surprise, surprise!

Forget mother's intuition ... we're having another BOY! And he is as healthy and normal-looking as can be. I could not be more thrilled, and Steve is totally excited! Despite my "feeling" that I was having a girl, I really didn't have a preference and would have been happy either way. Now Daniel will have a little brother to run around with, and they'll be so close in age (19 months apart) that I think they'll love having each other as company. I hope so, anyway. Here he is ... I can't help thinking he looks a lot like Daniel did in his big ultrasound (which, incidentally, was my very first post on this blog!).


The ultrasound technician was a cheerful, sunny woman who we could tell truly loves her work, and she kept telling us what an amazing story we will have to tell our son, and how she was thinking, just as we were, that this baby could have saved my life. I do feel a bit breathless and awestruck when I think about it, barely able to believe how well this pregnancy has gone, how amazing it is that this boy has survived so much.

This is such an exciting day! I feel our future coming into sharper focus as I imagine our pair of boys playing together, fighting and rough-housing together, running down the hall to watch Saturday morning cartoons, climbing up on rocks when we go on vacation. "They are going to love Ireland," Steve said as we were driving home this morning, and I totally see that. I imagine myself with my mom voice, saying, "Boys!" A lot. Me, who knew not a thing about boys before I had one of my own. It's going to be wild. I just can't stop smiling.