January 23, 2013 is the expected arrival of..... Baby Gatzke! Amaya's going to be a big sister! Steve and I found out on May 20th and it's been a little crazy and hectic since then. I've never been good at keeping secrets... especially when they are my own... so I called Carol right away since she's THE BEST at keeping secrets and she's the first one we told when we were expecting Amaya. While we didn't time the baby's arrival around Amaya's birthday - January 20th - it just kinda ended up that way. We had always planned that once Steve's health was stable, his job secure, and finances somewhat solid, we'd plan for another baby. And I'm so thankful that God's timing is absolutely perfect and it didnt' take us very long, because I had 19 days off in June during the time when I was feeling the worst! Thank you God!!
We shared the news with Amaya on June 3rd... a little earlier than planned, but only because I was feeling so bad and she was becoming quite concerned. Earlier in March, we bought a t-shirt that said, "Big Sister" and told Amaya that when we had a baby, we would give the shirt to her. I told her that we had a surprise for and her and I wanted her to guess. She said, " Is it cotton candy?" I said, "No," "Is it a toy?" "Nooo, it's a very special t-shirt." When we showed her the t-shirt, she recognized it and gave me lots of hugs! She was VERY EXCITED and even now, she's become quite involved in the process and giving the baby lots of hugs and kisses and telling it she loves it. It's very sweet and I know that she's going to be an awesome big sister!
Later that day, we spent the day with my parent's celebrating my birthday a little early before they left on their trip to Colorado. We had Amaya wear the t-shirt over there to see how long it took for my parents to notice what her shirt said. Needless to say, it didn't take them very long to notice!! Mike and Arwen and the kids came over later for cake and ice cream, and Annika was the first one to notice Amaya's shirt!
We had Steve's parents over for dinner on the 5th to celebrate Ruth Ann's birthday and shared our news in the same way we did when we were expecting Amaya. We wrote the due date on a notecard and wrapped it in tissue paper and put it in a gift bag. When she opened it, Lowell knew right away what the date meant. Ruth Ann said, "It's not our anniversary, because that's the 21st. And it's not Debbie's or Amaya's birthday because that is on the 19th and 20th." After a few minutes... the date sunk in and she got it!
Right now, I'm 10 weeks along...the baby has grown from a seed of an orange to now the size of a lime! We had our first visit with our same OB last week and got to see Baby Gatzke for the first time. Everything is right on track and it was absolutely amazing to see his/her heartbeat fluttering away! It makes the exhaustion, stomach aches, heartburn, and frequent trips to the bathroom all worth it! Our next appointment is July 19th and we can't wait to see how much Baby Gatzke has changed!
We would appreciate all your prayers for a healthy pregnancy. I returned to work this week, and I'm exhausted at the end of the day. However, our OB assures me that I'll get an energy boost in a couple of weeks! Let's hope he's right!