What's In a Name?

This may be the hardest decision we've had to make regarding the baby, to-date.  When we thought we might be having a girl, we new exactly what we wanted to name her.  Then we got the news of our bundle being a little man and that threw us for a bit of a curve ball!  So for the last 6-7 weeks we've been throwing around name, after name, after name.  Then trying all of the different combinations of the ones we liked.  It's exhausting just thinking about it but we have finally come to an "official" decision of what our little guy's name will be... 

 

WILLIAM "CARTER" WAUGH

 

 

 

 

 

Lots of different things lead us to these names for him.  The first of which was a suggestion that we name him after both Steven's favorite movie character and also my family name.  William Wallace was actually kind of cool when paired with our last name, but we knew we didn't want to call him by either of those names.  We liked that Steven's grandfather uses a name that is a derivative of William so that's when it became a front-runner for us.  And then there's his middle name.  I've always liked the name Carter, and I have a few family members on my mom's side that have that name and that seemed to be one I kept coming back to.  It was one of only 3-4 that we could agree on so after much consideration, Carter made it's way to the top of the pile.  We'll be calling him Carter and the picture above is my latest craft project that will likely make it's way above his crib in the nursery.  I've been busy re-finishing all kinds of furniture for his nautical themed nursery so stay tuned for that post!

One thing I underestimated with this process was just how many opinions you receive when naming your child!  We're proud of our choice as are most of our family and friends and we are anxiously awaiting Carter's November arrival, which seems to be approaching as fast as a jet plane flies these days!  We've made it to 21 weeks and are both growing like weeds.  We can't wait for Steven to get back to his former employer in TN and are so excited to see our friends and family in just 2 WEEKS!!! 

Prayers are appreciated for a smooth transition for Steven as he switches into his new role and for our move from Louisiana to Tennessee! 

Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord..."

19 Weeks!

Didn't I  JUST  write a post for the 18 week mark?  Feels like it was yesterday that I posted that, but we've already blown through another week.   

I love the emails that I get from www.babycenter.com updating me on the growth and progress of the little man.  Here is the link to this week's "19 week" update: Click Here to see how much he has grown.

We're almost to the half-way point, but this little guy still has a LOT of growing to do.  Look how cramped the illustration picture makes them look!  I'm sure they're fine but this position looks awfully uncomfortable to me!

I still haven't felt any kicks from him just yet.  A few flutters right when I lay down at night but no really obvious movements.  I know he's squirming when he's awake because we've seen him during the ultrasounds, but for first-time moms to be it may take a little longer to feel the movements.  I've been feeding him some delicious birthday cake so maybe the sugar rush will have him kicking me soon!  (Thanks for the cake, Bebe!  We enjoyed it VERY much!)

He's REALLY Growin' Now!

                                                                   
                                                          18 Weeks! 

How did it get here so fast?  We are almost to the half-way point of this pregnancy and these last 2 months have flown by in such a hurry.  We got to check in on the little man yesterday and due to his squirmy / trying to nap self, we couldn't get a very good picture of him this time.  Our sweet (uncooperative!) boy showed us his hand as we watched him open and close it, as if to say, "Okay, bye! Can I please get back to my nap?"  We were also apparently being too loud for him since he covered both of his ears with his hands to cover up all of the outside noise.  It was precious to see him even if he did just want to be left alone.  He is already 8 oz. (how in the world can they tell that?) and while he's too scrunched up to give an exact length, his legs are looking so long!  I should be feeling those long-legged kicks any day now. 

Lately I've found myself trying to envision what his face will look like.  Wondering if he will look like a carbon-copy of his daddy or if he'll have little characteristics of us both. What he'll look like as a kindergartener and if he'll have a funny personality.  Wondering if I will be able to keep my composure when he proudly brings the first bug inside of the house to show me or if I'll scream bloody murder like I do when I see one now.
It's such a miracle to think we will soon be blessed with a little man with a personality of his own and I can't help but day-dream about it all of the time.

Here are a few more of the pictures from our ultrasound yesterday.  Unless you have a trained eye to tell you what you're looking at, these will probably just look like little glimpses of an alien.

Head is on the right and you can see a piece of his hand and his feet in this one.

 

 

He must have changed direction 5 or 6 times while we were peeking in on him.

 

 

 

Now his head is on the left and I think there's a hand and arm in front of his neck

 

 

And I have no idea what's going on in this picture!  He was SO squirmy!

 

 

 
He got a clean bill of health from the doctor on this check-up and the quad-screen bloodwork (that checks for things like down syndrome and chromosome defects) all came back negative and everything looked to be normal.  We are so thankful for answered prayers for continued growth and what seems to be a healthy baby boy so far. 


Psalm 139: 14
"I will praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."


And in other news, in regards to our upcoming move.....

We found a house!  We had a house-hunting trip filled with 5 packed-to-the-gills days to try and find a place we would like to live in TN.  While it was mentally and physically exhausting, we came across THE house on the 5th day and were able to get an offer out before we boarded the plane.  We are so grateful to our patient realtor, Billie, for giving up the better part of her week to spend in the car with us roaming the Kingsport area real estate.  We will be living close to some of our best friends and are so happy to be under contract in such a good neighborhood!