GIRL or BOY???

THE DAY IS FINALLY HERE! I am officially 20 weeks, halfway to meeting my second baby and this afternoon we have our ultrasound! I cannot wait to see our baby, hopefully hear that all is well and FIND OUT THE GENDER! C'mon baby, please cooperate for mama!

I was looking back at the post I did with Kenley with all those silly gender wives tales. It was fun to revisit and compare this pregnancy with that one. However, in terms of guessing the gender it just confused me more than I already am! This pregnancy has been very similar to Kenley's symptom-wise, so a lot of the wives tales results are the same. BUT, a lot of those results with K were wrong....so I just don't know!  

So is my little Ziggy a boy or a girl? Let's see what the wives have to say {using all the same things I did with K, all of which were found on parenting.com}.

Chinese Gender Chart

"This ancient method uses your age at conception and the month you did the deed to determine gender. Try it here!"

With Kenley: GIRL!
With Ziggy: BOY!

I  used to SWEAR by this one because it was crazy accurate for friends and family but lately seems to have been wrong quite a bit. But, as far as people I know, it's definitely right more than it is wrong. I mean, it was right for Kenley!

Heartbeat

"Next time your OB pulls out the Doppler to listen to the baby's heartbeat, ask her to tell you what the heart rate is. According to legend, 140+ beats per minute indicates a girl, and below 140 a boy."

With Kenley: GIRL!
With Ziggy: GIRL!
At our last appointment baby's heartbeat was 143. Kenley's was always in the 150's. So while Ziggy's heartbeat is lower than Kenley's was, it's still above 140 bpm. So girl or boy???

Drano

"This one's a little out there. Pee in a cup, mix a tablespoon of Drano in, and watch and see if it changes color. Green= girl, and blue=boy."

With Kenley: GIRL!
With Ziggy: GIRL!
With Kenley I actually went out and bought Drano to do this test and remember thinking I had completely lost my mind. I read recently that mixing baking soda with your pee is also an old wives tale {if it fizzes it's a boy, if it stays still it's a girl} - so I did that instead because it seemed less weird....until I actually did it and realized that mixing anything with your own pee is in fact weird.

Skin

"If you're breaking out like crazy, blame it on your girl babe. The belief goes that girls steal their mother's beauty, hence, those annoying zits." 

With Kenley: BOY!
With Ziggy: GIRL!

I wouldn't say I have been breaking out like crazy, however, my skin has been more problematic than it ever has. I've always been pretty lucky with my skin and even during those teenage years didn't have problems but since being pregnant this time it's super dry and itchy and I've definitely had more breakouts than ever. But I had no skin issues with Kenley despite the wives tales. So girl or boy???

Cravings

"Craving ice cream every single day? Some people believe this means it's a girl. If you have to have salty or sour stuff, then it's a boy."  

With Kenley: GIRL!
With Ziggy: BOY!
I craved sweets like a mad woman with Kenley, which was strange for me since I had never had much of a sweet tooth before then. Unfortunately, the sweet tooth stuck with me after she was born, so the sweet tooth I have with this pregnancy is nothing new. I love my sweets but I'm not desperately craving them like I was with K. I also wouldn't say I've been craving salty things but I have been craving beef. Non-stop. With Kenley it was fruit, hummus and dessert and with Ziggy it's been beef {primarily brisket and meatballs} and whole milk. Meat and Milk just screams boy to me, so that's what I'm going with.

Ring on a string

"Pop off your wedding ring -- if you still can! -- and tie it to a string. Hang it over your belly. If it swings in a circle, a little guy's in your future. If it goes back and forth, you've got a girl." 

With Kenley: GIRL!
With Ziggy: BOY!
When I did this one this time around it started immediately swinging back and forth then started going in a circle. So I did it a second time with Jason as a witness and it  was definitely more back and forth than it was a circle. 

Morning Sickness

"Sick as a dog during the first trimester -- or still? Signs indicate you're having a girl. Little or no morning sickness points to a boy."

With Kenley: BOY!
With Ziggy: BOY!
I've been very lucky to have avoided morning sickness with both pregnancies! I have definitely felt more crappy this time around but I chalk that up to being tired chasing after a three year old while growing a human! But still, this was wrong with Kenley, so is it wrong again???

The Mayans

"Legend has it that the Mayans determined a baby's sex by looking at the mother's age at conception and the year of conception. If both are even or odd, it's a girl. If one's even and one's odd, it's a boy."

With Kenley: BOY!
With Ziggy: BOY!
Welp, the Mayans were wrong about the world coming to an end and about Kenley being a boy, so I don't have a whole lot of faith in this one, but we shall see....

Ramzi Method.
"The Ramzi Method determines gender of a baby at six weeks by looking at an ultrasound picture to see which side the placenta is on. If the placenta is on the right the research has shown that there is a very high likelihood the child will be a boy. If the placenta is on the left then a very high likelihood exists the child will be a girl."
With Kenley: GIRL!
With Ziggy: BOY!

So my buddy, Katie {or as I refer to her, The Ultrasound Gypsy}, has a talent for executing the Ramzi Method which I have never been able to figure out myself. I sent her both early ultrasound pics of Kenley {top} and Ziggy{bottom} to get her read.


The wives say it's a BOY! 

As far as what I'm thinking - I have been sure it's a boy since second one. I picture our family with a little boy, I visualize boy stuff in the house and I am drawn to boy stuff while baby browsing. I've had a couple of dreams where the baby was a girl but mostly my dreams are about a boy! The fact that I am so certain it's a boy makes me feel like it's got to be a girl. HAHA! With Kenley, I thought it was a boy but I was always drawn to girl stuff and dreamt about a baby girl. So really, I just don't know and can't hardly wait another second to find out!

Oh, and Jason also thinks it's a boy {he thought girl with Kenley}.

Now, you're up....

is Ziggy a little GIRL or a little BOY?!?!?!

ps. our gender reveal is the 19th, so you'll have to wait until next weekend to find out if you're right.
Sorry!

The Best of the Best

Today is my very bestest bestie face's birthday (yes her b-day is two days before mine and yes we think that's super cool). In the 17 years (!!!!) that Libby and I have been best friends, I think this past year may just be my favorite. Going through the wedding planning and celebrating process with my bestie was so much fun and so very special. I was crazy emotional during the whole thing (even before the pregnancy hormones) because seeing your best friend so in love and so very happy is incredible. Plus, I'm a crier. Plus plus, I adore ibby's entire family and her hubby and the whole dang thing was just a giant happy love fest. 

Every single detail throughout the whole engagement was perfect. We had an amazing Couple's Shower, the best Bachelorette weekend EVER in Las Vegas and kicked off the wedding weekend with a lovely little Bridal Brunch. But none of that held a candle to the big day. Everything was beautiful, special, executed to perfection and was uniquely Libby and Nathan. 

Naturally, my friend Sara Jayne took the photos and I couldn't resist sharing some of my absolute favorites from the day. It was hard to narrow it down because they are all so beautiful, but the ones that stuck out to me as the best friend / maid of honor are the ones that showcase how happy my best friend and her new husband are and how much they love each other. Plus, of course, the ones of me and Libby ON HER WEDDING DAY! 

{sorry for the overload...it was just too hard to narrow it down}

For those of you wondering, yes, Libby and Nathan are just as frickin' gorgeous on the inside as they are on the out. 

Love you Tibbit! Happy Birthday! 

Recent Reads

I set a goal this year to read 15 books and have now exceeded it. It's funny to think back to my middle school and high school days when I dreaded having reading assignments because now I LOVE to read! A couple of my most recent reads were pretty good ones so I thought I'd share my thoughts in case any of you are looking for a good book to open up this winter! 

The Girl on a Train. I know pretty much everyone and their mother has read this book already but I just got on board {get it} last month as this was our pick for book club. I'd heard a lot of people say "if you liked Gone Girl, you'll like this one" and I loved Gone Girl. I definitely did not like this book as much as Gone Girl though they definitely had a similar feel. This one took me a bit to get into but once I did, I couldn't put it down. I'd say I'm not as over the moon about this book as so many people are, but I am glad I read it and would definitely recommend it.

  

Wild. This is probably my favorite book that I've read this year. I was engrossed in the story from page one and literally couldn't put this book down - we're talking 4 hour reading sessions without realizing it was suddenly one in the morning. It was a very interesting and inspiring story and definitely had me thinking what kind of profound thing I could do with my life that would lead to Reese Witherspoon playing me in a movie. I also watched the movie {I think the same day I finished the book} and while it was good and Reese was incredible it just didn't hold a candle to the book, like is usually the case. If you haven't read this one yet, do it. 

  

The Best of Me. Nicholas Sparks is my favorite author and I love pretty much every one of his books. While this one wasn't one of my favorites, I definitely enjoyed it and recommended it. I also watched this movie after finishing the book and have to say this might be the ONE instance in which I liked the movie better. There were some side stories in the book I didn't love and the movie cut those out. I know I'm not giving this a shining review, but truly if you are looking for a quick read and like love stories, this is a good one.

The Husbands Secret. This book I actually just finished last night, and really enjoyed it. The story follows three women whose lives are intertwined in an interesting web of secrets. It's funny and keeps your interest, definitely one I recommend! 

Have any you read any good books lately? Looking for my next read!