It's a ...

No we don't know what we're having yet, but this is the week that we have a chance to find out. On Wednesday, we'll have our first ultrasound after the "18th week" mark when you can find out the sex of the baby. So far, we've only had one ultrasound at the beginning of the pregnancy. So this second one is really exciting.

We debated back and forth for a bit about finding out the gender this time, but ultimately, we've given in and are eager to find out on Wednesday. Maybe not as eager as our moms are :) but we are still filling up with anticipation to learn what we're having. Plus we think it'll be easier to have 4 months or so to get Trace ready for the idea of having a baby brother/sister instead of him trying to understand that simply that we're having a baby. We'll get a DVD this time too, so we can show him the ultrasound and try to explain that the black and white blob on the screen will be his baby brother or sister. Definitely a full-proof plan; we'll see how it goes.

Everything's gone well with the pregnancy, except for us keeping up with the blog. We keep joking that this baby already has the middle child syndrome.

Last visit we brought Trace and he got to meet the lady who was the first person ever to see him, Dr. Harris. Trace was pretty good at the visit, but Ashley and I didn't really get a chance to pay attention to everything with the check up since we were occupied with him. The baby's heart rate was 150, which is about where it's been all pregnancy (upper 150s throughout). Some people say heart rate is an indicator of the baby's sex, but it's just a wive's tale. I guess we'll find out for sure this week.

I'm not really sure which way I'm leaning. Ashley said that if she had to put money on it, she'd say it was another boy. We'll be happy either way and can't wait to find out so we'll know if we need to unpack Trace's old clothes or start picking up some girl's stuff.

Congratulations goes out to our friends Brad and Michelle and John and Blair. Both of them welcomed their babies last week. Brad and Michelle welcomed a baby girl, Lily on Monday, Oct. 19, and John and Blair welcomed a baby boy, Elijah on Friday, Oct. 23. Everyone's doing great.

Potties, Pull-ups & M&M's

So, we have officially entered into the wonderful world of Potty Training. Trace came home from school one day about two weeks ago with a paper that said, "I used the potty today!" I was in shock. For some reason, I never thought it would begin this soon; but I was thrilled at the idea that this could happen. I think it would be one less stress on my brain to get him out of diapers before new baby comes. So, we praised him over and over for it, of course. I'm pretty sure I gave into every snack request he had for that evening, including his all-time favorite snack, M&M's! Soon after he caught on that this was something that really makes Mommy & Daddy happy. So to encourage him, I promised more M&M's if he used the potty again. Sure enough, he had another note the next day that he used the potty again. As promised, he got more M&M's. The next day not only did he use the potty, but he stayed dry all day! Everyday, he came home ready and waiting for his M&M's. *Sidenote, please don't think that we're relying on daycare to potty train our kid. Believe me, we've tried (without pushing) at home to encourage him to use the potty. We set up his own potty in his bathroom several months ago. We practice sitting on it every night before bath time while we read a book about potty training. We taught him how to "tuck everything in", to keep things pointed in the downward direction, and to wipe; but at home, he never seemed to want to "go", no matter how long we sat there. So I guess that's where my shock came in that he was willing to go at school. However, we soon discovered why... at school they have a REAL potty. The only difference is it's made for little ones, so it's a bit shorter. At home we began to try the big potty and we just held him as he went. Sure enough, it worked! We then decided to get one of those seat cushion covers so he wouldn't fall in. That seems to be going well. It's been about 2 weeks now and most days he comes home dry. He stays dry at home as long as we remember to ask him if he needs to go, but that's gonna take some discipline on our part for sure. His teacher seems to think he'll be wearing undies in no time, but I still have my doubts. For one, we've yet to have him poop in the potty, and I'm not willing to put him in underwear until we cross that bridge. Until then, we'll stick with the pull-ups, cause they seem to be working out just fine. We'll keep you posted on potty progress. In the meantime, if you see Trace, ask him about using the potty and be sure to tell him what a BIG BOY he is for doing so! :)

Gandparents Day

On September 17, Trace's Day Care welcomed the kids' grandparents for an open house/Grandparents Day celebration. Trace's Maw Maw and Pap and Great Grandmaw-maw (daddy's grandmaw) got to come up for the afternoon.

Trace loved showing off his new classroom, but seemed more excited to show us his tricycle riding skills when we got there. He rode around the playground area a few times before coming to see Maw Maw and Pap.

At the end of the day, all the grandparents got certificates from the Day Care (see pic above). Everyone had a great time, and Trace enjoyed having his Great Grandmaw-maw there too.

Here are a few more pictures from the day:

Mommy was waiting for us inside:

Trace and Pap share a cookie:

Trace and Maw Maw:

Four generations of the Ballard family: