Place Bets Now.. Gender Coming Soon!

Yesterday was a pretty big day for this momma and her man!

Besides it being my grandmother's birthday (shoutout to her.. Love you!), it was the day of The Ultrasound. Technology has advanced enough that they can now tell the baby's gender at sixteen weeks (four months, for those of you who don't think in pregnancy terms). Since I was at seventeen weeks, two days.. it's the perfect time. Am I right?

Well, the doctor checks the usual stuff: size, heart rate (145 bpm.. so fast for a little thing!). We watched my little honey singing (it looked like singing) and striking little poses. The doctor shows me the basic outline of the baby's body, so I can see where to look what we're looking for.

Finally, Doc starts looking around for any signs of a gender. The way the baby was positioned, though, his (or her) little feet were resting upward on my back, and the head was up towards the front.

Long story short, the doctor could only make a guess as to who our baby is. She said not to go painting any walls or buying any clothes yet, though, because of how the baby was laying (in that crazy awkward position). 

For now, there is only a limited number of people who know what the projected gender is (the doctor, me, Cris, my dad, my boss, and a few trusted coworkers). Other than that, we've decided to keep it a secret until next month, when we find out for sure. 

According to some of the old wives' tales, we're having a girl. According to Delia, one of the kitchen workers, we're having a boy (and they say Mexican women always know).

What do you think? Are Cris and I going to raise a little princess? Or are we going to be proud parents of our all-star athlete? Who do you think our little Army brat's gonna be? 

An Army Wife is the Strongest Kind

Okay. I'm not actually an army wife yet.  Cris and I aren't married.  I get that.  But I think its safe to say close enough for now, cause first of all, I paid a ton of money to get there.  Second, I've been up since three-thirty. Why?

Because I love my soldier and would do anything for him..  even if it means waking up super early to bring him his birth certificate because he almost sent it home with me.

Two nights before, on Family Day, he had decided to empty out his locker into my arms.  That made it my job to carry all that crap home, somehow (I did make it work, because I am, after all, a genius).  Last night I was feeling sentimental, having said my last teary goodbye to his face just a few minutes before, and still relishing that sweet little peck-on-the-lips that he wasn't technically allowed to give me.  But to me, it was beautiful, it provoked a lot of crying, and it somehow led me into snooping through his bag.
I pulled out all his civilian clothing, flipped through his Bible, and continued to do my little happy-sad deal.  Then I came upon a folder.  Just a camo-printed folder.  I thought at first, I probably shouldn't look in there..  but then I thought, if he didn't want me to see it, he shouldn't've given it to me.  Lucky for him, that I did.  When I started going through the pages I found his birth certificate, immunizations record, all those things that he KIND OF needs to have...  in my possession.  So I send a message to the number that he last contacted me from letting him know, then I decide to stop my blubbering and go to sleep.
Next thing I remember is my phone's going off. I look over.. THREE THIRTY in the morning?!  I debated whether or not I should even bother to look at the message before I've had a full eight hours..  then figured it's gotta be important, or Cris.. and if it's Cris and I don't answer, I'll start crying again.  The message read something along the lines of "Baby. I need those papers. DS knows you're coming. Be here precisely at 7."
Then at 5:15, the phone rings.
 "Uh, honey. I'm leaving at 6:30, so I need those papers, like.. NOW."
So I was in a bit of a hurry. I decided to wear one of his shirts with leggings, for the selfish purpose of my own comfort (Hey. I'm pregnant, I'm allowed to dress lazy. And to be honest, his clothes make me feel sexy. Since I'm getting fat, it's about the only thing that does). When I was driving, I somehow figured out how to time the lights (which was easy.. no traffic and all), so I made it in about 13 minutes. No time to talk, though, no time for another emotional goodbye. Run out, grab the papers, run in. Bye-bye, honey.
Okay, goal: get off base without falling asleep at the wheel. So, 5:30 in the morning, I head towards the gate..
and it's blocked off.  Just my luck. The gates were all closed for PT until 7.  So I had to sit in the parking lot, in the car, for an hour and a half.  So close to him..  But I couldn't see him.

So yeah, I'm gonna call myself an Army Wife, and come this February, we are gonna have a little Army Brat. Plus, it's not like we aren't gonna get married anyway. 'Cause everyone who's anyone says it's gonna happen. But, baby please, Fourth of July. I told him thats so cheesey.. But he wants to get married on the Fourth of July. Jeeeeez.


Coming soon: I relay and recap the ENTIRE trip, not just what happened this morning.