a half-birthday

today is my half-birthday and in six short months i'll be sharing my actual birth date with another. another! even though it's been over 13 weeks, it hardly seemed real until we saw that sharp white profile cut against the black screen last friday. you would think that with this being my second time, it would all be more familiar, but with a toddler running around i find myself more aware of his developments than i am of the little life growing inside me. life has it's miracles though - seen and unseen - and i am just so excited to be able to experience them over and again. so there i was, lying on a paper-covered table, with andy in a chair next to me, and august on his lap when we saw that monochrome image and a flash of recognition across august's face. the wand was still on my belly and the baby rolled around on the screen, while a strong heartbeat thrummed through the room when i turned to a wide-eyed august and whispered, it sounds like a choo-choo! "baby choo-choo!", he echoed in a far-off voice. then, andy and i looked at each other and it was in that moment that we finally recognized it. we were all there together, all four of us.