It's a GIRL!!

We have the results of our ultrasound (at 17 weeks), and it's a little girl!  We are thrilled, especially our oldest daughter, Marin....who is totally psyched.  She was *really* hoping for a little sister, and we kept reinforcing that the gender of the baby was something mommy and daddy didn't have a choice about, and that Heavenly would be giving us the boy or girl baby that our family needed right now.  She understood, but was still reeeeally hoping for that girl.

Because Marin was at school when we went for the ultrasound, I told her I would bring home something for her that was either pink or blue so she would know if it was a girl or a boy.  After the ultrasound, we stopped at Zurcher's and picked up two pink balloons, one for Marin, and one for Kristoffer's mom.  When we came home and surprised Marin, she looked at the balloons very thoughtfully and scrunched her brow and said: "Two girls?".  Haha, no, no, my sweet child, just ONE!  

Owen is so used to having a sister, it's second all he knows, really.  I'm sure that someday he'll appreciate a brother, but he'll love his little sister, anyway.

I've been about 98% certain with this pregnancy that I was carrying a girl.  Not because of any physical symptoms, but because I've known for a long time.  Long before we were even pregnant, I knew.  Last June, the night I flew home to NY to be with my family...and the week my father passed away, my husband gave me a blessing.  My heart was absolutely wracked with torture and grief and my heart had been breaking for the many months my dad was so very, very ill, and I wasn't sure if I could pull through this final leg of the journey.  As Kristoffer blessed me to feel peace and comfort and love from my Heavenly Father, he finished his blessing and sat beside me.  In a moment when my mind couldn't have been further from thinking of having another child, and the thought of it was absolutely nauseating and distasteful to me, the thought that kept filling my mind...was of a child.  I told Kristoffer that our next child would be a girl, and she would help to heal me, to fix parts of me that I couldn't fix after my horrible journey with losing my dad.  It was an experience that was completely unexpected in the moment, but the day I found out we were expecting, I knew it had to be...the girl. 

Kristoffer was pretty convinced I was right, but since the ultrasound has now confirmed, he is now working on wrapping his head around being the father of two girls!  He is so great with girls, and he knows it, such a very patient man.

I'm excited to start prepping the house for our sweet little one, due October 19th.  I'll have the whole summer....which I'm sure will feel like it's dragging by when I'm big and pregnant!  Bring on the pink!!