An onion a day keeps everyone away...

Not my lil onion...he or she will be sooo irresistibly cute :) With a combination of all the good traits from mommy and daddy...imagine with me, a head full of beautifully dark hair like mommy, silky hair just like daddy, bright blue green eyes from both mommy and daddy, long legs, pearly whites, perfect skin from Parker(Indian) and Abadie (Italian) genes, cute fingers and toes, Parker lips, a beautiful voice from mommy and grammy, brilliant intelligence from daddy..ahhhh...the perfect combination. BUUUUUT.........who's to say our poor little angel wont inherit the crazy traits...crazy lady Cooper hair (mommy), blind as a bat (mommy), bowed legs and double jointed elbows (mommy), pre- braces hillbilly teeth with the terrible ability to get a cavity daily (mommy and daddy), skin that can't catch a tan to save its life (mommy and daddy), mommy's lips, daddy's voice (yikes!), mommy's brains!!!! OHHH NOOOO we've created a monster! Oh the things I worry about :)

All jokes aside, this baby will be a beautiful healthy, happy, perfect little child of the King. (and in case you are worried, I have a source that is going to tell me if I'm one of those parents who thinks my child is beautiful when it really isn't, right D.C.??)

So here we are at 17 weeks. All is well, I'm at the stage where I have to rig my skirts with a chain of safety pins to fit and the very few maternity skirts that are out there are still a lil bit to big....in my opinion, this is called the "you just look fluffy" stage.

Dottie and I went to my 16 week appointment on Tuesday. It was great. We got to feel my tummy where the baby was. Even though we didn't really know what we were feeling for, we smiled and nodded to the Doc like it was the greatest experience of our lives :) We heard the heartbeat again, except this time Baby Parker was quite active. Could very well have been the buffalo wings I had for lunch prior to the appointment. We could hear the baby kicking, and even though it didn't stay still for very long, Dr. Von Almen got a heartbeat of 150. Once again the statement was made that this could very well be a girl, I'm trying not to get my hopes up. But... he did say a girl twice so YAY!! how can I not get my hopes up?!?!??

We find out on May 2oth what the sex of the baby is. I thought it would be great to take a poll and get everyone's guess on what it may be...we have a month, but submit your guesses to the poll I will post on my blog....We shall see!! Now I don't want any betting going on out there, but if you refuse to take my advice, keep in mind that I deserve a cut of the winnings and my money's on it being a........well I can't tell you, because that may give someone an unfair advantage!!

Week 17: Baby is 5.1 inches, about the size of an onion, weighing 5.9oz.

This week your baby has mastered some simple reflexes such as swallowing, sucking, and blinking. Your baby may even have a bout of hiccups. Fat is forming underneath your baby's skin and will continue to do so in the later months of your pregnancy. This will help prepare your baby for the temperature change from inside your womb to the outside world.

Your baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord is growing stringer and thicker. Baby can move its joints, and its sweat glands are starting to develop. One of a kind prints are now featured on those little fingers and toes!