Pumpkin Patch

Saturday, Ty and I took Jake to a pumpkin patch in Conroe where we met his parents and our friends, the Babb's for the morning. Honestly, the kids had the most fun playing on the playground at the ranch which we could have done for free :) The ranch also had a petting zoo and Jake loved the goats and thought the big pig was funny. We snapped a few pictures in the pumpkin patch. Jake really wanted to pick them up and throw them. I suppose to him it looked like a great big field full of fun orange balls!

Jake and Jackson waiting to go explore the pumpkin patch.

Being friendly with Mr. Goat.

Jake and Lillie Beth loved the slide.

This is my favorite picture of the day even though it doesn't involve pumpkins :)

Jake with Papa Al and Jo Mama

After the pumpkin patch, Jake went to Al and Jonesa's for the rest of the day so Ty could work on painting back at home and I could head to Dallas for my girl's weekend. I stayed with my best friend Jenny in Dallas and our other best friend JoDee came down from Oklahoma City. We've all been friends since kindergarten and got together for the weekend for the New Kid's on the Block concert. We had the most fun! The concert was at the American Airlines center and I've never seen so many screaming 30 year old women in my life! We dressed up in 80s attire on a whim and made fools of ourselves but so did the rest of the sold out crowd. We LOVED the group when we were in junior high and I really think they are even better now. They sang all of the old favorites, had great choreography, and lots of costume changes. I heard on the radio the next day that it was the loudest concert many people had ever been to and I don't doubt it. It was a great getaway weekend, and I enjoyed hanging out with my girls :)

We're thinking PINK!

Today we went down to the Medical Center and did an ultrasound with a Fetal Maternal Specialist. The baby was not shy at all and we found out within the first 10 seconds that we're having a GIRL! I really had a feeling she was girl but didn't want to get my hopes up because I knew I would love another boy just as much. But, I did really want one of each! I know Jake will be a great big brother to his baby sister. This pregnancy just feels so different from the sickness to how I'm carrying her. We've decided to name her Grace Marie McCathran (Marie is my mom's name). Ty is really excited too although his first words after we found out were, "we better start saving for the wedding." I have a feeling our little Gracie will have her daddy wrapped around her finger in no time!

More importantly, she looks totally healthy. The heart is fully formed with four chambers and doesn't appear to have any defects. The doctor did tell us that it is really hard to see ASDs before birth, but she thinks everything looks great. She went ahead and referred us to a pediatric cardiologist at Texas Children's for a fetal echo in a few weeks just to make sure. She said really just having a cardiologist look at her with a fetal echo will get Grace in the system just in case we need a cardiologist for her when she is born. Also, since Jake's cardiologist moved we need a new one for him anyway and this cardiologist comes highly recommended. We loved Dr. Grenier so much, she has some big shoes to fill.

I will put some of the ultrasound pictures up later, but I'm ready to take a break tonight and sit back and watch "The Office" with Ty now :) Tomorrow, I can buy the girl bedding I already picked out, too :) I just knew it was a girl!

Patience is a virtue, right???

UPDATE: I have an ultrasound appointment next Thursday, 16th...I just have to wait one more week!

Just an update on our baby to be...I was supposed to have my ultrasound last week at 20 weeks where we could learn the sex of the baby. You know me...quite type "A" and ready to make plans for my little boy or girl. Well, Dr. Turner decided she would rather me see a Maternal Fetal Specialist for the "20 week ultrasound" so that the baby's heart can be checked thoroughly to make sure there are no defects. Ty had talked to her at an early appointment about this since we know Ty and Jake's defects are genetic and there is a chance this baby could have one as well. The only problem is I have to wait a few more weeks to see the specialist and I'm not being too patient. I'm still waiting for the specialist's office to call me back to make my appointment. I called last Friday and they said to wait for their call. When Jake was sick, I learned how long it usually takes to get called back for test results, appointments, etc...usually quite awhile!

I know the absolutely most important thing is that our baby is healthy, not if its a boy or girl, but I'm not really sure I want to know if he/she has a heart defect yet. I think I would rather wait until birth and then we can check. I'm a worrier and would have that to dwell on during the rest of the pregnancy. Ty thinks its a great idea because we can already have an appointment with the cardiologist scheduled which is also a good point.

It all boils down to the point that God is obviously teaching me patience in this situation, and I need to pay attention to what he is telling me. I know patience is one of the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians, but its the one I tend to ignore. Maybe that is my problem! God probably doesn't want me just choosing which virtues I want to display in my life. I can't decide to have a little joy and a little love, but put the patience and self-control on hold. So until we find out when we can have the ultrasound, I imagine I better spend a little extra time in prayer asking God what else he is teaching me. I know we'll find out if the baby will wear blue or pink soon enough :)