drumroll, please......

All right, everyone. I tempted you with our ultrasounds, telling you everything but baby's gender. It was mean, and I did feel a little bit bad. But we wanted to tell our family in person. Now that's taken care of, I can tell you.

We're having a........GIRL!!!!!

We are, of course, very excited to welcome a little lady into our family. I would honestly have been happy either way...I love the idea of brothers, and boys are so much fun to have around the house. But I had been praying for a girl, I think in large part because my mom has left such a beautiful legacy, and I want so much to be able to share that with a daughter of my own. Lying there in the doctor's office, with an ultrasound wand on my belly, I felt like God was comforting me in some sweet way. He is very good.

Oddly enough, though, knowing I'm having a girl makes me appreciate my little boy even more. I have been delighting in all his boy-isms lately: the roaring, the running, the climbing, the obsessions with trucks and airplanes. Sometimes I get a little nervous about having a girl...this is uncharted territory with a lot of hormones involved. I'll be looking to you other mom's of daughters for some advice on what to do in the coming years, I'm sure!

Well, we're off for vacation at the beach. More pictures later......

Baby's First Picture

What a cute baby! I don't know if you can see this much detail on the web, but if you look closely you may be able to see what I think is the baby's palate, frontal skull, traces of an ear, and (what really blows me away) the cerebral cortex.

You can even see the little foot bones if you look closely...

I almost didn't put this one in because it looks so freaky, but hey, that's what babies can look like at this age! :) "Skeletal", as our ultrasound tech said. Hopefully Baby won't come out still looking like that.

The Big Ultrasound

(note: these are Isaac's ultrasound pictures. Sorry, but the scanner wasn't working, so we'll try again tomorrow for Baby Whitaker's shots)

Well, today was a very exciting day---THE day that we got to see our little bean and find out a gender for the next Whitaker. As could be predicted, my amazing late sleeper woke up early, we all had colds, Isaac was grumpy, etc. But I got him safely off to the neighbors and went to pick up Vance. So far, so good. But Vance was running late because of his time-sensitive reaction in the lab, and even though it was 10am, traffic was horrid due to the rerouting from the bridge collapse. We got there exactly 15 minutes late, and the receptionist made a comment about it. We had to wait for a long time, and I kept staring at the sign at the desk--"If you are more than 15 minutes late for your appointment, you may be asked to reschedule." At any moment I expected the nurse to come out and say, "Sorry, we had to fill up your spot, you'll have to get a new appointment." Which takes about 6 weeks for an ultrasound. Ugggg. I think I was just nervous :). But finally, finally, the ultrasound tech came for me, and we got to go in.

It was Michelle, the same tech who did our ultrasound with Isaac. She's very nice and very good. She said, "Do you want to know gender?" and like last time, we said, "If you're sure you know, we want to know." I was half expecting this baby to play coy and maybe not show us at all, since I'd been in such suspense. But as soon as she put the ultrasound wand on my belly, bam, there was Little One with legs splayed wide open. It was quite a presentation!

Anyway, Baby is happy, healthy, hiccuping, and "spot on" (according to Dr. Preston Williams, the patriarch of the clinic) for the due date. Weighing in at 11 oz, everything looks great. We got a good look at the aorta--which had been a concern with Isaac--and the heart was beautiful.

At this point, you're ready to know, "IS THIS BABY A BOY OR A GIRL?!?!?"....and this is the really mean and diabolical part that I'm enjoying right now. I can't tell you. Yet. We've decided to tell our family in person when we see them in a week, and since they check this site, I can't exactly let the rest of you in on our little secret. But I will tell you--I will!--as soon as I can. I'm sorry for the delay and suspense (well, kinda :).

little friends

Our friend Ava came over recently for a few hours, and Isaac was in awe. He had all the classic signs of romantic attatchment: inability to eat, an expression of wonder, the shameless following of Ava wherever she went. They had a great time playing outside in the sand.

I was amazed to see (limited, true, but) actual teamwork in a pair of toddlers. I had to document it.

Isaac is in seventh heaven: a girl who likes sand and dump trucks?! Could it get any better?

This is from awhile ago, but one evening I was watching Isaac and our neighbor Caleb. They're about 5 weeks apart. It was fun to watch them play peek-a-boo in the bathroom, especially since they now like to spend so much time ripping toys away from each other! :/

I wonder why they liked playing in the bathroom so much? It's about the size of an airplane bathroom (can I hear some "amens" from our past visitors? :). But I suppose when you're little, the size seems just about right.

shades of gray

So, in preparation for our trip to the beach in a few weeks, I've been trying to get Isaac used to the idea of sunglasses. At first he took them right off, but now he thinks they're a game, and he laughs hysterically when he puts them on. In a couple of these I think he is also doing the Isaac Dance to some music--he has the hunched over, hopping look about him. Is it just me, or does my dear son resemble a hippopotamus in some of these pictures?!? I think it may be the teeth... :)

photo shoot

On Wednesday my neighbor Alicia kindly shot a few photos for me for the back cover of my book. Although we were (thank goodness) able to come up with a decent shot (hard enough with with a pregnant woman since none of my clothes fit and my face is getting rounder), I thought I would show you the ones that you won't see on the back cover.

Vance came up behind me while Alicia was working, and even though this picture doesn't go on the book, I like it. Oddly enough, the pictures taken after Vance's impromptu self-insertion looked way better than the ones before. Ah, the power of love.

sermons

Over the last few weeks, our church has been going through a series on fellowship--what it is, and what it takes to have it. I have been really enjoying the series, and thought that I would pass on the links to you so you could download the mp3s if you wanted to.

To download these sermons, click here.

I highly recommend:
- Rick's sermon (July 8) on Love
- Mark's sermon (July 24) on Confession....bummer, that was the week the power went out. I guess you won't be able to download that one.
- Rick's sermon (August 5) on Forgiveness.

More than anything, I think this sermon series has given me a greater vision for what life in Christ is supposed to look like, and how thoroughly it should affect everything I do, think, and feel. Hopefully it's changing me too, and maybe you'll encounter a more loving, humble, and forgiving me next time you see me. :)

For Papa Whitaker

We actually took these pictures on our way down to Iowa last month to visit Chris and Jen James. These are dedicated to Papa Whitaker, who we thought would especialy enjoy these takes of Isaac....for various reasons :)

Practicing for his next visit to Oak Ridge...

Sing it with us! "We're the Red and White from State, and we know we are the best...."


"Hands behind our back, we can take on all the rest....!"