The Only Girl

Olivia is the only girl. That's right, the only one. Out of all the people we know who are having babies in the near future, Olivia will be the only girl. Isn't that crazy?!

First, Courtney is due June 6th with Wyatt Christopher, then Lindsay is due June 17th with Hudson Spencer, next Remy is due July 1st with Tucker Bradley, next Abby is due August 1st with Rhett Mickey, then Jenni is due September 14th with Kade Andrew, then Becca is due September 28th with Casen Tyler, and finally Dani is due October 8th with Graham Brockman.

I'm so excited for all these friends, but a little sad that Olivia won't have a girlfriend to play with when we get together with any of these people.

She'll sure have her pick of cute little boyfriends, though! :)

What's in a name?

So... it was completely last-minute decision, but for Mother's Day,

Brian and I decided to announce Baby Girl's name!

Sometime around July 22nd, we will be so excited to meet...


Olivia Lynn Ballard


Isn't it perfect? And beautiful? And girlie? And old-fashioned? :)

We really thought we were going to keep it a secret until she was born. I was worried about people's reactions. I was excited about the idea of having a surprise at her birth. And let's not kid ourselves... I love the idea of knowing something that everyone else doesn't know! :)

Brian and I have thought for a while now that we knew what her name would be, but wanted to make sure that we didn't come across something that we liked more. But Olivia Lynn stayed at the top of our list... and the more we use it, the more we love it.

If we were having a boy, his name would be Owen, so an "O" name for a girl was my first choice. The list is pretty short, and I love the way Olivia sounds and how it looks when it's written! Using Lynn was pretty much a no-brainer. It is a family name on both sides. It looks really pretty when it's written too! :) Haha!

So, thanks to everyone, in advance, for being excited for us!

Our 3D/4D Ultrasound

So... we weren't originally planning on doing one of these type ultrasounds... Not that there's anything wrong with them. They basically just kinda creeped Brian and I out. The fact that technology has advanced in the last few decades to the point that you can literally see what your baby will look like is amazing and, frankly, scary at the same time. But.. due to a miscommunication between us and my doctor following our 20-week ultrasound, we didn't get a sonogram we thought we were going to have 4 weeks later. She told us at that point we wouldn't have another one (assuming that everything continues to progress smoothly) until 36 weeks. 36 weeks?! That's almost full term! That's too far away! Brian especially was disappointed... I think because he doesn't get to feel her or have to watch his body change because of her, like I do. Seeing her through a sonogram helps him connect even more. So, he sweetly asked for an sonogram for his birthday present, and it didn't take any convincing for me to agree to that plan!

So last Thursday, April 28th, we met at First Vu Imaging in Plano and got to see our Baby Girl again... and she was much more cooperative this time than she was at our 20-week sonogram. I stopped by Sonic on the way to the appointment and got a Cherry Limeade thinking that the sugary drink would make her more alert for the appointment and I think it worked! She loves Sonic drinks, just like her mama!

I have no idea how to read this sonogram..
but I'm happy to have one more confirmation that we are having a GIRL :)

Here she is!
All the shadows and blurry features are typical...
They are only able to focus on a small area at a time.

In this picture, she is holding the bottom of her foot up against her cheek.
She even tried to put it in her mouth while we were watching.

Over the course of the 15-minute appointment, we watched her yawn, open her eyes and blink several times, purse out her lips, stick out her tongue, and smile. It was incredible! I just kept saying "This is crazy..." and Brian was pretty much speechless. I don't know what I was expecting, but this was so much more! We text messaged pictures to our families and they were pretty impressed too... I think she looks like my sister's baby pictures, and she'll be pretty lucky if she turns out to be as cute as her Aunt Anna!