Sergeant Gilchrist.

Ok, it's decided. I'm going to start posting belly pictures. I have some plans in place for a method of how I want to do this, but I won't reveal that yet. It is definitely going to happen, though. I think blogging is a great way for me to share this time with our friends and family that are far away, as well as document the pregnancy for later! Who knows, maybe I'll even turn it into a book or something... For now, here's one:

Baby and me after church at 16 weeks. 

I have 2 showers this weekend! Yes, I said two. My friends and family love me so much. Or they love this little baby inside of me. Either way, the baby and I get to go home and see everyone we love! I am so excited. I feel so honored that my sisters-in-law and my friends are working so hard to make this weekend perfect. I have only had one shower in the past, and that was my wedding shower. It was such a great day. I remember smiling so much and being so happy and humbled that all of those people came to celebrate with me! Kind of like I felt at our wedding. But without boys. Scott cannot get away from work to come home with me, which kind of bums me out. He doesn't seem too upset by it and that's mostly what I was worried about, so I'm thinking less about leaving him behind and more about how excited I am! I'll give all the details of the showers next week-ish. When I get home next week I'll have a couple days to get the house together and grocery shop. Then Scott will come home from training and then one of my favorite friends, Katie, is coming to visit! We've got a busy next couple of weeks. I hope my tired body can make it through.

Baby at 16 week appointment.

We went to another doctor's appointment on Monday. This was the first time I've left the doctor's office and not felt overjoyed. Does this make me a bad mom? We were hoping to find out the sex of the baby, but the doctor couldn't tell yet. If our baby is a boy, this does not make him any less of a man, if you know what I mean... It's still early. I'm only 16 1/2 weeks. We are hoping to maybe find out at the end of the month. We can't decide if we want to share the news with everyone or if we want it to be a surprise. We'll let you know one way or the other when the time comes. The doctor's appointment went well, it was fast. He did the sonogram for a while, because he was trying to find a you know what or a you know what. He forgot to give us pictures and then I asked for them and he went back in and did them quickly. They aren't as clear as the previous ones. It's ok though, we got to watch our baby's heart beat on the monitor. It made the entire appointment worth it. The baby's head is down to the right. His or her body is up to the left. And that stick looking thing running along the baby's upper side is his or her arm! The doctor said the baby was waving goodbye. We didn't have as many questions this time. I think I asked him about sleeping on my back, if I'm sleeping enough, and if I'm gaining enough weight. I've gained 2 pounds since my last appointment, but I feel like I look as if I've gained 20. My belly is getting bigger and life is getting harder. It's more difficult to bend down. It's more difficult to find clothes that fit. It's more difficult to button my jeans. Honestly, I don't button them anymore unless I'm wearing low-waisted jeans that hit below my belly or if they are extra stretchy. I'm still not sold on buying expensive maternity clothes but I did see that H&M has a maternity line... that might just change my mind. A sweet friend of mine is giving me a box of her old maternity clothing that I will get this weekend at the showers. Yay! We'll see how much longer I can put off actually paying for elastic waisted pants.

In husband news:
Scott had 4 cysts on his head. The doctor cut them off last week. Wanna see?

These are the cysts after they were removed from his head. Where do you think they keep stuff like this? Do you think there is a room full of different things extracted from people's bodies?

Here's one of the spots where a cyst was removed. He has like 10ish stitches in his head. 

He's doing just fine. The only time he even mentions them is when it's time to clean them and when he accidentally hits them on something.

He's doing so fine that he decided to go off and get another meritorious promotion. You can read all about it in my last post. Today was his ceremony. It was so neat! I have not gotten to be there for either of the last two ceremonies so I got right up in their faces and took pictures. I'm sure they really appreciated it...

Scott saluting his Company Commander, Captain Peterson.

"My collar's feelin' pretty heavy."

Lastly, we did our first Pinterest project this weekend! I love it! The house is coming along, sorta. We'll put up curtains tonight and I'll take pictures after that. 

Love love.