The verdict is in...

Baby Dyer is a GIRL!!

Surprise!  haha.  Just when I thought I needed to decide which hue of blue to choose for the nursery color scheme, our midwife broke the news: our little peanut will be our precious DAUGHTER!  It was quite the shock for me... I'm not going to lie, I actually had a mini-breakdown.  Not that I wasn't excited about the idea of having a little girl, but rather I was so convinced it was a boy - and so excited to give Geoff a son - that it took me a day to digest the news and finally accept that we are going to have a daughter instead.  We had our name picked out and everything!  But we still have plenty of time to try for a son down the road... so that's something to look forward to :)  SO. A little girl.  What comes to mind when you think of a baby girl? PRETTY. PINK. PRINCESS. gag me. I know I'll probably feel a little differently when I finally see her, but I was raised a tomboy... blue is my favorite color... I didn't start wearing makeup until I was in college... so the idea of dealing with a little girl is somewhat frightening.  Granted, I don't want to discourage her from being a "girl," but it's just so not me!  And I knew way too many girls in high school that were completely spoiled... "daddy's princess"... and that just does not sit well with me.  Yes, of course I'll spoil her.... but within reason.  And I've already indicated to those close to me that "princess" will not be one of her nicknames :)  I am not about to start her off thinking that she deserves special treatment!  Of course I'll dress her up all cute and have fun with my own mini-me Barbie doll, but I've already told her dad that she is going to be "daddy's girl" -- so he'd better be prepared to take her out fishing, hiking, and even snowmobiling!  Thankfully, he's completely down for all that.  He's actually quite excited - this was his status update on Facebook the day we found out:

The female population in my house officially doubled... as will my shotgun collection. Super excited! Now i just have to wait 5 short months to see her! Lets hope she looks like her momma!

And as much as he wanted a little boy, Geoff was the first to jump on the bandwagon and remind me that "EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON."  Maybe she will be a good example to her younger siblings... maybe she will be "mommy's little helper" with the next baby down the road... and on top of it, something I was told when I first found out about the pregnancy, maybe there is a reason why she will be born at this time into the world -- whether for spiritual or mere practical reasons, her being born into our little family at this time in our world is important.  The age she will be... the friends she will make... the opportunities she will have... the people she will influence... the possibilities really are endless.  So rather than sit and wonder "What if?" I've come to the conclusion that the best thing for me to do is to just MOVE FORWARD.  And guess what? I'm pretty excited to be a mom :)  Let the shopping begin!  hahaha.  And I'm just gonna throw it out there... shopping for a little girl will be SO much more fun than shopping for a little boy... so many more options!  Which, of course, can be dangerous.... so for now, I'm focusing on nursery ideas and plans.  And that is keeping me quite occupied :)  And what fun would planning be without sharing my ideas with all of you?  haha.  Thanks to Pinterest (my new obsession during pregnancy) I have come up with quite the collection of photo inspirations, so here are a couple for now....

[potential color scheme]

[dark brown wood furniture]

And I'll share more with you in the coming weeks :)  But before I leave you for today (I am at work after all) I want to share with you the name we picked out for our little girl:

I should probably mention that I did have this name picked out long before I met Geoff... one of those things that I actually thought about while I was single :)  And thankfully he approved!  I wasn't planning to share it publicly until closer to her birthday, but what the heck - It won't hurt!  And besides, only family and close friends read my blog and I would be telling you all anyways... so what's the difference?  And now the real waiting period begins... and I will say, now that I'm into my second trimester, my new pregnancy annoyances are quite simple: weight gain, insomnia, and a constant STUFFY NOSE.  Really?! Nobody told me about that... oh the joys of being pregnant!  But it will all be worth it, I'm sure :) 17 weeks down, 23 to go.....!

Oh, baby!

For those who haven't yet seen our little video, here is the most current version...

And for those who have not yet heard our recent update, we had our appointment yesterday to learn whether or not this "it" should be referred to as a "he" or a "she", and unfortunately IT was uncooperative...!!  Our midwife (also named Laura) is awesome, and she was incredibly persistent as she knew how anxious I was and how much I wanted to know this minor detail... but at the end of the ultrasound, her verdict was the following: "I am so close to saying that it is a boy, but this one view has me second-guessing myself... I don't want to tell you one way or another just yet!  But I would be happy to see you next week to double-check!"  And so we have our next appointment scheduled for Wednesday to clarify whether we should be decorating with blue or pink... and hopefully we will get a clear answer then!  I'd say the most frustrating thing about the appointment was that she kept moving the ultrasound head around on my stomach to get every possible view, and 9 out of 10 views she said "I do believe you have a boy in there" (or something to that effect) and then ONE image makes her question every other!  gahhhhhh  SERIOUSLY?!  Seriously...  For the person that plans, this is driving me slightly crazy (if you can't tell) and I just need to know already!  It's been 16 weeks.... 4 months... I'm almost half-way through this and it would be nice to know if I'm going to have a daughter or a son! :)  But thankfully I don't have to wait until my 20-week appointment to find out for sure... I can last a few more days (I think) haha.  I will say, though, that while she was moving around trying to get our little peanut into a better viewing position she was happy to point out all the other little features... arms, legs, hands, feet... and we could watch him/her squirm around while she was probing with the ultrasound head.  It was slightly humorous actually -- we could tell he/she was getting a little bothered that we were invading his/her space... ahem, that's my space too thank you very much!  I almost want to set a few ground rules while he/she is residing comfortably in his/her little cocoon... but ultimately, as "uncomfortable" as the occasional poke may be, he/she really has no idea what is really in store... the final journey is not going to be pleasant - for either of us! haha.  So just wait, little one, just you wait....  ;)  And I will point out that while we were watching the video on the screen, Laura did confirm that all looks healthy and normal -- so I should be concentrating on that detail (as I am truly grateful to know that our baby is growing as it should), and that is why I am so appreciative of Geoff and his willingness to reassure me, repeatedly, and remind me that no matter what (boy or girl), a healthy child is more than we could ever ask or hope for.  And I agree :)

So, that is my brief news for today -- I'll be sure to write more this week, praying that we actually have an answer with 100% confidence!  Love you all!!