we'rehavingababyitsanARK

The Name Game -- Picking baby names was one of the very first things that we did -- I'm pretty sure we decided on names before we even told our friends that we were pregnant. After a day or so of deliberation, we decided:

Boy - George Adam Jr.

Girl - Anna Renee

We (my sister and I) even picked nicknames...

Boy - Curious George (and he would be required to carry a monkey everywhere)

Girl - Anna Banana (which also works well with the monkey theme)

The Waiting Game -- Initially, we wanted to find out the sex of our baby around the time of the wedding -- but late November was a little too early for that.

That's when I decided we should get a gender scan right before Christmas! We (or I) planned to have the technician write down the sex on a piece of paper and store it in a sealed envelope. Then, we would wait to open it on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day -- quite a present!!!

In retrospect, I'm not sure that Adam was ever totally on board with this plan -- but he went along with it...and only attempted to sabotage it a couple of times!

So, we scheduled the gender scan for Monday -- December 22nd. We could have gone in as early as the 15th, but (knowing the limitations of my own will power) I requested a later date.

FINALLY - Dec 22nd arrives - we get to our 4:15 appointment and have to wait for what seems like forever. When we meet the technician, we tell her that we want the sex to be a surprise and ask her to follow our plan -- she agrees! The ENTIRE time we are in the room - Adam is whispering to me, "I kind of just want to know now -- what do you think...maybe we should just tell her we changed our minds." Somehow, I manage to convince him to stick to the plan. The technician prints our pictures and seals them in an envelope -- and we argue the whole way to the elevator about who gets to keep the envelope with them.

We make it from the elevator to the car before we peek...so much for will power and Christmas surprises...

Sidenote: Anyone that knows me should have guessed that we wouldn't last until Christmas -- I am the WORST at keeping surprises. I have told Adam every single gift that I have given him at least 2 days prior to the actual giving. I get it from my grandmother on my dad's side...she was the exact same way. One year we gave my mom a new handheld vacuum cleaner for her birthday. I kept my mouth shut (after receiving a series of threats from my older siblings) and everyone was SO proud of me. Then, right as she started to tear the paper -- I SHOUTED, "just one hint...it sucks things up"! I just COULD NOT wait any longer...

Anyways -- back to the peeking:


It's a GIRL!!!!!! We are having an ARK (Anna Renee Kurz)!!!!

We are both speechless -- it's that excited/terrified/anxious feeling all over again -- Adam mumbles something about a doberman and a gun collection...I start thinking about how I have no idea how to french braid hair -- then, it's back to being excited...and maybe still a little terrified. We head towards our parents' houses to surprise them with the early news!

It won't totally sink in for another 3-5 days!