Such a big miracle in such a small child!

With the holidays coming up, blogging has taken a backseat to everything else in my life. But, I thought I should update today while David is still snoozing.
We had our big ultrasound appointment on the 16th. The days leading up to the appointment seemed to move so slowly, and now time is permanently set on fast forward. Seeing our baby in baby-form was amazing. There was actually a little human on the screen instead of a tiny dinosaur! It was amazing to see the little one kicking and fist-pumping! And now, after calling the baby "peanut", "little ginger", and "baby G" for 20 weeks, we can now call our baby...

GRACIE!



As you can see from the picture, we were completely shocked! A baby girl was really the last thing we had expected. We had all the little boy clothes to prove it! Gracie will be the second girl born into the Storm family in 55 years, and the first in about 25 years. She is just absolutely amazing already!

This is my favorite picture of Gracie :) Her nose, ears, chin, lips...her EVERYTHING is just so precious. I cannot wait to kiss those cheeks!

She loves lying on her belly...just like mama!

Sweet little baby foot! I can't wait to tickle those feet and paint those toenails!

Long legs...just like daddy!

She already knows she's beautiful! :) During all the face pictures I could see her smiling. What an angel!

It was so special to have Oma with us for the ultrasound appointment. She was just as shocked as we were! I don't think anyone expected the baby to be a girl. Even Grandpa was taken back by the news! Grandma and Grandpa Storm were both thrilled as well :) Our little girl is already so loved!
18 more weeks until we can all snuggle Gracie. I don't know how I'm going to wait that long!

18 weeks - almost halfway there!

As of Wednesday I am 18 weeks pregnant! I can now feeling our baby move around like crazy! Our little one is already on an opposite sleep schedule than myself, so I'm really trying to enjoy my sleep now while I can!
Other exciting news - David and I rented a fetal heart monitor for the rest of this pregnancy. I can't imagine being pregnant without it! Whenever I start to worry because I haven't felt the baby in a while I just listen to the baby's heart beat before I go to bed at night. David really enjoys listening to it too.
And we scheduled the BIG ULTRASOUND APPOINTMENT! I am SO thrilled! Our appointment is on November 16...so only 11 days left! Then I can finally start calling the baby it's name - either Gracie or Gabriel.
As far as cravings go, I haven't experienced anything too crazy. Before becoming pregnant I hated milk. I thought it was the most disgusting thing. Now I can't get enough. I go through a gallon every couple of days! Now after writing about this I can't stop thinking about it. I think I might need to go have a cup...
Here is the most recent belly picture :) Enjoy!

17 weeks, 4 days