Two weddings and a mission. Also, 39 takes.

I went for my ultrasound today. Actually this is the fourth time I've had an ultrasound on this pregnancy - for various reasons, we've done a lot of peeking - but this is the first time we've been able to see the really interesting bits.

Fortunately at least when it came to that part, she cooperated. Yes, I said she. We're having another little girl! I'm really excited about that, even if I've been saying a boy would be more convenient for logistical reasons. Because I get to have another girl! Betsy really, really wants a baby sister. Every day she tells me that we can name the girl baby Cutie Pie and she can share all her princess toys with her sister. It's nice to be able to give Betsy what she wants every once in a while. Porter doesn't seem to have an opinion, or maybe he doesn't voice it as strongly - but I'm not really convinced that he even knows there's a baby growing in there. (I still have a lap, and I'm likely to have one for the entire pregnancy. One of the benefits of being five-foot-seven. So, I think it's pretty easy for my son to ignore the pregnancy if he tries hard enough.)


What we figured out, then, is that we're on the hook for two weddings and at least one mission. Also, I'm really glad that I learned how to sew because that's twice as many prom dresses I'm going to have to come up with. It doesn't bother me all that much that most of the baby clothes I have carefully packed away in my basement are now useless (Betsy is the wrong season and Porter is the wrong gender. Which would be fine for a seasonally inappropriate cross-dresser, but otherwise no.) I've already picked up a few girl baby outfits, on clearance (is there any other way?), on the theory that I could always return them if I had to. But I've kind of suspected all along that it would be a girl. I came away with an armload of clothes at the last Half Price Goodwill Day on Saturday, along with a baker's dozen of onesies. Since this is our third child, our onesies are pretty much trashed, especially because we got them second-hand to begin with. (I mean, we got the onesies second hand. The kids were brand new.)

This is the best picture of her face we were able to get - the ultrasound tech had to go for a side view because wouldn't you know it, she was blocking her face with her arm. She reminded me of nothing so much as a celebrity ducking the paparazzi. "No photographs, please!" And despite all the kicking she did during the whole session, that little arm would. not. budge. I wasn't too stressed about it, though. I think at this point I can make at least an educated guess as to what my child is going to look like. The only burning question is will she have light blond hair (like Porter) or slightly darker blond hair (like Betsy)?

Anyway, not being photogenic seems to run in our family. I tried to take a Christmas card photo last night - after 39 takes, I finally had to cut my losses and stop torturing the kids.