Oh boy.

ATTN. FACEBOOK FRIENDS: If you were surprised by the news that we are having another baby, let alone the fact that we already know the baby's sex, you may want to check out this post to catch up a little on what's been going on.

So for those of you that we didn't text or call or who didn't happen to catch one of the two Facebook status updates that I posted this year, we're having ANOTHER BOY! We are ecstatic, completely and utterly psyched about Alex having a little brother to play with and mentor and teach bad habits.

But to be frank, this came as a shock to many of us who for some reason assumed that after you have a boy, you have a girl, of course. That's logical, isn't it? That's how nature works, right? Guess not. I had been so much sicker this pregnancy than I was with Alex, and pretty much based on that wives' tale (along with my clearly malfunctioning gut instincts), I assumed that I was carrying a little girl. So when our sonogram tech asked us for the third time if we were absolutely sure that we wanted to know the sex, we said yes and braced ourselves for the news. And the news was, our little girl had boy parts! Oh wait, no. We were having a boy!

And before our little boy reads this someday and starts getting a complex about how we wished he was a girl, let me clarify. We were not disappointed that we were having a boy, we simply had to shift our thinking from one great scenario to a different-yet-equally-great-scenario. We have loved raising a little boy so far and having another one is sure to be another thrilling and joyful experience. We will already "know the ropes" in a way. We will already know the art of covering his peepee at every moment throughout a diaper change to avoid getting a shot of pee in the eye. He will always have dirt under his fingernails, and I will already know that trying to keep them clean is a waste of time. We already know that I will be wrapped around his little finger, and I will have to fight every instinct in my body that urges me to give him everything his little heart desires.

As for Alex, we love that he will have a little brother to adore and be adored by, someone for him to commiserate with and rough house with. He will have someone to teach him the importance of sharing, someone to talk shop with, and something to keep him occupied when I am trying to do the dishes (for the love kid, what is so appealing about dirty forks?). A built-in playmate to build forts with and throw Legos at and confide in.

Aside from those obvious benefits, having another boy will be a huge money-saver in more ways than one. He will have a plethora of awesome hand-me-downs, we can recycle things from Alex's brown, green, and yellow nursery, and he will love the hundreds (nay, thousands) of boy toys that Alex already owns. That said, it will be completely necessary to get a few new things because this child will not be Alex. He may not share Alex's same sense of style, he might not have all of the same interests, he might want to create his own path in life, not walk in Alex's shadow. He needs an identity of his own because he will be his own person. Treating him like Alex's clone could really damage the kid's psyche, and he could end up resenting his brother and us and it would all be a big mess that would result in expensive family therapy down the road...

Okay, let's be real. All of that really translates to: I want to shop. I am a glutton for new, exciting things, and having a new baby is one of the most justifiable times to start fresh...and buy a bunch of fun stuff. One of the main reasons one has children is to be able to buy them cute things, is it not? On that note, I've convinced Timothy that having a boy now is a huge benefit to our financial situation. Most of our bases our covered since we already have lots of boy stuff - we just need a few little things to put this new kid's stamp on things.

If we were having a girl, however, we'd need all new things - girly bedding and decor, tea sets and dollies, clothes and accessories - OH MY, THE ACCESSORIES. Tights and hairbows, bracelets and scarves, hats and shoes - OH THE SHOES. The shoes alone would send us to the poor house. So it completely works out that we'd have a girl later, when Tim is making a little more money, and we are a little less likely to end up in bankruptcy court.

That said, we are now in the process of narrowing down our favorite boy names and planning a new baby boy nursery. We are happily reusing the green changing table and dresser my dad made for Alex, the crib, the brown drapes, and the brown rocking chair. We are basically looking for bedding and some fun new art and accessories to spice things up - and that has been a challenge. There's a lot of ugly stuff out there. As for the name, we have a few front runners in mind - and no, we aren't sharing them until we've made our final decision. We are still open to suggestions, however, so feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment box.

So other than all that, our doctor's appointment went great. In addition to discovering boy parts, we found out that our little guy is perfectly healthy. All legs and arms and eye sockets are accounted for. His heart rate is right on target. His spine looks good and his head's the right size, and overall, he is measuring just one day behind my projected due date (that being June 12th). We saw that he is a mover and shaker like his older brother (a thought that frightens me to my very core), which only confirmed the source of all the bangs and bumps I've been feeling amongst my guts lately. Here is proof of some of those things:

These first two are shots of his face, which appears to be looking directly at the camera. The first is sort of a wide shot that captures his head and the upper part of his torso, and the second is sort of a sideways closeup of his face, with his little arm sticking up on the left side. These things don't get any less creepy the more that you see them.

This last one shows the goods, although I really only know that because of that convenient little arrow that points directly at them. Those are his legs sticking up on either side, and beyond that, I couldn't tell you if we were looking at him right-side-up or up-side-down or inside-out. Feel free to interpret at will.

Thankfully, I'm doing fine, too. Aside from gaining too much weight (by my estimation, not the doctor's), my blood pressure is good, urine's clean, and my guts are all where they should be. God is good.

So that's the scoop for now. Our next appointment is Wednesday, February 3, so I'll have more news then. For now, I just need to rest and try to get over a nasty sinus infection I've been fighting for the last week. Oh, and maybe write a little something about Christmas in Eldo...maybe.