Good News For Our Little Family!

It's impossible to express the joy that I'm feeling as I share the latest baby news!  The ultrasound on Wednesday revealed that a tiny little girl is growing inside me in all the ways she's supposed to be!  Lots of good news in that one sentence.  A tiny little girl... I am over the moon to have another little lady joining the Weaver family.  And she's growing inside me in all the ways she's supposed to be... quite possibly the best news I could've heard from the ultrasound was that she is healthy!  Another Perinatologist came in during the scan and asked questions about my history.  He offered his own opinion on the loss, specifically saying that my thyroid condition is the least likely cause of the later miscarriage.  Instead he believes that it's more likely that my placenta wasn't functioning properly.  But the good news is, the blood flow and pressure during this ultrasound show that my placenta is fully-functioning and that our daughter is growing and forming appropriately!  Thanks to our Creator for orchestrating all of that!  When the ultrasound tech was done looking her over, she said that she'd go visit with the doctor for a bit because he usually wants to see people in our position around 24 weeks to monitor things.  When she came back, she had good news and bad news.  The good news is that the doctor doesn't want to see me again.  He said that he wouldn't know what to look for if he did another scan.  Everything that he needs to see, he's already seen!  The bad news is that because I'm not considered high risk anymore, I won't be getting all the extra ultrasounds and screen time with my tiny girl.  But all things considered, I'm not that bummed to be out of the high risk category!  He said this pregnancy looks as normal as they come.  My pregnancy with Gracie was also "as normal as they come" and the result of that experience was a happy ending.  I'm hoping for a happy ending this time as well, so "as normal as they come" is perfect!

So yes, we're having another girl!  It's super exciting to think about!  I could list 100 reasons why I hoped this sweet baby would be a girl.  I could've listed 100 reasons why I hoped this sweet baby was a boy, too.  But God chose another girl for our family and Daddy, Gracie, and I are so, so happy He did!  Sisters!  I get to raise sisters!  Sweet Gracie gets to experience one of the most special relationships in this life.  I imagine there will be plenty of ups and downs along the way, but in the end, the sister relationship is so precious.  I know that my sister and I are bit of an anomaly because our lives overlap in so many ways.  But the closeness and friendship that we share is something I'm confident Gracie and her baby sister will also share.  There's so much to look forward to!

As you all know, Gracie was pulling for a girl.  When the ultrasound tech said, "It looks like you guys make sweet girls!  It's a girl!"  Gracie about jumped out of her skin!  Everyone was all smiles in the room.  Even Daddy said he would've chosen a girl, if God had consulted him.  Most people expect Daddy to be disappointed because he probably wants his boy, but anyone who really knows Ryan and Gracie's relationship knows that there's not much more he could hope for out of his soccer-playing, dress-wearing, fish-catching, Bible-reading, nail-painting, dirt-digging, song-singing, camping girl!  I mean really, the only thing she can't do is carry on the family name... although that's up for debate these days!  As a Momma, I am looking forward to getting to know my youngest daughter and discovering who she is.  I can't wait for all the years we have to build a strong relationship that one day results in a friendship between two grown women.  I have a feeling Momma, Gracie, and this new lovely lady will be great friends someday!

As soon as we were done at the doctor's appointment, Daddy headed to work while Gracie and I got started with our Mommy/Gracie Day!  We began at Party City by purchasing tons of girly confetti.  Then we stopped by Babies R Us and Target to pick out some baby clothes.  Gracie had her eyes out for purple and yellow items.  We were able to find a few newborn sleepers and outfits that fit the bill.  It was sweet watching her work.  When she had to narrow things down, she would sing, "Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Mo"!  It was super cute!

Then we headed home to get started on a gender reveal craft I'd been planning.  Gracie had been responsible for saving all the toilet paper rolls in our house for several weeks.  We got started making homemade confetti poppers and Gracie had a great time making a mess playing with the confetti.   

Then we loosely followed the directions shared on this blog to stuff the toilet paper rolls with the confetti.  Instead of tissue paper, Gracie opened up birthday party napkins to wrap the poppers.

When we finished we had a pile of poppers waiting to be delivered!

Of course we had to try one out!  Nice and messy!  The perfect way to announce the news of our newest princess!

Once the poppers were complete, we put them inside white paper bags to deliver to some friends and family around town.  We started at Grammy's (Graham Cracker's newest nickname) work and continued to Grandma and Grandpa's house and about 10 other families.  If they were home, we excitedly watched them discover the good news.  If they were out, we left a little note along with the popper.  The note said...

A sign of our gratitude

For your support in prayer,

We bring you this gift,

Our excitement we share!

Little Weaver's gender,

A secret no more!

This gift of new life,

We're beyond grateful for!

Enclosed you will find a homemade confetti popper, made by Big Sister, Gracie.  Just twist the tube like you're wringing out a washcloth and confetti will fall from the center, revealing the gender of our tiny blessing.  You might want to open it over the trash can, unless you feel like vacuuming!

Gracie and I had the best time being "mailmans" and surprising some of our favorite people.  It was super special for Gracie to get the chance to be a part of everyone's excitement!  

After our exhausting, yet fulfilling day, we ordered pizza and hung out as a family before getting ready for bed.  I had a book for Gracie about becoming a big sister and we took a few pictures to remember the day.  I didn't take as many pictures as I'd hoped throughout our adventures that day, but I suppose I was just living in the moment, not worrying about documenting everything for our daughters to look at later.  Sorry girls.    

She wanted to hold the book just like she will hold her sister once she's born.
Sweet Sissy!

She also wanted to hold the sleeper the same way!

I read the book to her twice.  She read it herself a few more times.  

As I said before, we are simply overjoyed with the news of a healthy baby girl.  I've already ordered some matching jammies for the girls and have begun making plans for our growing family.  We're so grateful that God has blessed us with another daughter and continues to protect her as He prepares her for her role in this world.  God is good!