Question: Will next baby be wearing blue or pink?

Trick question. The right answer is neither because neither Mimi nor I believe our child needs to be gendered as soon as they pop out.

Mimi and I went for our “gender” appointment last week and in preparation for it, we knew we’d be happy no matter the outcome. But we just decided to find out because we are again, as with Evangeline, in a period of transition. If knowing that cancels out one question mark and leaves one check mark, then it is worth it. And indeed, as it turns out, the technician would have had trouble keeping it a secret. I mean, I’m no expert but it seemed pretty obvious to me.

We’re having another little girl! We really couldn’t be happier. I already know all the Disney princesses, all the characters in Sofia the First and Dinosaur Train and have developed a healthy appreciation for re-re-re-re-listening to “Happy Snowman.”

I must say though with this many women in the house, I may end up living in the backyard with Wylie. He’s got a pile of sticks in the corner of the yard that looks kinda comfortable. My father and brother-in-law suggested I build a barn. I’ll need to start saving cardboard boxes. I find it strange to write “another” little girl, because just from what we’ve seen of P-nut, she couldn’t be more different from Evangeline. In our ultrasound pictures of Evangeline, it was nearly impossible to get her to sit still long enough to take a picture. In her gender exam, she was spread eagle and doing some sort of strange zero-G acrobatics. In our ultrasound pictures of P-nut, we have to work to get her to move. A little more calm.

Now let’s not get crazy here—I’m totally expecting hours of exhaustingly chasing another naked little girl around the house to get her in a diaper—but she may be at least incrementally calmer. That said, like her sister, she’s beautiful. And in comparing ultrasound photos, P-nut and Evangeline look and awful lot alike. Two peas in a pod. I suspect this means a lot of boys will be hanging around my house starting about 12 years from now. I’ll plan to buy extra yard equipment so I can put them to work when they come by the house. In case it rains, I’ll need to think of some indoor activities I can have them help with. I’ll take up shooting so they can help me clean my 12-gauge.

Now for the next question, do we have name? The answer is yes, we do.

If we learned anything from Evangeline it’s that lots of people have opinions about what you should name your child: family, friends, complete strangers. And we don’t really care to hear them. So we’ll share the name when she’s born. All I’ll say is that if you’re among those who hate Evangeline’s name (“Too long!” “Too fancy!” “That doesn’t even sound American—why didn’t you choose Jennifer or something?”), you’ll probably hate this one too. But hey, she’s not your kid.

Evangeline’s going to have adjustment period to the new baby. To celebrate after the last ultrasound, Mimi and I bought a stuffed tiger for P-nut. When we brought it in the house, Evangeline had trouble figuring out why she couldn’t have it. It looks like a kid toy and it’s in my house…. We talk with Evangeline about P-nut often and hope that helps her prepare for new little girl in the house.

One thing we’ll need to think about is what the options look like for schooling/daycare for P-nut. She won’t be here long when she’s of age, but we’re bummed that the Student Parent Center is closing. It certainly wasn’t free, but it was a good nearby option for school for Evangeline. We’ll miss it when it’s gone.