The name game

Now that we've found out our second child's gender, we have begun in earnest to search for his name. (Well, not every day in earnest. There are other things, like work, and dishes, and toddler snuggles, and prepping the nursery, which take plenty of time.) Like with our last little guy, this is not an easy process for us, although we did of course finally settle on a name we now love.

I have my favorites (Samuel and Luke) and so does my husband (Henry [Hank] and Walter). Unfortunately, they don't align. So we're attempting to find a name that we both truly like.

If you'd like to throw in your two cents, please vote at the poll I posted with some of the names we've discussed. We're open to more suggestions, too—maybe a name we haven't thought about yet will be just perfect for our new son. For the most part, we like classic-sounding names.

Someday, our name will come (just as long as it's before our second little prince comes!).

Stuck in time

Since I gave birth to Jack in 2009, I've been pretty delinquent about scrapbooking (as friends who are moms themselves warned me might happen). I've spent some substantial time on it during days and weekends with friends but overall haven't been consistent enough to stay even remotely up to date. Jack's scrapbook, in desperate need of more attention, has him at just a couple months old. That's not to mention the "regular" family albums, stuck in time at Christmas 2007.

Since my goal is to make one baby book for each child (equal rights!), I decided to finish his scrapbook before our new little one arrives in early June (at which point I think I will be thankful just to shower and survive each day—and make sure my children do the same). In the process, I hope to also get at least a little bit caught up on my family albums.

I plan to do six page layouts a week to chronicle Jack's earliest days. For some of you, this might seem silly, but since I am an extraordinarily slow scrapbooker, this is a good (but not too lofty) goal for me.

So here's to finishing Jack's baby book and getting ready to open a cute new book for a brand-new little boy!

It's a...

We were thrilled today to see the youngest member of our family kicking playfully on the ultrasound monitor. It was beyond a delight to watch our second son's heart beat, see small arms move up to his precious face, glimpse his sweet little profile, watch tiny fingers and toes wiggle—and to discover he is a boy (all 8 ounces of him—not surprisingly, a little bigger than the average baby at this stage).

I can't help but imagine what he'll be like (I do hope for a good sleeper like Jack!), and if he'll look like our eldest or totally different. It's such a special mystery and privilege of parenthood, to dream and wonder about the baby who's carefully nestled inside you—closer than he'll ever be again—but whom you haven't truly met. I'm confident and so grateful that God is shaping the life inside me and preparing our family for our new little boy.

Jack wasn't that enthusiastic about having to sit relatively still in a dark room with no toys (despite our prior attempted explanations that we would get to see our baby on the screen) but was later thrilled to look through the ultrasound photos with us. He's pretty excited (as he can be with his limited understanding) about having "baby brother." We're excited, too, to continue to love and parent the boys as they grow up together. We can't wait to see them race their Hot Wheels, run outside, ride their bikes, play catch, and make lots of special brother memories.

Thank you, God, for blessing us with another sweet little guy!