And so it begins...

Dave and I are blessed with family and friends all over the world, and with so much going on in everyone's lives, we decided to start a blog to simplify communication on our end. So on this cold winter day in January 2009 (when I apparently have nothing more pressing to do), it begins.

As many of you know, we're expecting our first child in July! We are over-the-moon excited and can't wait to meet Mojo in a few months! (Mojo is the "name" we've given to our little baby while he/she is in the womb.) I've already started planning the nursery, and to Dave's dismay, spending money on things for Mojo. It's so fun to shop for babies! :)

Here are a couple of Mojo's first pictures:

Mojo swimming around at 8 weeks 4 days
(taken on December 3, 2008)

Mojo showing off his/her backside at 15 weeks 6 days
(taken on January 23, 2009)

Our next appointment is scheduled for February 19 when I'll be 19 weeks 5 days - and it will be our "big" ultrasound where they do the anatomy scan and we *could* find out if it's a boy or a girl if we wanted to...but we don't. ;) We'll be keeping that a surprise from everyone, including ourselves, until the day Mojo comes into this world!

We have picked out both a boy and a girl name:

Boy: William Ralph
This name is after both of our fathers. We'll call him "Liam", which is an Irish nickname for William.

Girl: Gillian Bella
This is after my dear Grandpa Gil that passed away in June 2008. It's pronounced just like its alternative spelling, Jillian. Bella is a tribute to my deep-seeded love for all things Italian (it means "beautiful" in Italian).