"The Bun"

Today was my first OB appointment and ultrasound of the baby! Collin and Moira were both home for Veteran's Day, so we all got to go see the baby as a family. The "bun" looks great, everything is developing how and where it should be, and he/she is measuring at 9 weeks, so just a few days bigger than our best-guess due date. Both Moira and Ian measured bigger all the way through the pregnancy (we make big babies), so this was no real surprise for us. We all enjoyed getting to see the baby, even though the kids had a hard time seeing a baby in the blob on the screen! The heart beat was strong (at about 165 beats per minute) and he/she measured at just about 1 inch long. It was so amazing to see little arms and legs (and even an ear!) with a strong heart beat, all from a tiny being only an inch in length!! So cool. Here are the "bun's" first pictures in 4-D:

I thought it would also be fun to post the video of the ultrasound, since it's a truly amazing experience, and I thought some of you would enjoy it too! I edited the video to include just the good stuff, so it's only about 3.50 minutes. At about 1 minute, you'll see the heart beat monitor on the screen, but unfortunately you can't hear the little "whoosh whoosh" of the heart beat after editing, like we can hear on the original. Then, she switches to the colored 4-D ultrasound, which is super cool. That's when the baby really takes shape and you can see all the neat little details! If you watch closely at about the 3 minute mark, you can see the baby start to move his/her little legs and arms and wiggle around a bit!! Again, absolutely incredible - it's the 3rd go around and it still blows my mind! :o) I hope you enjoy the clip, almost as much as we did!

What's in a Name?

This is going to be a big shocker for those of you who've known us through the last two pregnancies, and remember that we wouldn't even hint at name possibilities before, but we're actually going to be open about it this time! We think we've decided not to find out what this little one is going to be, until his/her birthday, so we thought we'd let people know what our name options are for a boy and a girl. Of course, it's still very earlier, and 8 months can change things a lot, but here are our top two (that we agree on) for each.

For a boy:
Declan - meaning "Full of Goodness" and "A Man of Prayer"
Liam - meaning "Valiant Protector"

For a girl:
Meghan - meaning "Pearl" or "Pure"
Ciara - pronounced Kee-ra, meaning "Saint" or "Dark"

Now we need some help with middle names. What names do you think go well with these first name options? Here are the rules. I really don't want to hear that you knew someone who knew someone in 5th grade that was a bully named Liam... keep it to yourself. We'd appreciate positive or constructive opinions only, if you feel like giving them. Otherwise, I'd love to hear your thoughts. And, as you may have noticed, we have a certain propensity toward Irish/Celtic names, so we probably won't go with Sally... sorry Moira. Okay... discuss.

And finally, for your viewing pleasure, here is Moira's most recent depiction of our family. That's us, with me holding our new baby up - apparently the baby is going to be a girl - with Daddy holding Ian's hand, and Ian holding Moira's. Under the rainbow, near our house, of course! (I'm not sure why Daddy's got a fro.) Pretty sweet, huh?