And The Verdict Is...

We're having a boy!  Most of the people who are reading this already know that news, but I have been trying (unsuccessfully) since Friday to get our video uploaded.  Major techie trouble!  I think it's time to call in the big guns and ask Dad for help.  In the meantime, the info is below and I'll update this with the video as soon as I can conquer the technology hurdle.

The sonogram was Friday afternoon, and I was almost 19 weeks pregnant.  It took over 30 minutes for the sonographer to finally get a good shot.  Our little rugrat had his legs tucked beneath him, and his ankles were crossed.  Apparently he decided to pick that moment to be shy - a trait he most definitely did not inherit from me!  After several stops and starts - including a trip to the bathroom for me where I emptied my bladder and did a few jumping jacks trying to get him to move around and let us catch a glimpse - the sonographer finally said "Well, are you SURE you want to know?".  We said "Yes" practically in unison, and she said "I am 110% sure it's a boy."  Aaron started grinning like the Cheshire Cat, and he hasn't stopped grinning since.  He's very smug considering he was one of only a handful of people to guess correctly. 

His name is Samuel Bennett Turner, and we'll call him Sam.  We love the name Sam for lots of reasons, and once you combine those reasons with the Bible story of Hannah and Samuel it all comes together.  His middle name, Bennett, is in honor of our friend, Ben Andersen, who lost his battle with cancer in January 2010.  The name Samuel means "asked of God' and Bennett means "little blessing".  Altogether we think it's a perfect fit!

Sam is currently about 6 inches long, plus legs.  He weighs 9 ounces, and has a good strong heartbeat (144 bpm).  He seems to like laying with his spine along my stomach - facing my back - with his head to my right and his legs to my left.  That explains the strange pressure I've been feeling near my hips.  I think that little punk just might be head-butting me!  His brain, heart, kidneys, and bladder all look perfect.  It's amazing what you can see via ultrasound!

We already have crib bedding (Thanks, Mom!), and we are having fun planning a sports nursery.  You can count on there being a corner devoted entirely to soccer, and you can also count on a Dallas Mavericks onesie or two being in the closet for next basketball season.  The next steps are purchasing nursery furniture and creating a registry - fun things! 

This suddenly seems very real to us, and it's overwhelming to think that we are already almost half-way through this pregnancy, but we are so excited!  I still have days where I'm really sick despite taking my medicine, but there have been more good days than bad recently.  My new job is going well so far.  It's nice to be out of the crazy rat race and actually have time to take care of things around the house.  Aaron's work has been incredibly busy which is a huge blessing. 

As always we are humbled by the huge number of people that are expressing their excitement about Sam.  Keep those prayers going - 20.5 weeks to go!