Storybook days.

Some days just go well. Some days all feels right with the world. Yesterday was one of those days. After a hectic weekend of entertaining and parties and errands, we were thrilled to wake up on Monday morning knowing that the Phillies had won and that Nate had the day off.

We were up and out early and were grateful for the help of my Mom, who came to watch the kids. For those of you who have been reading my blog, you may have noticed that I have been talking about things making me cry for the past month or so. From the Giving Tree to Orange Day to Nate eating the last cookie, I get teary a lot lately. The trend continued yesterday morning when we got to see the heartbeat of our newest baby flickering away on the ultrasound screen. I think that I could have 19 kids a la Duggar and still feel my heart race and my palms sweat as I await that first confirmation of life beating away. Luke and Julia's new sibling is due May 28th. We are positively thrilled.

Bullet points:

*Yes! They will be close in age. Luke will be 3 yrs 3 months and Jules 2 yrs 2 months when wee babe arrives.

*Yes, we actually meant it that way!

*Yes, we will be finding out the gender.

(we plan to check as soon as it is born, it will help in naming the baby!)

*Yes! I am looking forward to another VBAC.

*Yes, I am feeling really great. So great that I was worried that something might be wrong with the baby. It was very reassuring when the the Dr. said to us yesterday before we walked out "You walked in here with a 15% chance of miscarrying, and you are walking out with a 3% chance!". I like those odds. Of course, we are still in the first trimester, so any prayers or good thoughts would be much appreciated.

We came home with the requisite pic of "baby" ~ Which at this gestational age is not much more than an amorphous blob of life with a beating heart somewhere towards the center. Our beautiful blob is hanging on the fridge. Luke knows that there is a "Baby in Mama's belly". When asked what that means, he will tell you that it means that "Mama is hungry and tired". He also says that "It's dark in there" and "Mama that baby not gonna come out yet?". Correct to all three. When asked if he wants a brother or a sister, he replies that he wants a Julia. I don't quite know how we can manage that (we did not use cloning to create this baby) but I have 30+ weeks to figure out that one before I have to actually address the issue.

We spent the day enjoying our existing family after meeting our newest member. We went to Linvilla for a day of pumpkins, hayrides, animals, lunch and laughter. As I snuggled Jules in my lap and watched Luke settle into his Daddies arms on the hayride I had to keep blinking tears back. To know that Nate and I are embarking on this journey again feels like a gift. To look at my husband laughing with his kids makes me feel so lucky. To see my kids loving one another, and to know that they will have a new person to love on and laugh with overwhelms me. To know that there is another little family member on its way to us is just a joy beyond comprehension. I have none of the nervousness that I had my last pregnancies. I know that our love will simply grow again, never divide, and that this baby is going to fit in to our family seamlessly. A giant pot of homemade soup and a Phillies series clinching win rounded out our perfect day (for the sake of "perfect day-ness" I will leave out mention of the Jets loss ~ Sorry, Nate). Thank you to all of you who have shared and who will share our joy over our new arrival.