Boys

Last week our little nephew Jackson came to visit for a few days. We did regular things, like bike riding and going to parks and reading books and making forts, and Jackson fit right in. Hurray! That was a very good thing, because in January we're going to have a new baby. Hurray again!

A few weeks ago I went in for an ultrasound, when the OB and I discovered that our fifth child would be a BABY GIRL. My immediate response was obvious:

A green gingham sundress with a fancy white cardigan, hot pink jeans with a snazzy striped shirt, play dresses with flowered bloomers! I had a blast.

Yesterday I went in for a follow-up ultrasound, when the sonographer's first words were, "That baby is NOT hiding the fact that he's a boy." A boy? My girl...is a boy? Yes, he definitely, definitely is. The OB who reviewed the images even used the phrase "textbook boy image." For heaven's sake! At least for four weeks I was expecting a girl, which is longer than I've ever expected a girl in my whole mothering experience.

I got over the disappointment in less than an hour, when I was back with my four beautiful boys:

Jacob, who scrounges around for extra chore money to use at the baseball card shop each Saturday;

Zachary, who stealthily saran-wrapped his entire bike one night while I was preparing dinner;

Michael, who sleeps with cowboy boots on and carries a harmonica around in his pocket; and

Adam, who was squealing so euphorically in Joann yesterday that I had to take him away from the bright fabric aisles.

What are the chances of having five boys in a row? About 3 percent? Sounds like we're pretty lucky.