Its a GIRL!!

Its a girl!!!! I wasn't really expecting to find out the sex of the baby this early but due to unexpected events I got a sneak peak!! I am so excited for Lizzie to have a baby SISTER!!
Top 5 Reasons Having a Girl Will be Awesome!!

1. Liz will have a sister and friend very close to her age!
2. She has a girl cousin and future friend just 2 months farther along than her!
3. Every baby item we already own is pink!
4. Having girls first leads to great future babysitters!
5. We love baby girls and are experienced in the field!

The reason I found out is that I had an amnio performed yesterday. Basically what that entails is an ultrasound sneak peak not to mention a very long needle.
Then, in 8-10 days I will find out for sure if it really is a girl according to confirmed XX chromosomes! Thats a side benefit. We are actually waiting to find out if the baby has any developmental disorders due to some suspicious hormone levels being secreted by the baby. My routine quad screen blood test came out abnormal so they are concerned about possible higher risk for a down syndrome baby. However, we are not really worried at this point because the odds are still over 1:100. (instead of 1:1000 according to our histories/ages) But most likely the cause is related to my due date being off, natural hormone variations, or a number of other benign reasons that cause false positive blood tests. In 8-10 days we will know alot more about our little baby for sure!

We Will Miss You Benny!

My family's dog for the past 13 years, the dog I grew up with, had to be put down today.

A very sad occasion, but I am so glad for the many happy memories he gave our family, especially when we were young kids.

I remember the day we got him as a puppy as being one of the happiest moments of my childhood. You see, I was desperate to get a dog or cat and begged my parents continuously until they finally gave in when I was in 6th grade. It was a true miracle that we convinced my parents to let us get a dog.

One of my favorite memories of Benny is teaching him his many tricks. He was so smart and so hungry that this combination led for a dog who learned new tricks very easily when a treat was involved.

Over the years he learned to sit, lay, stay, shake hands/paws, roll over, beg, play dead, bark on command, dance, twirl, balance a treat on his nose, dig on command, and play hide and go seek..or maybe I should call it hide and go eat. (send him out of the room, hide a treat then have him find it)

I was always so proud of what a smart dog he was and how much he seemed to understand what we would say and do.

You will be missed Benny! You were a great loyal family dog!