Salty air

We just got back from a long weekend at  Litchfield Beach. It's a beautiful beach in SC, very close to Pawley's Island. What is it about the beach that can bring some much needed peace and relaxation? It has to be a combination of the salty air, sand between your toes, the sounds of the waves crashing, the smell of suntan lotion. We left sweet Hagen behind and focused on nothing more than relaxing for 4 days. It felt good to get out of a schedule for a few days with no morning alarms.

 

AGD

What started out to be an unproductive weekend, actually turned out to be a success. Jacob got to check off several things from his baby list. He's the ultimate "checker off-er" and I can't help but love him for it!

We are proud to announce that we have a name for baby Deuel. Once we've had a chance to tell our family, we will post on the blog but the initials will be AGD.

We also found her bedding and quickly went home to "dress" the crib we bought a few weeks ago. Now, onto the paint color...

Extra polka dot sheets. We are going to accessorize with cute, printed sheets, pillows and monogram the bumper!

Her first gown and of course, it had to be Gamecock!

It's A....

On Wednesday, we went in to the doctor for Jessica’s 5 month appointment. As we walked in to the doctor’s office, we could not believe that it had already been 20 weeks and we were about to finally find out if we were having a boy of girl.  Up to this point, we were not sure but had a hunch that we were having a boy.  We did the ring test…back and forth…BOY.  We documented the heart rate from each doctor visit….BOY.  We listened to all of the expert analysis from all of the moms that have gone before us….”you eat a lot of cereal?”…BOY…”you haven’t been getting sick?”...BOY…”your baby bump appears to being carrying low”…BOY!  As we sat in the waiting room and waited for the nurse to call us back (it felt like an eternity), you could see the excitement on Jessica’s face and I am pretty sure the other pregnant women in the room wanted to tell me to sit the heck down and stop pacing.  We were actually about to put an end to all of this speculation and find out once and for all!  The nurse called us back and got started right away with the ultrasound.  She started with showing us a nice view of the spine and the top of the head and then she moved down to show the legs and the butt.  Then, she typed it on the screen…IT”S A GIRL!

We are so incredibly happy to announce that we are having a GIRL and she will be here some time around November 12!  Going in to the appointment, we had a hunch that our baby would be a boy.  While we would have been happy with a boy, we are even more excited that our first born will be a girl.  We have so much to look forward to as parents of a little girl!  People have told me that having a daughter is an experience unlike any other for a father.  I have also heard that she will have me wrapped around her finger as soon as we see her.  Matter of fact, I think she already does.

On this summer solstice day

As I sit here at work during the longest day of the year, I am thinking about next Wednesday, June 29th. Jacob and I will anxiously make our way back to the doctor. We are so excited as we're scheduled to find out if we are having a little boy or a little girl.

Finding out has been such a tough decision for us. Should we or could we wait for that moment in November to arrive to find out? The procrastinator in me says, "sure." I think we know too much anyway. The planner in Jacob says, "why should we wait when we can know now?"

Ultimately, we both agreed that we have enough surprises coming our way and knowing the sex of the baby now can only help us, right? It's one thing we can control.

In the meantime, I'll sit back and enjoy the baby's kicks in my belly. What a beautiful feeling to be able to feel movement. One of many things so far that I'll never forget.

Discovering patience

“Patient people have great understanding.” (Proverbs 14:29)

The past 4.5 months have taken a huge, no, an unspeakable amount of patience and trust and we're only half way through this. Being patient is tough, especially when we live in a world of 4G and U-verse. Speeds so fast, we have almost forgotten what it's like to wait for things. But, with this pregnancy, there is no "skip" button, or 4G speed. It's something that we must wait for, day by day and week by week. The good old fashioned way. God's way.

I think God created these nine months so we can prepare for this new life and to find an undiscovered fruit of our spirit, patience.

Rosenbagger, warm up, you're going in.

This coming October, Jessica and I will have been married for 5 years.  Having a child is something that we have always talked about and we have watched some of our closest family and friends experience the joys of parenthood.  We have sat through numerous conversations and heard the advice from those same family and friends that we should "wait until you are ready".  That brings us to today....

So here we are, almost 17 weeks pregnant and the excitement that we will soon be parents is building by the day.  I would be lying if I said that I wasn't nervous.  I mean, anyone that knows me knows that I am a complete worry wart.  I kind of feel like Henry Rowengartner in the movie Rookie of the Year when he is called in to pitch for the Chicago Cubs (see video below).  He looks terrified!  But this is a new nervous.  Scratch that, this isn't nervousness...it's excitement.  I am excited at the thought of everything that means being a parent.  Most of all, I am excited about starting a new chapter in life with Jessica as we evolve into a larger family. 

That being said, I can definitely say that we are ready to be parents and that we are very excited to bring a new life into the world. Nervous?  Like Rosenbagger, maybe just a little.
   

march madness

We finally broke down and got one on Sunday, March 6. So there I was, standing on the cold, tile bathroom floor just staring and waiting. No reason to be nervous. This is something we wanted so badly. I kept telling myself, it was only 3 minutes.

Yep, it was positive.

So, I ran into the kitchen to find Jacob. With the test in hand, we both stood in complete shock. I can’t believe it but we’re pregnant!

That’s the exact moment when I started to regret running a 5K the day before, in the cold, in the rain. I had no idea I might be pregnant. It seems that the business of life seemed to have gotten in the way of keeping track of things.

Emotional and scared, I realized that this was real and after a long journey of planning for this to happen, here it was. It was happening to us.

Between the crazy basketball tournaments and the crazy thoughts and disbelief swirling in our heads, this gave “March Madness” a whole new meaning.

We hope you will follow us on our journey and enjoy reading our blog.