Growing, growing, growing

Well, all the baby books say that our baby weighs almost 2 pounds this week. 2 pounds! What a miracle! We'll be 27 weeks on Friday. It's hard to believe in another week we'll be entering the third trimester. In the beginning, I remember thinking that each week would go by so slowly. Now looking back, it seems like the last couple of months have flown by.


Just shy of 25 weeks

We've also decided on a name for our daughter!  I must add a disclaimer that if the name we've picked doesn't fit her when she's born, then we will be changing it.  However, until we get the chance to see her sweet face, her daddy and I will be calling her. . .

Annabella Carol

Annabella is the only name that Brian and I could agree on, and we both love it.  Anna was a prophetess in Jerusalem (Luke 2:36-37).  She recognized Jesus as the Messiah when he was an infant.  We wanted our daughter's name to have a biblical background, as we pray that she will follows God's will for her life.  Brian has always liked the name Bella.  So, we combined the two names to form Annabella.  Annabella means  "He (God) has favored me" or "Grace" or "Beautiful".  I've actually found a wide variety of meanings since it's a combination of two names. 

Her middle name, Carol, is a family name.  Carol was my mom's middle name and my middle name.  We both took our maiden name as our middle name after we were married, so now we'll pass Carol down for a third generation.

We are not opposed to nicknames, and have already started calling her Annabellie and AB.  Brian will probably call her Bella some.  We love you, Annabella Carol, and are so excited to meet you in May/June!

We received an awesome gift in the mail from Aunt Amy, Uncle Greg, and Rachel.  They sent us a "Diaper Changing Kit" including a nose clip, clothes pin, baby blanket, and air fresher.  They included a hilarious set of instructions, and had us rolling out of our chairs laughing.  When changing a diaper, we were instructed to put the nose clip on our nose, wrap the baby blanket around our nose/face area and secure it with the clothes pin, and then wave the air freshener around while we change the diaper.  I've decided I'll leave all the dirty diapers for Brian. . . . :)

Diaper Changing Survival Kit

I know it sounds a little strange, but I've been eagerly awaiting the day that someone who doesn't know me would comment on my pregnancy (or baby bump).  Yesterday I had to run to the courthouse downtown.  There's a security area with a metal detector at our courthouse. The security guard/police officer asked if I had on a belt and I said "no".  Then he said "Ok, just a baby then".  Yes, yes, just a baby!  Ya'll, I was so excited.  I could have hugged him. And I might have teared up a little as I walked down the hall.  I'm not sure why it was such a big deal to me, but I feel like strangers know that Annabella exists now.

In other non-baby related news. I've been trying out some new dinners lately.  My in-laws bought me a subscription for cooking light this Christmas.  The other night I made Provencal Beef Daube, and it was delish. It turned out to be about an hour of prep and then 6 hours in the crock pot, but it made the house smell lovely.  Tonight we're trying the Shrimp Pad Thai for something quick and easy.

Provencal Beef Daube