends), i will reveal the answer to YOU! (granted baby cooperates and lets us see his/her goods!)

so, go cast your vote... i want to see what you think! :)

{you can leave a comment with your guess, too... it'll be fun to see who's right!}

baby rains at 11 weeks.

even though i am over 17 weeks now, and we'll be having another sonogram in a couple weeks, i wanted to update with pictures from our LAST sonogram, which was at 11 weeks. our baby has grown SO much since then, and i cannot WAIT to see how. :)

here is our baby:

12/1/09 - 11 weeks exactly
:: about the size of a fig ::

you really can see the little one, now... see baby's head, and little legs & feet at the bottom?

 baby was kicking and squirming like crazy! :)

 you can see the profile a little better here... little nose and mouth/chin... and his/her tiny forehead... it's amazing to me that this little human really exists - and is fully formed - yet still only 1 1/2 inches long!

 baby rains turned to look at us full-on! do you see his/her eyes?? baby still kinda looks like an alien, here... but we love our little alien! :) hehe

 baby rains was moving his/her arms, too... you can see a tiny hand right up by his/her head... it was amazing!

baby rains, just over 1 1/2 inches long, is now almost fully formed. his/her hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under his/her gums, and some of his/her bones are beginning to harden.

baby is already busy kicking and stretching. these movements will become more frequent as his/her body grows and becomes more developed and functional. baby rains is even starting to have tiny hiccups! :)

we can't wait to see our little one again on the 28th... AND find out if baby rains #2 is a girl or a boy!

any guesses??? :)

peanut baby.

baby rains at exactly 7 weeks

on tuesday, jason and i had the blessing of seeing our new baby and hearing his/her heartbeat for the first time! even though we've been through this once before, with emma kate, it was still such a miracle and a precious moment to listen to the tiny beating heart of our baby.

right now, the baby is about the size of a blueberry, but will double in size by next week! {in the picture, our little one looks a little peanut-esque, don't you think?} i love getting updates from the bump & baby center, telling us how our little peanut baby is growing this week.

this is what baby center says is going on inside my body, right now:

"Hands and feet are emerging from developing arms and legs — although they look more like paddles at this point than the tiny, pudgy extremities you're daydreaming about holding and tickling. Technically, your baby is still considered an embryo and has something of a small tail, which is an extension of her tailbone. The tail will disappear within a few weeks, but that's the only thing getting smaller. Your baby has doubled in size since last week and now measures half an inch long, about the size of a blueberry.

If you could see inside your womb, you'd spot eyelid folds partially covering her peepers, which already have some color, as well as the tip of her nose and tiny veins beneath parchment-thin skin. Both hemispheres of your baby's brain are growing, and her liver is churning out red blood cells until her bone marrow forms and takes over this role. She also has an appendix and a pancreas, which will eventually produce the hormone insulin to aid in digestion. A loop in your baby's growing intestines is bulging into her umbilical cord, which now has distinct blood vessels to carry oxygen and nutrients to and from her tiny body."

isn't that just incredible? i am in awe of God's work in our lives from the time we "arrive." :) i cannot wait to experience this little one's growth over the next 8 months... i wonder if i'll be able to tell differences between this little one and emma kate, even while he/she is still in the womb?

what do you mamas think? what was your experience?

oh, and just in case you couldn't see baby rains in that picture, the sonographer was kind enough to point it out with an arrow and the word "baby." just in case.

{jon lilley found that pretty humorous. he likes to think about how funny it would be if the arrow said, "turtle" instead of "baby." ha!}

four.

we are so excited to announce that around june 22nd of 2010, our little family of three will become a family of four! : )

we are beyond thrilled and thankful to our God for creating the precious life growing inside me.

emma is constantly talking about the baby she has started calling "baby jacob," and how she will be a "big sister princess."

we covet your prayers during the next 8 months, and i'm excited to share our little journey with you! (you can follow along with the little ticker i added on the sidebar ----->)