I haven't been quite sure how to tell you. In fact, I've been putting it off for quite a while because there is this pressure to do it right and do it with a bang. You can't just tell your blog readers you are having a baby -- it has to be an EVENT. So I thought about telling you by lining up a bunch of shoes and sharing the secret that way. I thought about having the boys hold up a sign...or maybe even a "reveal" shoot with balloons in the color of our newest addition. All that has been done though. ...and to be quite honest, I am too tired to be creative about this. This little baby is taking the little energy I have, so you, dear blog readers are going to have to settle with some words today.
I have no cute pictures for you or interesting reveal photo shoot. ...but I do have the desire to share my heart a little bit. SO. Here is the deal. We have three boys. You have met them here before on the blog. I don't share their names, but I like to call them Red, Rex and Lincoln. Red is our oldest, full of boyishness and creativity and the entrepreneurial spirit of his mama and papa. Rex is our sweet thing, with a tendency towards soft blankies and cuddle time. He is our emotionally sensitive guy and he is the one that you want to cuddle up on a couch with and read with. Lincoln? He is our firebomb. He is Red, but with a daredevil streak. Before the age of 1, he had ran out into the road and sat down on the double yellow AND climbed up to the top of the roof (and again, sat down like nothing was amiss.). It is a wonder he is not caged.
So why on Earth would we "try" again? Did we REALLY think with our odds there would be a girl? Am I SERIOUSLY going to break my body again with pregnancy. We JUST got our youngest pooping in the potty. Are we SERIOUSLY DOING THIS?!
Well, yes we are thanks to a trip to Mexico.
What will I do with four boys? Will it even make a difference at this point? Will another little boyish pipsqueak change up the dynamics or will he be the 4th in route to a full basketball team?
Well, we will never know.
We will never know because we are officially done with boys. This is our last biological baby, and perhaps our last baby period and heavens to Betsy - IT IS A GIRL!
The ultrasound tech double checked - oh I dunno - SIX times because we kind of didn't believe her. (In fact, a tiny bit of me thinks we will get to the delivery room and SURPRISE! It's actually a boy!!) However, she checked and checked and by all appearances, there is a tiny little girl in there. She made me sick as a dog the first trimester (which has not happened before) and those little baby kicks DO seem to be gentler than the karate kicks the boys were throwing at me, so I am *this* close to being convinced that it is 100% a girl.
Am I excited?
You could say that. Perhaps more telling are the baskets and baskets of girly clothes that are piling up in her room already. ...well I take that back. Perhaps more telling are the bags of girly clothing I am dragging up from the basement that I have been collecting for 8 years now. Yes, eight years I have been picking up little dresses and pink ballet shoes when they are at a price too cheap to pass up. Perhaps I knew someday we would have a girl -- one way or another. Perhaps I was just hopeful. In any case, she will be arriving soon and she will be dressed to the nines (and yes in ALL PINK as long as she lets me) and we will have some SERIOUS girly fun.
What will her name be?
Well, as I decided long ago with the boys, I won't be sharing her full name here, but you will know her as Penny or Poppy. That is her nickname(s) and there will be plenty of crafty projects to go along with it. ...and YES, again, that name has been on the tip of our tongues for eight years now. In fact, my attempt at creativity last week circled mainly around her nickname...had you guessed?
Did you miss the clues? Clue #1 and Clue #2 Clue #3 Clue #4 Clue #5
Why has it taken so long??
I wasn't sure why we couldn't get our genes together and have a girl. I've always suspected that perhaps I am a better mom of boys than girls. I am getting well versed in the craziness of boydom and thought that perhaps God thought I couldn't handle the intricacies of a mother-daughter relationship. Perhaps I would be too jealous. Perhaps we would just fight constantly. Perhaps she would be exactly like me and we would butt heads. I was perfectly happy being a mom of three boys (who doesn't like to be the princess in a house full of little men?!). So why now? Perhaps I am a better mom now than I was eight years ago? Perhaps these boys have mellowed me out enough to be a mom of a daughter. Perhaps it is just random chance. In any case, our three boys and our one little girl make us complete. We are a very full and happy family and cannot wait to introduce her to the world.
What will the nursery look like?
Now on to the good stuff - THE NURSERY! You might guess that I would try to do something different and creative with greens and golds or purples and creams to make a truly unique nursery, but you would be wrong. Friends, it will be PINK all the way. Pink, pink and more pink. This is my one and only chance to girlify a space to my heart's content (she will most likely love BLUE by the time she has an opinion, so I have to strike now while the iron is hot!) A peek into my private pinterest boards tells the story:
My goal in the nursery is twofold. It is not particularly stylish or great design or even a litany of craft ideas that I can blog about (though there WILL be some!). Rather, my two goals are girliness and whimsy. I want a girly space because I have longed for one for eight years now and while she still doesn't care...she is going to be a girly girl...so pinks and peaches and corals and whites and dresses and shoes and soft blankies and clouds and EVERYTHING sweet and nice will fill the room to bursting.
Secondly, this room will be whimsical. I am designing the room to ignite her wonder and creativity and each craft and project is centered around that basic theme.
Let me explain a little better...
As much as I love well designed nurseries, I can't imagine going with something like THIS. It is too grown up -- too beautiful -- too perfect. I almost like the more "cluttered" nurseries. The ones that show off the "tools" of the trade and celebrate the fact that a BABY lives there -- like THIS ONE:
The stacks of blankets...
The diapers piled in a basket...
The little hat hanging off the bedframe...
The stuffed monster above the changing table...
That gorgeous white light with a nice thick light blocking shade....
A BABY lives here and I love it.
So prepare yourself for some whimsical and girly crafts in the next few months and a LOT of questions from me on how to raise a girl!
...but that is not all...
If this blog post wasn't long enough, I have one MORE introduction to make to you! Actually THREE introductions! Since I will be cutting back hours a bit as baby comes along, I decided to hunt down some brilliant new contributors for the Nest. I wanted to beef up our sewing, jewelry and home improvement DIY content to bolster my crafty, artsy, gardeney focus. SO.................................
Meet our newest family members here at the Nest!
You are seriously going to love them and I can't WAIT to start showing you the work they have been turning in! It is FANTASTIC! You will get to know them a little better in the weeks to come and will become best friends with them as they share their tutorials and projects all summer long!!
So from my real house and my blog house to yours, thanks for coming to check out our fabulous news and stay tuned for some serious introductions!