Although many of you may already know, I am still going to pretend this is the first time that you are hearing it.  WE ARE HAVING A BABY GIRL!!!  We are too excited.  It took a while for Nathan to really get the feeling that he will be raising a little girl.  He has always been around boys his whole life.  Our ultrasound was really alot of fun.  We were too excited!  So excited that it has taken me a week to even talk about it.

Nathan gave a little spill to the Ultrasound lady about he doesnt know what he will do if we are having a girl.  The lady didnt waste no time at all letting us know!  Her words exactly, "Well, daddy guess what..."   and then she smiled.  I really couldnt believe what that lady said next...."it is a girl."

What a shocker!  I went in fully prepared to be having another little boy.  I would have bet just about everything on it too.  I am sure everyone else would too.  Even Reilly was saying that the baby was a little brother.   Too cute!  We watched our little girl on screen.  She seemed to be a talker.  That mouth was always moving and those hands were waving around. 

I could see that Nathan was in still in initial shock from the news.  I think that I had also seen some grey hairs pop out too.  Everything went well at the ultrasound.  Our baby girl was kicking good and healthy.  What more could we want.

So after the ultrasound we hurried to the car because we couldnt wait to tell Nathan's mom.  I wanted Nathan to tell his mom, but that didnt work out too well since Nathan was still weak in the knees from the news.  I tried to get Reilly to tell her, but it sounded like Reilly said boy.....he he...that was kinda cruel to Cathy.   I was very happy that we could give her the news she has wanted for so long.  I couldnt imagine giving her a greater gift than a little baby girl.  Even today she wonders if it were a dream.  So in case you are reading this Cathy....we are still having a little girl.

So after leaving the hospital we headed straight to Toys R Us for two reason.  One, we promised Reilly a toy and two to buy something for our little girl.  I never thought it would be so hard  for Nathan to buy pink.   It was a pretty awesome moment having daddy buy for his little girl.  I always thought we would have all boys for some strange reason. 

I have always had a girl's name picked out.  I had this name ready for Reilly if he was a girl.  To me it is the most beautiful name.  Our baby girl's name stands as a reminder of some of the great women in Nathan's family.  Her name is Atalee Mae. 

I have been asked several times how I came up with that name.  Nathan once had a little baby sister named Natalie.  I wanted a name that would resemble Natalie's name so she would never be forgotten.  So I dropped off the N and came up with Atalie.  Thats was how I was orginally going to spell her name until I realized that Nathan's grandma Powell middle name is Lee.  So I thought, why not change the spelling to fit grandma Powell's middle name, thus I got Atalee.  Mae comes from Nathan's other grandmother  Ella Mae.  This is how I got Atalee Mae.

I always felt that it was a strong name from the begining, however, it wasnt until this week did I learn something that really touched me.  I never thought to look up the meaning to Atalee's name because I thought it was something I created.  Too me her name meaning was Natalie, Grandma Powell and Grandma Craig.  I have never heard anyone named Atalee either, so I thought it was unique.  When I did a baby name search for Atalee, I found an amazing discovery to the true meaning of her name. 

What I found:

The girl's name Atalee \a-ta-lee\ is a variant of Athalia (Hebrew), and the meaning of Atalee is "the Lord is exalted".

The baby name Atalee sounds like Adalee, Athalee and Atalie.

Atalee is a very rare female first name and a very rare surname.

WOW, "the Lord is exalted".  I couldnt believe my eyes.  When I read those words my heart about feel out of my chest.  Could a name be any more perfect for our little girl?

It is hard to believe that I am almost 5 1/2 months into this pregnancy, but I am.  Time is ticking by.  I suppose knowing that Nathan will be leaving for a year shortly after Atalee is born is making the time pass by before our eyes.  I know everything will be ok and that we are not alone in this world.  It certainly will not be easy, but we will find new ways to be a family for a year.

Hopefully, I will not negelect my blog any more.  I think about it all the time, but I just do not sit down and write like I should.  I will try to do better.