23 Weeks!

Dear Adelaide,

I am 23 weeks pregnant with you... that's almost 6 months! That's almost your birth day. Not really, but every week that passes gets us that much closer to meeting you. I know these next 4 months are going to fly by faster than ever now that I'm about to start teaching again. I have one more day of vacation before I go back to school to get everything ready for the kids. They will start next week.

[Here I am in your newly painted room, in front of your perfect white crib!]

Being the art teacher, I have over 700 students, and only a handful of them know that I'm pregnant. I definitely won't be able to hide it once they start back, so I know I'll have a lot of questions from them. :)

Things have been really exciting for us this week. Thursday, August 12th, we had our ultrasound and found out you were a girl! I was shocked because I was so sure that you were a boy. I just knew it deep down, and so did Mimi (your grandmother, your dad's mom) and Gigi (your great-grandmother). We were all wrong! Well, we think. We had to go to an actual "doctor" for the ultrasound because the midwives don't do them at the birth center. She was a really awesome and funny doctor and said she was 90% sure you were a girl. Your dad keeps saying that we're 10% sure you're a boy - but he's really excited that you're most likely a girl. I guess we'll really find out at the birth!


We're having fun picturing you as a little girl in my belly, calling you Adelaide already. It was not difficult for my mind to make the switch, like I thought it would be if I were wrong. It is kind of odd to use the word "daughter." That makes it so much more real! Your dad's really excited to have a little version of me. He hopes you look a lot like me, because he thinks that would be really cute!

Also, Mema (your other grandmother, my mom) came to visit for 4 days and she helped us paint your room. We did a soft, neutral gray, and I love it! It came out perfectly.

[Getting started - see all the paint swatches on the wall? Choosing a gray is so hard to do!]

Mema also painted a little chair for you. It was my chair when I was a baby, and it was red. Then when my brother came along, your Uncle Michael, she painted it blue. And then when your Aunt Rachel came along, she painted it pink. Now it is teal for you and waiting on the front porch for you to get big enough to sit outside with us. It's adorable!

[Here's Mema sanding down the chair, getting it ready for the teal paint.]

And finally, your Gigi and Papa (my grandparents, your great-grandparents) stopped in for a quick visit. They were visiting family in New York and on the way back down to Florida where they live, they stopped here in North Carolina. They visited for about an hour and a half. They brought us a glider that your Great-Uncle Ray sent down for us, and also the stroller/carseat set that we registered for. They and your Great-Aunt Kelly bought that for us! What a special gift from them!

[Here they are! As you can see, I get my height from them. I wonder if you'll be short like me and the rest of my family, or tall like your dad and his family?]

It has been such a full week! I hope that I can stay this motivated at getting things done for you. I now have to find the perfect teal fabric to make your curtains, and your dad has to build some benches/storage for your room. There's so many other house projects to be done before you get here, just so we don't have to worry about them when you're really here. We want to be able to spend every second thinking about you, and nothing else!

We love you, Adelaide Jane!

Love,
Moma