Will you be one of my bridesmaids? + First Baby Shower

Back in the fall Alyssa was asked to be a bridesmaid by my cousin Julie. She said yes and was very excited. But a few hours later it sunk in that she would be 7-1/2 months pregnant the day of the wedding (Jan 21st).

However, there was another problem – we had NOT told anyone we were expecting a baby. After a day of consideration along with trying on the exact bridesmaid dress, Alyssa decided to tell Julie she couldn’t be a bridesmaid and didn’t want her 7-1/2 month pregnant stomach in shiny, silver satin for all the world to see.

As it turns out I think she looked beautiful in her strapless maternity dress.

We also had our first baby shower last Sunday put on by our friends from church. We felt very loved and encouraged.

Key West

We spent 5 days in the Florida Keys during the beginning of January. We had fun kayaking, hiking, eating good food, watching sunsets, sailing, and spending time together. However, it was also the last vacation without a stroller, diapers, pack-n-play, etc. From what we hear we will probably need at least twice as much luggage traveling with three people. We will look forward to family vacations in the years to come and feel it privilege to introduce new and exciting things to our child.

Baby Preview

On New Year’s day we saw our baby for the first time – even though it is still inside of Alyssa. We had a 3d/4d ultrasound done. The images were awesome and very clear. It was easy to bond with the baby compared with our first 2-d ultrasound which showed alien-like images compare to these pictures.

We also found out during this ultrasound that we are having a boy!

The technology allows you to see the baby moving around in real time. At the beginning he was sleeping and had his hands by his face. Then he became very active, moving his hands and feet around. He even had one of his feet up by his ear for a few minutes. I guess he gets his flexibility from Alyssa. Near the end of the session he curled back into the “fetal” position as shown in the last picture.

We are in awe of how God has made him. We are very thankful for this beautiful gift and look forward to meeting him around March 29th.

Baby Announcement

On October 8th we officially announced to Alyssa's family that we were going to have a baby. We were able to tell her parents, along with her brother & sister's families, at the same time because we were attending her cousin, Erin's wedding. The next day we told the rest of the extended family at the wedding including the bride and groom. A few days later we told my parents in person and called the rest of my family.