Until today, I haven’t been ready to blog about the most exciting, meaningful part of my current life. . . .

I’m expecting a baby girl in two months.

It’s been quite the journey, and I look forward to writing more about it. For today, I’ll share one of my favorite things about being pregnant: I’ve truly enjoyed following along with the baby’s development, week by week. I’ve been reading books that explain how the baby is growing each month. I get weekly emails that compare the baby’s size to various fruits and vegetables. (The email today announced that our baby is the size of a pineapple.)

Of course, the ultrasounds have been my favorite way to track the baby’s growth.

We had our first ultrasound in April, when I was almost seven weeks pregnant. We couldn’t see many details, but we saw the blinking heart, and we got to hear the baby’s heartbeat for the first time. It was a surreal experience.

Then in July, when I was almost five months pregnant, we had our second ultrasound. This time we got to see things like our baby’s profile, arms, legs, and internal organs (such as her kidneys and brain). We also got to find out that we’re having a girl.

Ten days ago, at almost seven month, we had an even more detailed ultrasound. They call it the “4D” ultrasound because they can see details of the baby’s face, and they can even put the images together into little video clips. It was amazing to see our baby sucking her thumb and giving us a little smile.

Being pregnant has been one of the most exciting, surreal experiences of my life. And I know that motherhood will be unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.

Until she’s born, I’ll continue talking to my little daughter, singing to her, and praying for her. I can’t wait to hold her in my arms.