we're having another little princess

I am way behind on posting this on the blog but then again I don't really post all that much anyway.

We had our 20 week ultrasound on January 17th. Daddy and Addie joined me for the big day. The ultrasound tech was telling us all the different parts as she was viewing them and as soon as she said,  "And this is between her legs..." I immediately said, "It's a girl, isn't it?" I could tell right away. Daddy and I glanced at each other with big smiles and then proceeded to tell Addie that she was going to have a little sister. She was just as excited!

From the time we found out we were pregnant we really didn't have a major preference on what we hoped for. We knew it would be neat to have a boy just because it would be something different but then we also knew how much we loved our first little princess (or "Squirt" as she is so lovingly called by her Daddy).

As mentioned in the "name" post we had only really discussed boy names. A couple weeks before the ultrasound we started talking more intently about girl names. One night we were all watching the movie "Up" (which we adore) and as soon as Carl met Ellie I said to John, "Ellie is a really cute name, isn't it?" He agreed and asked me to find out it's meaning.

Ellie means "shining light, or most beautiful woman". I loved it! Our hope is that all of our children are "shining lights" that reflect our Savior, Jesus Christ.

We chose Grace as her middle name because I had liked it as a first name but my husband wasn't a fan of it. It also has a great meaning, "God's favor". Besides having a great meaning the word "grace" is very important to us and our faith. Where would we be without God's grace?

Her formal name will be "Ella Grace" but so far we have been calling her "Ellie" more often. We all talk to her on a regular basis so I am sure she will come out thinking she is Ellie. Haha! But don't worry, if we have a boy in the future we will not be naming him Carl.

we are pregnant

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After a year and a half of "trying" we are so excited to announce that our second child is on it's way. I kept a digital journal with Addison and would like to try and do the same for this little one. Perhaps the ol' blog will get more use now. We shall see.

I am 10 weeks and one day pregnant today (and feeling it...blah).

Addie was so nice to me when I was pregnant with her. I literally only had two days of morning sickness and that was it. This one has my stomach unsettled all the time.

I am nauseous every morning and have to eat something right away. Drinking water on an empty stomach makes me vomit. Letting myself get so hungry my stomach growls makes me vomit (or at least dry heave). Eating too much makes me vomit (but I am figuring out the stopping point...I just can't eat as much as I used to). And this part seems so weird to me but I constantly have a yucky taste in my mouth. I can't describe it but chewing gum or sucking on a piece of hard candy makes it so much better.

I had an ultra-sound on October 29th (8 1/2 weeks) and we got to see the little tiny peanut in there. It was so neat to see his/her heartbeat already beating strongly.

Addison seems to understand exactly what is happening and she is very excited. She is "preparing" to be a big sister. She was sleeping between us a lot and when she wasn't she had to have one of us sleep with her until she fell asleep. But now she is falling asleep on her own, in her own bed! I am so, so proud of her and never would have dreamed that it would have been such an easy transition. She has also started cleaning on her own. She will pick up her toys that have been dispersed through the house and also clean up her entire room. I made a little chart for her and when she earns seven stickers she gets to pick out a small toy. She earns one sticker for sleeping through the night in her bed and for cleaning up her room and/or messes. She loves that chart!

Mommy and Daddy miss her sleeping in our bed from time to time so we have nights that we call "special nights" when we let her sleep between us. Daddy and Addison are major snuggle bugs! Addison molds right into him. It is the sweetest thing!

~Anna~