20 Weeks

I'm already finding it very difficult to consistently take pregnancy pictures this time around since I have a 2 year old to take care of! So sorry baby #2 :) Let's see, we were scheduled for a 14 week ultrasound on January 21st and were devastated when they called to reschedule because the ultrasound machine was down. We went in anyways and had the option of being redirected to Hoag (they won't reveal gender, only information that is medically necessary) or we could go to the Costa Mesa place (again) to get gender confirmation. Since the family was coming over that evening for yet another "gender reveal" we opted to go to Costa Mesa  and just reschedule the original ultrasound. To our shock, we found out we were having another baby girl! My favorite memory of this appointment was when the tech said to Luke, "Do you see those 3 lines?" (Luke knew that the 3 lines were indicative of a baby girl) and responded with, "All I see are dollar signs!" Both ultrasound technicians burst out laughing. It was a pretty great moment. We were so thrilled and excited to share the news. We got pink balloons, cupcakes, wine, and vintage soda to surprise the family. My mom shrieked of course and was already at the house when we pulled up! Love her! My siblings & David all showed up and we had a fun mini-celebration :)

                               Below was the picture in case it was a boy, just thought it was too cute!

A week or so later, we got to go back to my actual doctor and they confirmed that it was definitely a girl. Luke couldn't make this appointment so I had to bring Ella with me. She cried for the first 5 minutes because she wanted to lay with me while they were trying to do the ultrasound. Once she actually saw the baby's profile on the screen and I explained to her that we were looking at her baby sister, the look on her face was priceless. Pure terror and awe all at the same time. She kept repeating, "That's the baby in your tummy, that's the baby in your tummy, get it out please." I hope I never forget that moment. It was beyond stressful trying to focus on the ultrasound and keep Ella entertained but we made it work (even though she managed to completely knock over a drawer :).

Ella had a great time celebrating Valentine's Day this year! Luke planned a special daddy-daughter date night earlier in the week and surprised Ella while we were at Taco Tuesday. He picked her up and had gotten tickets for the two of them at Cinepolis to see the Lego movie in 3D. She recently has really become interested in Legos :) Apparently she had the most fun pressing the button repeatedly to have the waiter come. On V-Day, he ran her downstairs first thing in the morning to give her Ariel legos and, based on her reaction alone, you would've thought he'd handed her a million dollars. Given how much he works, I love the effort he makes to spend quality time with her. It really does make me fall in love with him even more. It was so much fun seeing how excited she was to give and receive Valentine cards this year. Watching her grow and interact with others is the most amazing thing!

In Laguna Beach we have a mid-winter break (also known as Mammoth week) the third week of February. The week vacation started off perfectly with a fun BBQ with friends. Two of my closest friends surprised us with a mini-shower to celebrate Elise. I was beyond thrilled when I finally realized what was going on. I felt awful because I was a little horrified at first thinking that they were trying to tell me our friend Lindsay was pregnant (I have no idea why my mind went there)! Once we were all able to laugh about it, we had a fabulous time. Our kids had never all three been together so it made for some pretty great memories :)

Having the week off also worked out perfectly with my mother-in-law coming to visit and needing assistance with apartment-hunting (she's moving here from North Carolina). We spent a full week visiting various complexes in south OC. She eventually decided on one just 5 minutes away and walking distance from Salt Creek so it felt good to finally get her situation locked down. Usually during the breaks I try to focus on fun activities for Ella and I, but we did manage to have an amazing mommy group outing to Disneyland in the middle of the week. Lindsay and I have had a hard time getting our kids together these days, but we shoot for at least one Disney date a year. We had 5 toddlers and 2 newborns with us so it made for a really fun group! I love meeting up with friends from high school too, we are so fortunate that we live close enough to have play dates :)

On January 21st we had our big 19 week appointment and the anatomy scan for little Elise (as of now, we are definitely going with that name :). You totally forget how emotional it can be to see every little finger, toe, and extremity up close. We feel so blessed that she is a healthy little munchkin measuring 9oz with a heartbeat of 151 (although still slightly smaller than her sister).We even got a picture of Elise giving the "shaka" sign which my ultrasound tech had never seen before! She is definitely our little surfer girl :) After 45 minutes, it was hard to get a great shot of her heart but, as of now, it appears that there isn't a sign of a defect. On March 18th we have an appointment for a fetal echocardiogram which will look at the heart in much more detail so we'll know for sure. It was really nice having Luke, his mom, and Ella with me to share the moment. Usually I force my family to come as well, but I had totally gotten the date wrong and didn't know we even had the appointment until right before.We are beyond excited to meet this new little one and know that Ella will be the best big sister!