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sunday monday tuesday GUINNsday!

just recently, we held a family meeting (you know- "jules, grab pipes and meet me in the living room we've got MUCH to discuss"!) we first sat and dreamed about the year ahead. trying so hard to imagine what life would look like with our little girl in the house...but realizing, of course, that we have absolutely no idea what we're in for.

then, we pondered some family traditions and things we would like to carry out and see happen as we start our little family. "family-home-evening" (something we actually picked up from our mormon friends and family) is one thing we truly value and are eager to start up. that is, one night a week dedicated to the fam. "guinnsday" -- is what trey has affectionately named it.

so, we're starting now. every wednesday until the baby is born we're going out on the town or doing something special at home...just the two (well, three) of us.

tonight happens to be "State of the Union" so we're, without a doubt, incorporating that into our evening plans.

happy GUINNSDAY!!!

ooooh we're half way there. whoooa livin' on a prayer!!

hello, friends and fam.

just wanted to give you a little update on guinn, the babe, and i. last week marked 20 weeks. they consider this 1/2 way. 40 weeks being the due date which is technically 10 months (not 9)...and 36-37 weeks being full term!

anyway, as you probably know, we had the gender appointment on monday and found out that our little GIRL is growing perfectly on track (due may 28th) and is healthy!! we were thrilled to hear the news and continue to thank God for blessing us with this precious baby that is already bringing us so much joy!!

here is a little profile picture--

and this is a video clip of her tiny strong heart beating!! it's hard to believe that all of this is going on inside of me.





and here is the baby bump! as guinn would say [sung in a tootsy roll kind of way] "let me see your baby bump...to the left to the left...now kick baby kick!!"

a little lady!!!

this morning we woke up at 6:30am to make our way to the gender appointment!!! this appointment would include finding the gender (of course) as well as measuring the tiny baby and counting all fingers and toes-- checking it's spine, kidneys, lungs, heart chambers, skull...you catch my drift. needless to say, trey and I could hardly sleep-- anxious to hear and see that everything was growing on track!

i decided to start my morning off with waffles, lots of syrup, and some oj...just to be certain that our little lady would be wide awake and ready for all the action. sometimes they are asleep with their legs crossed and you can't tell what they are. not this little girl. spread eagle, apparently. we informed the tech that instead of telling us the gender she would be placing a card that read girl or boy in an envelope [per guinn's request] so that we could celebrate this fine moment in a more eventful fashion than 7am in her presence.

so we did. 5:30 pm rolled around and off we went to botticelli's on south congress. it didn't take us long to tear open that envelope. my rule was that we had to wait until our drinks and appetizers arrived. guinn did the honors and didn't skip a beat. as i was biting into some fried calamari (while googling to make sure the mecury content wasn't on the higher end) guinn was on the move!!

and much to my surprise, he pulled out a little pink paper and said GIRL!! i was shocked. i don't know why i've thought it was a boy all along but regardless here came the water works... i've never really even thought about it being a girl. my mind always went boy...and now immediately in that moment i was realizing just how exciting it is that it's a GIRL!!

after dinner we headed to mozarts for some decaf latte's and also called and texted ALL OF YOU!
and then guinn said, "let's go to the mall and buy our little girl some clothes!!" so we did ;o)

here are some pictures from one exciting eve!!

about to pee my pregnant-pants due to guinn's shenanigan's

baby guinn!!!

as you may or may not know-- september 19th has always been a big deal for guinn and i-- in '98 it was our first date, in 2003 it was our 5 year anniversary and also the day that trey proposed. just last year we celebrated 10, making this 11. we didn't really do anything big although we did get the best news of our life.

i had taken a pregnancy test that showed what, to me, was an extremely ambiguous result. i ended up calling my dr and letting her know that i may be pregnant but wasn't sure. since the office is walking distance from our house they had me come in and take a blood test.

i didn't tell trey that i was going because i knew that if for some CRAZY reason i truly was pregnant i wanted to tell him in some sort of grand fashion.

i marched into the dr's office...preparing myself the whole way that i'm probably not really pregnant so not to get too excited. i was so happy to see my favorite little christian nurse inside who told me that she had been praying that trey and i would get pregnant in God's timing. i was so happy she was on duty!

the whole trying to get pregnant is kind of an emotional rollercoaster that is completely out of your control...especially when you try for several months. all that to say, a lot of self talk is necessary when a new month rolls around and you're are set to find out 'am i or am i not'? i had begun assuming not, which is why this whole possible positive result was really throwing me for a loop on that coaster.

anyway, my little nurse friend sat me down and said, "so you think you're pregnant?" i said, "actually, i don't think i'm pregnant but i know that if for some reason i am i might have to start progesterone so i didn't want to chance it" she drew my blood and i sat there for 10 minutes waiting for the result. again, praying and telling myself that either way is fine. don't get excited...it's more than likely negative. i can handle it.

and then it happened. she said, "julee, congratulations-- YOU'RE PREGNANT!" i cried and cried and cried. i'm not usually much of a crier but a. i had just heard the best news of my life, and b. my hormones were apparently racing.

i got back in my car and sat there and cried and praised the Lord for this most exciting day!

after i pulled it together, i just kept thinking--trey has no idea that tonight i am going to rock his world with the best news of his life. he has been MORE than ready for baby guinn.

so here's the quick-- i wrote him a letter going through our 11 years together.... 11 years ago, 10 years ago...all the way down to and this year is the year of BABY GUINN. blah blah blah. piper was sporting a little fleece that read big sister (a little joke between guinn and i since we pretty much view her as our first child), and then of course a celebration beer in a bottle ;o)

it was quite an evening and we really have not stopped celebrating since.

telling mom

okay, so while keeping this secret has been easy on some ends...keeping it from my mom for even a day was near impossible.

that very night, trey and i decided that we could tell 1 person...so i chose mom! she has been my go-to while trying to get pregnant. with her pharmacy background she tends to know a great deal in the field of medicine so i found myself calling her quite often with each dr's visit and with any situation that arose, really.

she and tim graciously gave us little piper 3 years ago and she knows just how much we adore her. i, too, call her with any vet questions as her and tim are quite educated in that area as well. so it wasn't out of the norm when i called and said, "hey i'm going to send you a picture of something kind of strange that i need you to look at on piper's back" (i sent her the picture of trey and piper in her big sister fleece). guinn recorded our phone convo-- seen below. we also added rach and richmonds reaction to the end of this video.

papa joe bebe bud and coco!

well, this may have been one of the most exciting moments in guinn history. here's how it went down--

the gossett's and davila's had not been together in quite some time and had actually been trying to set something up. we were coming to town so suggested that we all get together. i had a feelin (ooooh ooh) that they might suspect a possible announcement so i was thankful that coco was mixin up some margartitas so that i could pretend to sip on one....putting all there speculations at rest. after appetizers and drinks (and just before dinner) guinn says-- "hey, we haven't taken any pictures together in a long time..let me snap a few of the fab four"
ahhhh this is where guinn and i are getting so so so excited.

now, story continued via pics below::
so here was the first picture--

and then (as planned) guinn says, "jules, get in there with them"!
omg. i knew what was coming next!!

and THEN, he says "okay, on the count of three say "JULEE'S PREGNANT!!"
coco was almost certain that guinn was being guinn and making jokes. i think papa joe and bebe bought if from the get go. and bud, is trying to figure out if he's serious...

so i turn to coco and say "IT'S TRUE IT'S TRUE!!"

i love this pic of the proud grandma and grandpa!!

and now some gifts!

this is when coco was like "oh my gosh, are you okay, do you need to sit down?!? what can we get you??

ooooh the circle of life.

aunt meej and uncle jo!

so sticking with the theme-- because it's proven to be just too much fun-- we decided to tell the varga's in similar fashion as the parents.
trey had them striking poses and was just snapping away. on this particular shot is when he pulled the "on the count of three say JULEE'S PREGNANT" card
mija, clearly is still focused on the pose while josef is looking to me for the confirmation nod saying "he's serious!"

i confirm and away she runs......

and here come the water works. aunt meej has been so excited about a possible baby guinn and i'm just here to make dreams come true. ha.

pure joy. little baby guinn is already surrounded by so much love!

and finally, a huge hug and congrats for her brother!!!

uncle matt, aaron, and teej!!

we waited to tell the brother's at thanksgiving...14 weeks pregnant which was a rather long wait. but, it was the soonest we could get them all together.

i decided to put trey in the pic and try the whole video idea....although, it didn't work out so well since i immediately shut off the cam so i could hug all the uncle's.. i'm pretty sure my brothers didn't know whether or not to believe me....they all just kind of sat there like, "is she serious?"

dad played along since clearly he already knew. oh, and uncle ted (top left) was a surprise guest at thanksgiving so i threw him in there!

enjoy.

practicing parenthood with lila ann.

HOLLY GUINN!

of all the baby guinn announcing stories this is definitely the best one of all but, sadly, will not be told via this blog. if you care to know, ask me "off blog".

NO we are not naming our child Holly but it was just a part of the joke.

so a few days after finding out that tiny guinn was in womb we met the mcgee's to spread the news.

of course, we said on the count of 3 say "HOLLY GUINN" and all at the same time i pulled off my top layer and had holly guinn written on my under-tank.

and this was their reaction::

rach is kind of focused on the fact that she has lost her marathon training partner to childbearing.

and here is a little series of "self timer pictures" we didn't know until it was happening but we set it to take 5 pictures in a row. so we just kept posing.

cheese please!

people keep asking me if i've developed any cravings. my immediate thought is always-- no. i'm pretty sure the truth is that i don't like the idea of something controlling me or the idea that i NEED a certain food. so when you say craving-- i think weird, pregnant, moody, needy. but besides all that, i must confess i have had a "strong desire and leaning" toward cheese these days. call it a craving if you wish. ;o)
i have always been a lover of cheese but recently i must say i looooooove cheese. last visit to the grocery store i actually bought a HUGE block of swiss! as i threw it in my cart i thought to myself, "ughh...this is soooo pregnant of me" oh well.
i also invested in some borsen (hershiser family style) and find myself regularly snacking on cheese and crackers....or sometimes just a slice off the ole block plain and dry.

one day i'll blog again....

stay tuned ;o)