BUMP...

...Baby Under Manufacturing Process :) (I can't remember where I heard that term, but I can't take credit for it.)

So it's time to spread the word and share the news! I'm 12 weeks pregnant today. Crazy, huh? For quite a while Jeff and I thought we wouldn't have another child. We were both happy and content with the wonderful boy Cade has been and we know he will turn out to be a great young man. Last year we got to talking and thinking about things, though, and decided we would like to take this amazing journey together. We thought about what regret might look like, I thought about the relationship I have with my mom and how I wouldn't have that same thing with a child, we talked about the ups and downs that will come with a new baby, we talked about how Cade would be affected and how important it is to us for him to continue to feel absolutely loved and 100% special, and at the end of all the talking and thinking, we decided to go for it! We are both excited, a bit nervous, and everything in between. I think this is normal for every parent and parent-to-be, though.

We we told Cade his response was "that's cool." He also said something to the effect of "I'll be more like an uncle because I'll be 13 when the baby is born." Pretty cute. I try to let him know that he'll be a great big brother to this new baby, no matter how much older he is. I'm excited to see him as a big brother to a tiny baby. I'm also so excited, obviously, to see Jeff with a little bambino. Things are sure to change, as I've heard a million times. I'm trying to prepare myself for exhaustion, a messy house, exhaustion, no time to clean, oh, and of course, falling in love with a little human! Of course I worry about how much our lifestyle will change, how I will have to give up a lot of selfishness, how I will have to learn to relax and let a lot of my obsessiveness take a back seat to what's really important. Sometimes I thing "oh my goodness, this is crazy! How will we do this?!" But then I remember what purpose we'll have, what fun and joy, what memories we'll make, what an impact we can have on another child, and all of the good and exciting things outweigh the worries.

I'm so excited to share this with my family and friends! Thanks for coming along on this adventure with us! We've gotten a few sweet cards, our first special gift for the baby from Kimberly, Anthony, Avery and Luke and we also got this rockin' stroller and carseat (with base) for a STEAL at a garage sale up the street! Thank you all for your sweet well wishes and offers to pass along your baby things-it means so much! I'll definitely keep you posted as things progress. Now for a million baby bump pictures because I've been waiting to start showing. I could probably be sucking my stomach in and not look quite like I just ate a big meal, but that's just not as fun ;)









Do I look like a natural? OK, probably not since it's hard to do self timer pictures from a dresser, but I'm sure excited to push this little chickadee around when he/she arrives :)