The Countdown begins - 6 days till....

Dear Friends and Family, Only six more days until we find out the baby's gender! Yay! Now, some may say that what we learn at the ultra sound on Tuesday is going to spoil the surprise, but it's still going to be a huge surprise to me, just sooner! I'll get to spend the next 5 months focusing my daydreams on pink or blue, ribbons and bows, or trains and dinosaurs! I'm going to be so excited either way, I can't stand it! Once Chris and I are certain about the gender, we'll get to focus our thoughts on names. I'm not sure when we'll be certain about the name, but to be able to say "he" or "she" is going to be such a relief. I had my 4 month check-up on my Birthday this Monday. It was so wonderful to start my day hearing my little one's heartbeat! It was a strong 161 beats/min. The doctor said that Baby Supple sounds great! She didn't even realize it was my birthday when she said, "You could stand to gain 2 more pounds!" She then encouraged me to get a milkshake with my lunch or dinner. I took her advice and indulged in a big piece of decadent chocolate birthday cake with my delicious dinner at Deep Creek restaurant!

Yum!

At 18 weeks, baby Supple is five and a half inches long and weighs about five ounces (about the weight of a bar of soap). The art of the yawn has also been acquired, something we might see at our ultrasound on Tuesday! (Maybe that's why Mommy is yawning so much!) Baby Supple is doing twists, rolls, kicks, and punches and the doctors say I'll be feeling those little movements any day now! The baby is also developing his/her nervous system, which is maturing rapidly. Nerves are now covered with a substance called myelin, which speeds messages from nerve cell to nerve cell. And those in the brain are further specializing into the ones that serve the senses of touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing. Baby Supple's hearing is growing more acute, making him/her more conscious of sounds. After all the noise from last night's big thunderstorm, I think both of us will be doing lots of yawning today! Now for my birthday weekend! Chris and I had a great time visiting with friends all weekend. We did dinner with friends at our favorite restaurant in D.C. on Friday night, we went to a friend's house for a fun and delicious cook out on Saturday night, and for my big present, Chris got me tickets to see one of my High School buddies, Chad Sloan, sing Opera at Wolf Trap. He stared in a performance of Midsummer Night's Dream! It was so much fun to see Chad act and sing again! He is truly talented! Afterward, Chad came out to visit with us and catch up on what's been going on for the past 5 years! It was as if no time had passed and we quickly started talking about family and friends. We are hoping Chad will be back in the D.C. area next year so we can visit some more!

Me and my Friend Chad - The Opera Star!

A shot of the Set (The stage is on an incline!)

As for home improvements, Chris has been very busy! He fixed our disposal this weekend, picked up the new beverage fridge, and continued work on installing the new door hardware!

Once we got the new beverage fridge home, we realized that there is no plug under the wet bar counter! So Chris is going to put in a new outlet for the fridge! What a handy guy!

I'll have to get a better picture when it is installed!

Well that's all the news this week my wonderful friends and family! I hope you are having a great week! Let me know your guess for boy or girl! The big reveal will be in next week's post!

I love you,

Bethie