I knew it!!!

Mini Cooper is a GIRL! She looked healthy and cute as can be during the ultrasound. She is a champion thumb-sucker. We are just thrilled and will upload pictures soon.

Place your bets - boy or girl?

The waiting game is almost over - on Tuesday Toby and I finally get to find out whether we're having a girl or a boy! I know I've already whined to most of you, but having to wait until 22 weeks to find out has seemed like an eternity!

So here's your chance to place your bets and guess the sex! Winners get to take the baby to Disney World.

If you think you can tell from the way I'm "carrying" - here are pictures from last night. (Excuse the tired expression - I was super tired after a day of working in the yard.) You will see, especially in the second photo, that my belly has grown tremendously in the last week or two.

Other tests:

1. If a mother's intuition means anything, I think it is a girl. But I'm always wrong, so my intuition may not necessarily be trusted.

2. We hung Toby's wedding ring from a string over my belly this morning, and it went back and forth in a straight line.

3. The "Chinese baby prediction calendar" says that it is a boy.

4. The baby's heart rate has been estimated at about 150 beats per minute each time we've been to see the doctor- one old wives tale says that faster heartbeats (like 150) mean it is a girl.

5. The numerology section of our British book says that it is a boy.

Use the buttons on the left to vote! We'll post the results on Wednesday!

Milk and Chocolate

Right - so this is Coops crashing in on Krista's blog - seems like all the hard work Krista has been putting in with her firm and, of course, growing Mini-Coops, has taken it's toll, so I'm stepping in to give you guys a taster of things to come following our trip to Houston.

Our trip was for two very important reasons - 1) to um and arr over the Thornton Triplets as they celebrated Halloween and 2) to celebrate their third Birthday. Birthday pics will follow (and most likely a more thorough and well written entry) when Krista is back behind the wheel, but for now here is a taster of those Terrific Triplets enjoying milk and chocolate!

If only lions had opposable thumbs...

Chocolate works well as a bribe for a smile...

Not quite got the hang of the sports bottle yet...

Introducing Baby Tosh!

Beth and James are expecting a little one in January, and we are proud to introduce you to Mini Cooper's cousin!


We are really excited that our babies will be so close in age - it will be so cute to see them grow up together! Beth and James are planning to wait for the baby's arrival to find out whether the baby is a boy or a girl. Right now Beth thinks it is a boy, and James thinks it is a girl. I haven't heard any other predictions from the family, and Toby won't guess without a picture of Beth and her bump, but I'm guessing that it is a boy. I love how he's waving to the camera in this photo!

Latest Photos

The difference in my belly over the last few weeks has been incredible - I swear I'm ballooning, and only 19 weeks today!

Here I am at 16 weeks...


Toby trying to listen for kicks, a heartbeat or first words, perhaps.

And here I am at 18 weeks - hello maternity pants! (By the way, I've decided to go back to being a brunette, and the path I'm standing on is a true work of art as far as I'm concerned. It took us two entire days to remove boulders, flatten giant hills and create this beauty. Check back later for before and after pictures.)

Toby has actually lost weight since I've been pregnant (thanks for that, sweetie). I guess he decided to grow a beard, since I'm growing a belly. Here he is in the middle of his garage project...check back for more photos soon!

18 weeks (almost)!

We had another OB appointment today - Mini Cooper seems to be doing well and has a good strong heartbeat. Unfortunately we have to wait until November 10th for our ultrasound, which sounds like it might as well be 2012! Between now and then, Toby and I are going to look into all the old wives tales and post the results so that everybody can guess for themselves what brand of baby we're having.

First clue - I feel pretty strongly that it is a girl. You should know, however, that I have a 0% success rate in guessing the gender of my friends' babies...so said friends think it is a boy.

More to follow!

Sadie's Magic Trick, Part II

Sadie performed her magic trick yet again today...we had storms during the day and Toby arrived home to find Sadie shut in the bathroom. We were careful to leave the door wide open so that it would be hard for her to accidentally shut herself in. So we think it is official - Sadie intentionally shuts herself in the bathroom during storms. Not a bad place to be during a tornado, I suppose!