What's In a Name?

Well, the day Matt and I discovered we were having a girl we went straight to work trying to pick a name for her. I never knew our opinions in names were so drastically different! We went through three ENTIRE books and only came up with about 5 names that were even considerable among both of us. We knew her middle name would be Rose after my mom so the name also had to sound good paired with that. Among the 5 names neither of us would budge on our favorites so we got input from our family. There was one name that was in all of our top threes that sounded beautiful with Rose and that was the one we chose. If all goes as planned, Ms. Lyla Rose will join us in the world on May 17th! I hope she loves her name as much as we do :) ....

Girl Power!

It's a girl! We are just so overjoyed and in love with this baby. Matt really had his heart set on a boy but the moment he found out it was indeed a misses, he was grinning from ear to ear. You could say she already has him wrapped around her little finger. As for me, the sudden shopping fever was overwhelming! The minute we left the clinic I found the closest boutique and bought something for her. I forsee several more purchases in the near future but I think I've done my part in preparing Matt for a household of girls.

Some fun facts about our ultrasound:

She's 1.7 lbs--right where she needs to be

SUPER active-- the ultrasound tech said it's been a long time since she's seen a baby this active

SUPER flexible--I kid you not, she was practically doing a split in my uterus

AND she has Matt's little chin and face shape

Here's our baby girl waving at us:

Eeks!!!

As an intermission to all of the Christmas posts, I'd like to announce that we're finding out the sex of the baby tomorrow! Words can't even explain how excited we are to find out! We've had to wait a few weeks longer than most people because that's just the way our doctor operates but it'll be so worth the wait. Of course, I'll be back with the verdict!

Spacek Christmas...

This Christmas is always special because we get to catch up with Grandpa Spacek, the only living grandpa between Matt & I. He recently turned 90 but is sooooo sharp and just has the best sense of humor---he seriously cracks me up sometimes. He really reminds me of my late Grandpa Kocian which is why I think I'm so drawn to him. It was also good to see Grandmas, Aunt Charlotte, and Matt's cousins and their kiddos. A few pics of the occasion....

PS. I have 2 Christmas' to go : ) !

Grandpa Spacek w/all of the great grandkids (it was the best we could do):

Grandkids:

Kathy and Bruce busy preparing:

All smiles:

Cowen Christmas

One of the MANY Christmas celebrations we had was at Matt's parents house with Matt's brothers and their wives, Becky and Emily, our nieces, Kelby and Kevyn, and Matt's Mom and Dad, Kathy and Bruce. It's always a good time and Kathy really outdid herself with the meal this year.

The Boys Playing Dominoes:

Kevyn showing off her goodies:

Family picture (me looking especially huge):

Kathy and Matt looking on from a safe place:

Kelby helping Grandpa open a gift (since she's a pro):

Kelby opening one of her many gifts (she opened like 20 gifts in 5 minutes--I think she was trying to break a record):

Kevyn, on the otherhand, liked to sit back and evaluate each of her gifts :):

Matty:

Both girls got sleeping bags from Grandma and Grandpa

Emily:

Kelby (calm before the storm :) ):

So Blessed!

This post has been a long time coming and I have no excuses for putting it off any longer. I'm sure everyone that has any point of contact with Matt or I knows that we're EXPECTING! We are currently 22 weeks along and will find out the gender on January 26th. I, personally, am feeling a multitude of emotions from excited to down right scared. This was definitely a planned pregnancy so there were no surprises but I don't think one could ever be completely prepared for such a life changing experience. Our little monkey isn't even here yet and I feel like I've had to already make life altering choices for both of us. Also, just knowing that I'm in control of his/her fate sends me into a state of panic once in a while. But of course, all this stress is worth it because in just a few months we will have something so much bigger than us to live for. We have truly been blessed in so many ways and I will never take for granted how lucky we are.

PS...I promise to keep the blog updated on the baby's progress and any news pertaining to him/her so please check back!