Snips and snails & puppy dog tails....

...that's what little boys are made of!!

Wow.  We were so surprised this morning when we learned we are having a BOY!!  This little guy sure had us & so many others fooled.

I got called in on-time today which was a blessing to my full bladder.  We had a much nicer & thorough ultra-sound technician than we've had in the past which would prove most helpful in trying to convince me that I was indeed pregnant with a boy & not the girl I'd been thinking.  She began taking all the photos of the baby's different parts; spine, brain, legs, arms, etc.  The first thing she said about the gender was "I think I see a boy part..." NOT the most convincing statement.  We were looking at the baby's rear end & legs and she pointed out the hanging body part in between.  I was like "Ummm could that be the umbilical cord?"  The more he moved around, the more certain she became that he was a boy.  I was still not convinced, so she added color to the ultrasound that would light up with blood flow; blood flow is established in the cord; but not yet the penis.  Lo & behold that little hanger did not light up & as she moved north we could see the cord light up blue & red.  That pesky penis kept showing up in several shots & it was really funny to hear her say "Well, there's the penis again."  It hit me; John & I were really going to have a son!!  So surprising but soooo exciting.  We were both teary-eyed for the remainder of the ultrasound which took so long!  Baby boy was not willing to give us a good picture of his heart at first so I had to get up & move around a bit.  Finally, he moved.  I might have to go back next week if the profile pictures are denied; the tech wasn't sure she got good enough images.

Someone who IS experiencing some gender disappointment is my 2 almost 3 year old niece Emma who heard the news & started crying.  She already has one little boy cousin & a brand new baby brother; she was really hoping for a girl cousin!!  Sorry, Emma!  Luckily, she has a baby girl Eick cousin cooking & due to arrive in March :o)

So, now I can finally start to plan & shop for my little guy.  Here's a few shots of baby boy:

18 1/2 weeks, obviously an open-mouth sleeper just like daddy!!

Baby telling he's a-ok!!