Fingerprints

Hello, Sweet One!

Daddy and I cherish each Friday morning as we read about your developments for the week. You're 13 weeks and 1 day old today. The last week of our first trimester! It's a victory for both of us. (Please let Mommy start feeling well soon, ok?)

The most exciting development this week is that your fingerprints have formed! I love thinking about of the the painting those little fingers will be doing; we'll have so much fun making crafts for your grandparents and things to put on our fridge. I can't imagine how tiny your fingers are right now. You're still less than three inches from head to bottom, so they must be so little! It's incredible to think that your fingerprints--so uniquely you--are already there.

It made me think about the song Fingerprints of God by Steven Curtis Chapman.

I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know it's true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of God

Never has there been and never again
Will there be another you
Fashioned by God's hand
And perfectly planned
To be just who you are
And what He's been creating
Since the first beat of your heart
Is a living breathing priceless work of art and...

Just look at you
You're a wonder in the making
Oh, and God's not through, no
In fact, He's just getting started and…

I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know it's true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of God.

Mommy and Daddy love you!

Love, Mom

Look How Much You've Grown!

Hey Little One,

Daddy and I went to the doctor this morning for Nuchal Translucency Screening today. Our doctor said it was a good idea to do this test to see how you were developing and see if there were any chromosomal abnormalities such as Down Syndrome. We told the doctor that even if there was, we would keep you without a question and love you the way that you were. Our doctor said not to worry--he would never pressure us towards an abortion. We are thankful for a doctor who values life!

I had no idea what I was in for as far as NT Screening was concerned. I had been told that there would be bloodwork, but that was it. So when they called me in and had me lay on a table, I was surprised to learn that we'd be getting an ultrasound today!

The way that the monitor was pointing, I couldn't see the screen at all, but Daddy stood by my feet and watched the screen with a huge smile as the technician moved the wand over my tummy. Daddy had his hand on my leg and would tell me what he was seeing. "I can see the heart beating! Our baby has a perfect little nose! I can even see the ears!"

It was hard not to be envious of his view. But I'm so glad that he was there to see you! And we have three new pictures of you to share with everyone. Two of them are pretty blurry, but this one just makes my heart glow.

It's so incredible to look at this picture--at how perfectly formed and preciously babyish you are--and remember that you're not even three inches long yet. So tiny! God is an amazing Artist. Look at you, Sweet One! We can see all of your features--tiny nose, ears, lips, so perfectly and wonderfully made. And your spine, your organs, your adorable little belly that I can't wait to kiss, and your hands with visible fingers!

Today was such an exciting day, Baby, and seeing you again was such an unexpected gift. We love you!

Love, Mommy

For you created my inmost being;

You knit me together in my mother’s womb.

¹⁴ I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you

when I was made in the secret place,

when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;

all the days ordained for me were written in Your book

before one of them came to be.

Psalm 139:13-16

Night Night

Sweet One,

Tonight, I'm thinking about your bedtimes.

Daddy and I are going to love snuggling baby-you close and holding you as you fall asleep.

And we're going to love singing songs and reading bedtime stories to bigger-you, too.

And we will always, always tell you that we love you. That's what I want floating above your head as you fall asleep.

I'm thinking about bedtime right now because I talked with my preschoolers about it today.

Some of their mommies and daddies don't say "I love you," before closing the door at night. Some of them don't read stories. Some of them don't sing songs. Many of them turn on the tv and walk out.

Baby, that's never going to happen in our house. We're not going to let you rule the roost and decide your own bedtime, but you will never go to sleep without knowing you are loved.

I love thinking back to the bedtime routines my parents had for me and your aunties and uncle when we were little. Always a story, and always a special song for each of us.

We'll have lots of special songs, Little One. I'm going to have to ask your Papa to record all of the ones from my childhood that I may have forgotten, and I can tell you right now, your Daddy is chock-full of silly camp songs that I'm sure will have you giggling and dancing again instead of drifting off beneath your covers.

Oh, we're going to have so much fun with you!

The thought of warm and cuddly little you snuggled up in a blanket and smelling so good straight after a bedtime bath is filling me with happy thoughts right now. I can't wait!

Right now, I'm tucked into bed and waiting for Daddy to come home from a late-night meeting. The house is dark and quiet, and I'm thinking of you. I want to sing to you the song Papa sang to us every night as he kissed us and slipped out of the room. You'll be hearing it a lot in the future, too, Little One.

"The Lord bless thee,

And keep thee,

The Lord make His face

To shine upon thee.

And be gracious unto thee,

and be gracious unto thee.

The Lord lift up His countenance

Upon thee and give thee peace."

I love you. Good night.

~Mom

Our First Peek

Here's looking at you, kid!

What an exciting thing it was to see you for the first time! Our very first ultrasound was on February 24th, and the moment you came up on the screen, Daddy's hand found mine and we just squeezed each other with delight. You were wiggling all over the place, and your left hand was waving around like you were trying to say hi!

It was so much fun to see you...and such a relief to see that that as sick as I've been, it hasn't affected you (do you know that you put Mommy in the hospital twice in one week? I couldn't keep anything down, and we were both dehydrated. They had to hook me up to IVs to take care of both of us--I was so scared for you!). You look just as happy and healthy as can be!

Aside from your appearance on-screen, you're also making your appearance to the world. I'm starting to show! I still haven't gained weight (lost about 8 pounds due to morning sickness) but my tummy is round and you're letting everyone know you're in there. I wonder how much longer I'll fit in my jeans?

Daddy and I both have your picture saved on our phones, and we love looking at it. Even more, I love knowing that you already look different from what we saw over a week ago. You're growing into the little one we're going to love so much, and I can't wait to hold you!

You're 11 weeks old today. September feels so far away...but I'm looking forward to (hopefully) feeling better in the next few weeks and cherishing the time that I have with you growing inside of me. I pray every day that our relationship will always be wonderfully close, but I know that these are the days we'll be as physically close as ever!

Keep on growing, little one. Daddy and I pray for you every day!

We love you!

Love, Mom

Valentine's Day

Letting our family know about you was our Valentine's Day gift to them this year. Everyone is so excited to meet you!

We couldn't find a day where everyone could get together for our special announcement, so we did the next best thing: sent packages to everyone with our special little secret tucked inside.

The last few days have been so much fun as your grandparents, great grandparents, aunts and uncle call us and let us know that their packages arrived. It's so much fun to get to talk about you!!!

Here are the onesies we made for everyone. I wish we could have seen the looks on their faces when they opened them!

Sweet one, I'll give you the "inside" on why we chose the wording for each. I know you'll pick up on these things as you get older, but here it is all at once for you. ♥

When Uncle Jon, Aunt Kate, and Aunt Laura and I were little, we always went to the fair when Papa did his pottery demonstrations. The sign next to him always said "Pastor/Potter Mark Mueller and his Four Potterettes."

I love thinking about the two of you getting to "play with clay" together some day!

Your Grandma's grandmother, Nana, always said "I love you a bushel and a peck!" Now that my mom is a grandma, too, I thought it would be fun to carry on the tradition.

Your Grandma B is a fantastic quilter. I know she's just dying to sew up all kinds of things for you!

When your Uncle Jon was a little boy, he absolutely loved Bert from Mary Poppins. His highest aspiration was to grow up to be a chimney sweep! He'd dance around with a broom singing "Kick your knees up, step in time!"

Auntie Kate's favorite expression is "Magic!" We all lovingly call her "Magic Kate." She was tickled pink by this little onesie. (Also, someday you'll have to get her to show you her very first photo op as a magician with Aunt Laura!)

Your Auntie Laura loves to travel. She's already been to more countries than I have, and she just lives and breathes her European experiences. She also starred in a friend's film where she played the part of "Bernie: World Traveler."

Three hearts--one for you, Great Papa Don, and Great Gramma Pat. They love you so much already!

Your Great Ami is very excited about you, too!

Your Daddy's godparents, Jan and Robert, are going to love you just like a grandchild. How lucky you are to grow up in the midst of so many people who love you!

Aunt Megan has already told me how excited she is to get started on some crocheted gifts for you! We've got to work on making her an "official" auntie, too! Get on that, Uncle Jon!

All packaged up and ready to be sent. No one had any idea that inside of these little gifts was the news of our precious little bundle!

We all love you so much!!!

Love, Mom

We're getting ready to tell everyone about you!

It's a very special time, and we're finding a special way to tell our family.

Won't they be excited to meet you? They've been asking us about you for YEARS!

Your timing is perfect, little one.

I'm thankful that Daddy and I have had nearly three years to just love each other first, and now our hearts are ready for you. We're so excited to get to tell your grandparents, your uncle, your aunties, your great-grandparents, and all of our extended family!

You are going to be one beloved little baby.

You already are :-)

Love, Mommy

Grow, Baby, Grow!

I wish you could have seen your daddy's reaction today as he read about your growth and progress.

He made me breakfast this morning (Cream of Wheat is all that I can stomach right now!) and climbed back into bed with me. Pulling the laptop out, he smiled and said, "Let's read about how our baby is growing this week."

I rested and slowly ate my breakfast while Daddy clicked to a pregnancy calendar and started reading about 7 weeks.

"'By this week, your baby’s heart has developed a right and left chamber, and the esophagus and trachea are changing and differentiating into separate tubes, with lungs positioned on either side,'" He read, "WOW!"

"'Facial features are becoming more defined, and at this stage tiny nostrils are visible and there’s color in the irises of the eyes.'" He stopped again and smiled at me, "That's so cool!"

He kept going, clearly amazed. "'Hands and feet are also forming on the ends of what just a couple of weeks ago were only the very beginnings of small arm and leg buds. The umbilical cord, your baby’s life line to you, is beginning to take shape.'"

It was a special time to share with him, because although we know that you're growing inside of me, I don't think it had really dawned on us how much of you there already is. The hands that we will love to hold and kiss and squeeze are already growing. Soon, you'll have the fingers and toes we'll love to play with. Your eyes are developing, and they already have color! Daddy and I both have blue eyes, so we're guessing yours will be, too, but you might luck out and get gorgeous green eyes like your Grandma B or Great Ami. It's so exciting to think about these things, and anticipate seeing you for the first time!

Keep growing, little one.

I love you.

Love, Mom