We had another ultrasound yesterday and learned that the Cashew is very healthy, very active and doing great. We also saw visual evidence that we definitely have a little boy on the way!
It was pretty funny to watch him keep giving the ultrasound wand high fives. Jocelyn was a kicker every time she felt the wand - maybe he will be more apt to use his hands than she is.
Julie and I have decided on a name (we actually have had male and female names picked out for quite some time, so the only question was which we would be using) - Ian James. James was Julie's brother's name, so we always knew that if we had a boy, that would be his middle name. We picked Ian for a first name originally because we just liked the sound of it, but when we discovered that it means "God is forgiving" we thought it was especially fitting given everything else that's been going on in our lives lately. Having a happy, healthy little one seemingly on the way makes all of life's other challenges fade into the background. Last week, when Julie told her Mom that was the name we had chosen, she reminded Julie that a boy named Ian had been Jimmy's best friend growing up, so that made it seem all the more special. Those of you who know Julie well know that when she found this out, things got a little misty. :) I'm not too proud to say that I may have also had to wipe an eye or two.
Another little one calls into question the name for this blog, since we are no longer on "the maiden voyage," but our second sojourn. We may have to give some thought to a new name. Feel free to fire away with any suggestions you may have!
The other big news on the home front is that Julie's Mom starts caring for Jocelyn full-time a week from now. I can't tell you how excited we are to have Jocelyn (and eventually Ian) be cared for by family. Although we think our daycare provider in general does a good job, yesterday when Julie went to pick Jocelyn up she found her just sitting under the kitchen table, all by herself, with no toys within reach. Someone was nearby so she was in no danger, but it just seems like a symptom of caregivers stretched maybe a bit too thin. And speaking of symptoms, Jocelyn seems to be getting sick much too frequently since going back to daycare in October - we have to believe that being around a group of kids all day is causing it - and suddenly has a diaper rash that won't go away. It's also gut-wrenching when she cries when we drop her off in the morning and grabs on for dear life when Julie picks her up in the afternoon. All in all, we will be very happy to put daycare in our rear-view mirror. We feel very lucky to have this as an option.
Admiring the gorgeous cake (she is eating a chunk from the doll's back side so that we could get a shot of the cake intact in the picture). 
Showing off her Christmas outfit which Grammy bought for the holiday (thank you Grammy!) and waiting for her next piece of cake to be cut. 
Thanks to Grammy bringing her to reading hours a few times a week, Jocelyn loves books. When we handed her one of her birthday cards she started flipping through like it was a little booklet. A good omen! 
