It's a...

The day of the big discovery had finally arrived.  We went for our ultrasound this morning with quite a bit of anticipation.  It was the one time I was hoping for a lack of modesty from Tater Tot.  Thankfully we had nothing to worry about.  The baby was quite active as the nurse was taking all sorts of measurements from the brain (I think the Tater has mine!) to the heart and even the bladder and kidneys.  We even counted all ten fingers and ten toes.  The nurse said that all the body parts had formed at this point and that it was just a matter of needing time to grow.

Here's a profile shot of our little one who according to the doctor is about 10 ounces or the size of a large mango.   I still can't feel anything but I'm sure it's just a matter of time judging by how much Tater Tot was moving around during the ultrasound.  It was time for the final 'inspection' and the nurse cautioned us to turn away from the screen if we didn't want to know.  It didn't take her long to make a determination and put the information in a sealed envelope.

It was a long day at work knowing what information I held in that little envelope but I managed to refrain from tearing it open despite the intense inquiries from friends and family!  Stephen and I were going to stick to our plan. Finally 7:00 rolled around and we made our way to La Folie for a special dinner.  And not to keep you in suspense any longer...

Yes, we are having a little girl!  The first words out of Stephen's mouth after reading the words were 'Oh my goodness'  after which I punched him in the arm :-)  I think he was already starting to tally up all the expenses!  Needless to say it was a wonderful dinner full of thinking about names and making plans for our little girl.  Right now the front runner is Downtown Julie.  We think it has a nice ring.

We are off to Argentina this Saturday so we won't have any posts until we get back.  Be on the lookout for a full update when we return in May. 

Months 3 & 4

What have those Browns been up to?  I know that's the question on everyone's mind so I'll finally put an answer to that.  Besides growing a baby (that's my job) we have been pretty busy.  First off, Stephen celebrated his 29th birthday - again!  We had a lot of fun using the occasion as an opportunity to make our big announcement to our SF friends. 

Next we were off to New Orleans to celebrate Beth and Josh's wedding.  It was Tater Tot's first trip and he did great (no, I don't know if the baby is a he still have a few days to wait on that!).  I was a little worried being in New Orleans since it is pretty much a hot bed for all the foods and drinks that moms-to-be are supposed to avoid.  I was good except I did cave and had three raw oysters.  And BOY were they good! 

Congrats Beth and Josh! The wedding was so much fun.

The weather has been pretty spotty here in SF this spring but we have had a few nice weekends.  Stephen and I took advantage of the sun and my increased energy for a couple of hikes.  Here Stephen is in Donner Canyon which is part of Mt. Diablo.  With all the rain there were numerous waterfalls one of which you can see if you squint and focus in on an area just to the right of Stephen's left elbow.

As far as baby news is concerned Tater Tot is growing as is evidenced by my expanding waist line.  My energy is back and I feel great.  I joke that I wouldn't even know I was pregnant except for the fact that I can no longer button my pants!  We have a big day on Monday.  That's when we go for our 19 week ultrasound and should be able to find out if Tater Tot is a he or she.  Be on the lookout for the news to be posted here next week.