Surprise!

The moment of truth has arrived! And everyone but Kenny has been really surprised... Which means: we're having a boy! We had the ultrasound today, and he didn't really feel like cooperating at first. He was napping and, of course, had his face turned away from us too. Eventually, with some poking and prodding, we got him to move. He had his cord wrapped between his legs, but he eventually untangled himself. And he turned his head just long enough for us to get a decent picture. So for those of you that are interested, here are the pictures:

This is the "boy" shot. There's a little arrow pointing to a very important piece of anatomy, so we have photographic evidence.

This is baby's first head shot. It took awhile to get him to look this way. He'd turn just long enough for us to get a hint of what he looked like, but only this one time did he take time to pose.

This was one unsuccessful attempt to get him to look at us. He actually had his arm curved up around his head at one point. He was sleeping and didn't want to be disturbed. And he let it be known too. Whenever we poked him, he would poke back hard. The technician actually felt the wand move when he bucked back at us.

And this is his little foot. He was curled up with feet tucked under him and crossed for most of the ultrasound.

So the ultrasound went pretty successfully. I started to cry a little bit after she told us it was a boy- good tears, of course. And Kenny wanted a high five. I think he's already picturing coaching baseball teams. They took images of the baby's brain, which was cool. That's the neuroscience in us talking. They said he weighs about 14 oz. We got to see his heart and all of the chambers pumping. The doctor said everything looked good and that he appears to be healthy.

The grandparents and aunts and uncles already know. Our parents were all really excited, as was everyone else. My sister, in true Lynn fashion, gave this response when I told her it was a boy: "That's terrible!" But she laughed and said congratulations, so I don't think she entirely meant it. Grandpa offered up his name as an option, and also Ferdinand Leopold- which was his dad's name. While Grostati was alive, there was a substantial monetary amount offered to whichever of his granddaughters named their son after him. Mom and Dad balked, and Candie never got the chance. Since there isn't the same incentive, I think we might have to pass this time. We do think we are going to use the middle name Patrick, since he's due so close to St. Patrick's Day. And we're trying to pick a first name that reflects my Scottish/Welsh heritage, so that he reflects both of us in his name.

I'm already starting to feel him move a lot. I can even feel him on the outside of my abdomen already. Kenny says he still can't feel it, but I don't think it will be much longer. The baby's pretty powerful.