Baby Grey is a...

The verdict is in! And let's just say if I was a betting woman I would have lost some serious money!

Baby Grey is a healthy and wiggly baby GIRL!!!

We were a little shocked, but not in a bad way at all. Of course the first words out of my sweet husband's mouth were, "Wow, I'll have to pay for a wedding!" Once it actually sunk in, we were both extremely excited about having a DAUGHTER. It's so crazy!

Other than that big news, the appointment went great. Baby Girl was very wiggly and moving all over the place! She measured right on schedule and was perfectly healthy. We are so thankful and so humbled. And so PROUD to be the parents of a sweet baby girl.

(And a special round of applause for this mama who has only gained 3 pounds the whole pregnancy so far! Trust me, I know I'll catch up, but I'm thrilled with my initial progress in 18 weeks.)

What a great day... we're really floating on Cloud Nine. Now let the official planning begin!

Boy or Girl?

Only three more days until our next doctor's appointment and sonogram, the "big" one when we hope he or she decides not to be shy so we'll know whether Baby Grey is a boy or a girl! I'll be 18 weeks on Thursday. Isn't that crazy? It is FLYING by!

We tossed around the idea of not finding out the sex, but I just couldn't stand it. I am such an obsessive planner, and I just know I'd be an anxious mess if we decided keep it a surprise. Given the fact that we've never done this before, I know there will still be plenty of surprises along the way!

Sooooo... In the meantime, I thought it would be fun to do a little research on old wives' tales about gender prediction just to see what it says.

Chinese Gender Chart: BOY

Heart Rate: Above 140 = GIRL

Craving salty or sweet: Salty = BOY

Carrying high or low: Hard to say, but more low = BOY

Weight Gain: Only in belly so far = BOY

Morning Sickness: None = BOY

Mother's Intuition = BOY from the very get-go

Guess we'll find out soon enough! EEK! Honestly, we'll be excited either way. We just pray for a healthy, happy baby. Any combination of the two of us, boy or girl, will be just perfect to us regardless. :)

Holidays and Flea Market Finds

I apologize for my blog absence... the holidays were a whirlwind! We had a wonderful Christmas with both families and a wonderful New Year's break spent at home. We made our 2013 list of to-do tasks around the house, and we're already well on our way to getting some done!

This past Saturday we spent a few hours at the big flea market out in Flowood and came home with two GREAT flea market finds! See below...

The table was handmade from reclaimed lumber, and it takes the place of an old but cheap armoire that we finally got rid of over Christmas. The mantle is from a house in West Jackson built in 1902. It weighs about 80 pounds, but we LOVE how it looks, distress and all!

On Sunday I think I started the very first stage of nesting for Baby Grey. I felt this obsessive need to clean our bedroom, which included getting everything off the floor and into closets, which also meant cleaning out my closet to get rid of some clothes and shoes I knew I wouldn't wear again. Three hours and three full garbage bags later, it feels like we have a brand new master suite. :)

It was a very productive long weekend spent at home, which was a wonderful way to start the new year.

Here's to 2013! We are very excited for all that this year will bring!!!

Christmas Card

I always said I would never do photo Christmas cards unless there was a baby. I changed my mind once we realized how many we were actually getting with pictures of people without babies. Why not? We made our own last year, and this year my dear friend Lauchlin and her design studio, Front Porch Fodder, designed our cards. I absolutely LOVE THEM! They're so fun and funky, just like us. Ha!

We took the photo when we were in Vail in February. I almost forgot all about the pictures we took with real snow in the background. It turned out so perfect. Our only problem was that we didn't order quite enough. Next year we'll definitely adjust the quantity because I know friends and family will much rather see a Christmas card with Little Baby Grey on the front rather than just the two of us! :)

From our family to yours, we wish you the MERRIEST of Christmases and a wonderful 2013!

Grey-Gor Christmas Getaway

This weekend we were fortunate enough to spend some time down on the Coast with one of our favorite couples, the Gorneys. We've taken several trips with them throughout the years, and this time we thought it'd be fun to spend a holiday weekend at Kristin's family bay house in Bay St. Louis. It was so nice, and we had a lot of fun!

We drove down Friday after work and started Saturday with a lovely breakfast at this cute little cafe called The Buttercup. After breakfast we wandered through some of their downtown shops and art galleries then drove down the street to check out the Sugarplum Festival with local craft and food vendors and some live music. It was a warm 70+ degrees, which made a Christmas-themed festival feel a little odd, but it is Mississippi so we're used to that. Later that afternoon the boys had drinks while Kristin and I had appetizers before dinner at Mary Mahoney's.

This made for two weekends on the road AND on the Coast for me, but it was worth it. We laughed A LOT and just had a great time. Kristin and Drew's baby girl is due in February, and we could not be more excited that our kids will be only four months apart! We're already planning some future Grey-Gor vacations with our new additions. Bring on the family fun! :)

First Trimester

Tomorrow marks 14 weeks, either the end of the first trimester or the end of the first week of the second trimester, depending on who you ask.

We had our regular monthly check-up yesterday, and everything was perfect. We heard a healthy heartbeat in the 150s and I'm happy to share that I haven't gained a single pound (or even ounce) yet. I'm actually not quite sure how that happened, but I'll gladly take it.

I wanted to do a short recap of the first trimester for record's sake. I'd like to refer to it as the Trimester of Sleep and Tears. I was fortunate enough to skip the morning sickness, but goodness gracious did I make up for it with lots of sleep and plenty of trips to Crazytown. I was so incredibly tired I could barely get off the couch to move to the bed some nights, and my usual bedtime was no later than 8:00. My favorite part of the day was bedtime. BUT before I could go to bed, I had to fit in a crying spell of some sort almost nightly. Poor, poor Derek... Here are a few examples:

• Crying because I was upset with Derek for not waking up in the middle of the night to feed the baby or change the baby's diaper. I'm not sure if this was a dream or a subconscious assumption or what, but he had to remind me that the baby is not here yet. He promised to do better. Bless him.
• Crying one night when I wasn't feeling great and being upset with myself for not loving every minute of being pregnant so far. I always thought I'd be one of those who just LOVED being pregnant. Eh, maybe not so much, and that makes me sad. I'll of course love the end result, but my body has not been my own. Case in point: I had to stop wearing my contacts about a month ago because my eyes became pretty severely allergic to them overnight. Apparently pregnancy can cause all kinds of vision issues. Who knew?
• Crying at the Singing Christmas Tree when they read the Christmas story about Mary being with child and traveling to Bethlehem. Then they sang Silent Night, and I almost lost it. I seriously cannot control myself.
• And has anyone seen that commercial for Carter's kids clothes where the little girl says something like, "I was born on a cold Sunday in September. That first night was a doozie," And then she goes on to say, "When I became yours, you became mine." OMG I can't deal with it! Let the water works begin!

It's perfectly fine to laugh at me because it really is pretty comical. I realize I'm crying over something totally ridiculous.

So, all you mamas out there, will things get a little better in the second trimester? :)

Girls' Weekend #2

This weekend I hit the road for yet another girls' Christmas shopping weekend, this time in the Coast/Mobile/Foley area. I can now say I'm 95% done with shopping! WooHoo!

We had so much fun. I know I've said it a thousand times before, and I'll say it again. Quality time spent with my best friends from college is totally priceless. It's harder for us all to get togehter now than it has been in years past. We don't live as close to each other, and there are babies in the mix, but that makes the time ever so much sweeter.

Those are friendships built on 12+ years of memories, laughs, secrets, and stories. It doesn't get much better than that.

Plus, I get to hang out with this cute little guy!

This is Jackson, my friend Christy's 5-month-old. This kid is going to be a linebacker, I just know it. He's a big boy and just as sweet as they come.

It's crazy to think that I'll have one about this age this time next year! And that's another plus to having friendships that old... your friends are HONEST with all their parenting advice. :)