Definitely a Boy!

Here are a few pictures of Baby H from last Thursday at 19 weeks. Not sure he'll be too happy that we showed this picture to the whole world, but here goes:
As you can see, Baby H is definitely a boy. "Frank and Beans" as Brian says! This picture looks pretty similar to the one at 16 weeks but he's a bit bigger now.
It was fun seeing him again and the level 2 ultrasound gave us more details, like blood flow in and out of his organs and we're glad to say that everything looked great!! At this ultrasound a 19 weeks exactly, he was measuring more like 19 weeks 5 days according the doctor. Maybe he'll be here a bit early!

Baby H is a very active little boy in Mommy's tummy. It's fun to feel him in there and it was special that Daddy got to feel him for the first time on his birthday. Now that we know it's a boy we're going to start shopping for crib bedding. Maybe we'll find something this weekend in Arizona!

Finally - Brian Tells Work the News!

I finally told my work colleagues that we are expecting. The news came late due to being gone for vacation and then two team members who announced in back to back weeks that they were expecting. Not wanting to steal the spotlight I decided to then wait and tell everyone after the ultrasound and announce that we are having a baby and having a boy both at the same time! My wonderful wife made cupcakes with baby buggies on them which was a fun way to tell the team.

Other fun news...on my birthday I felt the baby move for my first time!!! SOOOO AWESOME! On Wednesday, Sara and I head down to Arizona to hang out with my parents and enjoy our last childless visit. The times of just the four of us will be missed but the time with our new little guy and grandma and grandpa H will be even better!

Think Blue!!

We just had our big ultrasound and learned that Baby BOY Hillins is a healthy and active little 19+ week old!! Yep, you heard that right - it's a boy! Pictures to come later, just wanted to let you all know as soon as we did!

Mommy and Baby are Growing!

We're almost at 19 weeks so we're almost half done! The time is going so quickly! And at the request of our friend Chandra, here's a belly shot for you!

Sara's gained about 7 pounds so far, so we're right on track according to the doctor. We have our level 2 ultrasound on Thursday. At this ultrasound, we'll be able to tell how the baby is measuring, the gender, and if there are any genetic issues we should be aware of. Our doctor wanted us to have a level 2 ultrasound because of Brian's heart condition. We're excited to see the little one again! Here's a pretty blurry picture of him or her at 16 weeks:

We think it's pretty amazing how detailed these ultrasound pictures are. We have others from 16 weeks where you can see the spine, arms (he or she was waving at us) and legs (he or she has long ones - they were all crunched up). We think this one is neat because you can clearly see the little one's profile!

Last but not least, just a quick blurb on Sara's new job. A week or so ago, she was asked by her company's CEO to start a new department within the company. It's a role that she would excel at given her MBA, experience, and leadership but she was a bit wary of the timing with her going on leave in 5 months or so. The CEO assured her that if she turned it down, it was okay and that she would continue to be successful in her current role as Practice Director, but in the end, she decided she was ready for a change and the opportunity to start something new. In this new role, she will continue to report to the CEO and now is busy writing a business plan for this new department. Once the role and department has been announced at work, she'll fill you in on more of the details!

One Lazy Weekend

We enjoyed our first weekend at home in a long while and spent most of it doing exactly what we needed - relaxing. On Friday, Sara's parents came up to celebrate her new position within her company (more to come on that later) with a pizza dinner. We enjoyed a nice meal outside right up until the point it decided to rain. Perfect timing though! Saturday, we had our new blinds installed and then took Randle to the vet to get his nails trimmed and other things. We learned that he did in fact lose weight at bootcamp - he now weighs 17 pounds - a 2.5 pound weightloss. Saturday was a gorgeous day - the sun was out, but it wasn't too hot for the pregnant one, so she spent pretty much the whole day outside laying out. Brian spent most of the day inside watching TV - Deadliest Catch marathon. Saturday night we met up with our good friends the Flahertys for dinner and a fun time was had by all. Love Bar Abiline! But, we had a surprise waiting for us when we got home that evening....our new blinds were once again torn-up by Randle the chew master. Needless-to-say, we were not happy at all. The only good thing, if you can call it that, is that our old blinds were a close enough match and we had enough good ones of those to fill-in for the new bad ones, but STILL. Bad doggie! We'll need to replace them someday, but we don't have any interest in spending another $400 for blinds that were just put up in the morning. Randle now has the distinct honor of being kenneled all day. We remind him that he only has himself to blame for this new routine.

Sara the Sickie

So all of that talk about having an easy pregnancy thus far just came to a halt due to Sara now having sinus issues and bronchitis! Fortunately she is now on antibiotics but it sure isn't fun! Hopefully the meds start kicking in soon so she can start feeling better. Her cough sounds like her lung is going to come up and we're sure the baby is getting a tad annoyed at all the coughing and movement. We're sure though too that Baby H will get mommy back soon with his or her movements. :)

We are definitely looking forward to the weekend. It is supposed to be nice out and we could use just some hanging out in the backyard time. Maybe we'll even get Randle's doggie pool out for him to wade in. Sara would also like to do a little shopping...if she's feeling better, of course!

He's Baaack!

Randle is home!! We are so glad he's home and you can tell he's very glad to be home.

When Sara picked him up he was so excited he popped right in the car (after being given a command, of course) and promptly took his spot on his bed that was placed on the passenger seat. Within minutes he was curled up and passed out. Sara thinks he was actually smiling in his sleep!

So far, he's a different dog. He's a bit subdued. He actually listens - probably for fear that he'll get sent back to bootcamp! JJ, one of the trainers, said he'll miss Randle and you could tell they bonded so maybe some of Randle's melancholy is due to missing his friend JJ. Randle lost a bit of weight in his time away and only eats once a day (at night) now so that too may cause his laziness.

We're definitely glad we did bootcamp, even though it was hard to have him gone for so long, because he is being such a good little doggie. We'll have a hard time leaving him tomorrow all day when we're at work. He's been our little cuddle-bug this weekend which has been fun!

Other updates include the fact that we hosted a baby shower for our sister-in-law Annie (Sara's brother Jim's wife) on Saturday. It was a great day and a fun time was had by all...even Randle who managed to get a cupcake in his mouth (long story). She got some great gifts that will help complete their nursery before "Homer" arrives around August 8. We can't wait to meet him!!

The only other news, if you can call it that, is that we ordered a mattress for the crib and a dresser for the nursery. Both should be in soon. Little by little, Baby H's room is coming together!

The Word is Finally Out

Woo hoo! Word at Sara's work is finally out so now we can share with the world without worry that Baby H is on his or her way. Speaking of his or her....cast your vote now for boy or girl. The big ultrasound is on June 25, so time is running out to vote!

Other news on the baby front - the crib is up. We purchased a white crib for the nursery and it looks great. This is a picture of the crib (not in our nursery):
Next on the shopping list is a mattress, glider, and dresser. Shopping is so much fun for the little one!!

Catching up!

Sara and Brian have been busy little bees the past few weeks. Thought we'd catch you up on what we've been up to! First, we spent 10 wonderful days in the Bahamas. We really needed that vacation, well mostly Brian, to simply relax and that is exactly what we did. We had a great time laying out in the sun, drinking fruity drinks, reading, napping, eating and exploring. It rained most every afternoon and two days it rained the entire day, but that didn't ruin our fun. One highlight of the trip was chartering a 45-foot sailboat and spending time sailing and snorkeling. The captain, Jay, was from MN so it was nice talking to a familiar accent!
The other big highlight over the past few weeks was being able to see Randle at bootcamp. Sara headed to see him last Friday and boy was she a proud Mama. He didn't know she was there and obeyed the trainers every command. Not sure if the best part was when he figured out Sara was standing in the background and his tail was a waggin' or when he listened to Sara's commands. When he comes home on the 12th he is going to be a new and improved doggie! We'll just have to be sure to keep up his training - 15 minutes a day for the first two weeks to help him not revert to his old ways when he's back at home. And yes, we'll be having a welcome home party for him complete with a welcome sign, balloons, and treats. That will make for a great photo op for his scrapbook!