The Final Countdown!!

We are officially in final countdown to Lucy's arrival! Yesterday was my last day of work until I return in Januray (although my office was only 26 minutes into the work day this morning when I got my first phone call...sigh...)! When I had Aiden, I was only able to take about 6 weeks of maternity leave. He seemed SO small and helpless when I returned to work, and it was really tough. This time, I made sure that I had been paying into short-term disability to help with financially being out longer. Plus, the way Lucy's birth date falls will easily incorporate dates I am already off of work for Thanksgiving and Christmas into my total time at home before having to go back. So, in all I will be home with her for 12 weeks. Not as awesome as the full year maternity leave some other countries allow, but much better than the last time!

I had my last doctor's appointment on Tuesday. I had gone from absolutely no progression to 1 cm dilation and some downward movement. It doesn't really matter since I will have to have a c-section anyway, but it's good to know that all the latest discomfort has had some result! We were told that we will need to check into the hospital at 6 AM Saturday morning, and that the c-section will begin between 7:30 & 8:00. So, in 48 hours we should have a baby girl!! FINALLY!!!

This weekend mom, John David, and Stephanie came over to watch the Aggie game. John David brought a really cute shirt he found for Aiden. I think we are going to have Aiden wear it on Saturday to the hospital! Mom also took some pictures of Lucy's finished room.

I will be posting pictures of Lucy on facebook and on the blog as soon as I can. I'm sure my mom will post them quicker than I will on facebook, so I will tell her to tag me in the pictures so everyone can see!

Wish us luck as our family grows from three to four this weekend!

Uncle John David and Aiden with his new shirt!

Hold still for a picture Aiden!!

Here's hoping Aiden's shirt quote will be accurate!

Lucy's crib & Mother Goose pictures

Lucy's dresser/changing table

Dollhouse bookshelf that Uncle Jesse bought Lucy!

October Update

Yay!! It's officially October, and I made it! After a couple of weeks of scares, I am finally at a point where I feel comfortable with Lucy making an appearance any time. Her room is ready, clothes are washed, supplies have been purchased, and I am "end of the road" miserable....it's time!

I am very curious to see how much she will weigh when she is born. Aiden was only 7 lbs. 2 oz., which is less than what the doctor thought (he predicted a little over 8 lbs.), but I can tell that my stomach is much bigger this time. I'm also very curious to see what she will look like. I remember being so surprised when I saw Aiden for the first time because I just assumed he would favor Ryan and have a darker complexion and dark hair. When I saw him, I remember being shocked that he looked like...me! He is starting to look more like his dad than when he was a baby-especially his eyes. So, now when I picture Lucy I see her looking a lot like Aiden. Maybe I'll be surprised and she'll be the one to look like Ryan!

So, we are still set for a c-section on October 10 (also Ryan's 30th birthday!). Ryan's parents and brothers and my parents and brothers are coming in Friday night, so we will have more than enough spectators for the big event!! Mom and Dad are planning to stay at our house with Aiden until we get home from the hospital, and Nan & Joe will be at Mike and Elizabeth's house until we get home and will then move over to our house to help until they leave on Wednesday. I think my mom is planning to come back to stay with us for a few days after the Cossers leave as well. I am thinking that I will need lots of help this time since there will be a 3-year-old running around the house too!

In other news, I will be gaining yet another sister-in-law this summer! Jesse proposed to his girlfriend Marissa during their vacation to Mexico last week. Marissa is an Aggie and a high school math teacher in Houston, so she'll be relocating to Dallas to be with Jesse after the school year is complete. She's from Corpus, so I assume the wedding will either be there or in Houston. I've only gotten to hang out with her a few times, but I really like her a lot and think she is a good fit for Jesse. So, we'll have one wedding (John David & Stephanie) in April and another in the summer...busy year! Hopefully they'll move quickly so that Aiden and Lucy will have some cousins to play with on my side of the family :)

Here are some pictures of the new engaged couple:

Green Eggs & Ham

This past weekend my brother John David had his bachelor party in Port Aransas, which Ryan attended. Since I was a little worried about staying home alone with Aiden after the previous week's false labor episode (and my mom had ballet tickets!), Aiden and I had Ryan drop us off at my mom and dad's house in Mo. City on his way. Always the drama queen, Lucy gave me a bit of a scare Friday night/Saturday morning, but after talking with my doctor I decided to stay at my parents' (2 hours away from my doc & hospital...) until Sunday when Ryan came back. Luckily, my "signs" subsided by Saturday afternoon, and mom and I were able to enjoy the Houston Ballet's production of Manon Saturday night.

Aiden received a Green Eggs & Ham dvd for his birthday, so Grandmommy decided to make him green eggs and ham for breakfast Saturday morning. As you can see, they were a hit with Aiden and Grandaddy!

We are now about two weeks away from the scheduled arrival of Lucy, but I have no idea if I will make it that long. At my appointment Monday everything looked okay, but I was measuring 2 weeks bigger than I am. My doctor estimated she weighs about 7 lbs. now....uggghhh! Aiden only weighed 7lbs. 2oz. when he was born!! I would like to at least make it through next week, but I realize I don't have a ton of control over the situation....we'll just wait & see what happens :)

Our little Aiden turned 3 on Thursday. It's really hard to believe that three years have gone by so quickly!



Unfortunately, Aiden's actual birthday was overshadowed by his yet-to-be-born little sister. Wednesday night I decided to stay at Mike & Elizabeth's house because Ryan had to drive to Dallas for the night for an early meeting Thursday. It's a good thing that I was cautious because I woke up at 3 am having contractions every 6-7 minutes. I waited an hour, called my doctor, called Ryan, and woke Elizabeth to drive me to the hospital. I ended up staying until about 2:30 that afternoon, went through a couple of IV's, and the contractions stopped. The explanation was that I must have been dehydrated or too active, which started the contractions. So, I am supposed to stay hydrated and take it easy (not sure how that happens with a 3-year-old!) so that Lucy stays put until October.

Elizabeth was wonderful, and kept Aiden and Zachary all day Thursday. They went to the park and got to play, and Elizabeth even wrapped Aiden's gifts for me and baked his cake. We had a small family party Thursday night, and then a bigger event Friday!

A bunch of us went to Playhouse Disney Live Friday night to see Mickey & friends, Winnie the Pooh & Tigger, Little Einsteins, and Handy Manny. The kids had a blast, and we came back to the house for cake, ice cream, and presents afterwards.

Saturday the guys started putting together Aiden's swing set (a gift from all the grandparents). They worked until about 9:00, then started back up and finished Sunday. It was a rainy weekend, so they did a lot of assembly in the garage and then moved parts to the backyard. Aiden was very excited about his new slide and swings, and once it dries up some we'll have to have Zachary over to check it out with him!

We also got some more things on the wall in Lucy's room. I had ordered a wall quote for the wall above her bed. I like the quote and font, but the color came out bright pink even though I ordered SOFT pink! I haven't decided what to do about it...I'm really not happy with the color because it doesn't match at all, but I don't know what to do instead. It does look better in the picture than in person.

Here are some pictures from Aiden's birthday weekend!

Lucy's Room- Phase 1

What a busy weekend!! This Saturday I planned to put my family and friends to work to get some painting and moving done. Of course, nothing ever goes as planned...Ryan, John David, & Josh were going to take a trailer with our guest bed to my parents' house to drop off and pick up a day bed with trundle and dresser for Aiden's room Saturday morning. The trailer fell through, so I rented a Uhaul which was only available for Friday. So, Ryan got Josh to make the round-trip with him Friday night, and my mom, dad, John David, and Megan came over and started painting. We got the furniture switched and a coat of paint on Friday night, and by the time I got up Saturday morning, my mom was already hard at work putting on the second coat. All of the painting was done by noon on Saturday, so mom, Marissa, and I ran some errands while the guys moved the toddler bed and dresser from Aiden's room to Lucy's, put it back into "crib mode," and moved the trundle and dresser into Aiden's room, hung up a new picture for him and rearranged all of his treasures. It was an exhausting weekend, but we got lots done. I feel much more prepared now! Here are some pics of Aiden's new "big boy room," and phase one of Lucy's room...I've actually made more progress since these were taken. I lined the dresser drawers, started washing clothes, moved in the rocker, hamper, and doll carriage today. All that I have left is to hang everything that will go on the walls and finish washing clothes!!

Diabetes & Beach Fun

The last couple of weeks have been pretty busy between starting back to work full time and Aiden beginning his new pre-school. So far he seems to like the school a lot, and Ryan and I have been pleased with it. He only cried in the mornings the first week, but now is going in like a pro! My work has been super busy with school about to begin-lots of trainings, ARDs, meetings, etc. I almost look forward to the first day of school because my department tends to slow down during the first couple of "honeymoon" weeks of school!

In baby news, I failed both the glucose screening as well as the 3-hour gestational diabetes test....oh, joy! I was very borderline and actually would have passed if I used one of the other docs at the practice I go to who uses "California standards." So, apparently if I travel to Cali my gestational diabetes will go away...interesting :) Anyway, since it is mild I only have to cut out all sugars and only have a certain number of carbs per day. I also have to take my blood sugar levels four times a day. I was a little stressed because I haven't gained nearly as much weight this time as I did with Aiden, but I've been informed that it varies between pregnancies. It's not because of any weight gain or anything I've been eating, but all has to do with the hormones the placenta produces. At least it's only for 8 more weeks and then will go away!! This has definitely been a much different pregnancy overall from Aiden!

Last weekend, we went to Galveston with my family. We had a great time...Aiden had a blast playing in the sand and waves and Ryan spent the day Saturday fishing. We also got to meet Jesse's new girlfriend Marissa. She is very sweet, and I look forward to spending more time with her...don't screw it up, Jesse ;)

We are going to spend the next few weeks getting the nursery ready since I haven't done very much in that department. Ryan has been having to go out of town a lot lately, so it's been a bit tricky (and exhausting) for me juggling Aiden and work by myself. I definitely continue to have a lot of respect for single moms!

I posted some pictures from our beach trip and will post some of the nursery in the next couple of weeks once it's done!

(CW) Jesse, J.D., Ryan, Aiden and I, Stephanie, & Marissa

John David & Stephanie (that wine looks so good...)

Aiden's dance show

Aiden & Steph Swinging

Aiden's Discovery

Ryan & Dad Fishing

Aiden at the beach

Baby Girl Update

We have a couple of baby updates...

First, I had an appointment on Thursday to check my blood glucose levels. I was careful not to eat after 8:00 the night before, but I still ended up with blood sugar levels too high. It doesn't mean that I have gestational diabetes (most people have a false positive on the first screening), but it does mean that I have to go back for the looooong glucose test next week. I'll have to take a 1/2 day off of work to have blood drawn four times every hour-once after fasting overnight, then 3 times once per hour after drinking the disgusting sugary juice drink :( Uggghhh!! I also had a pretty large weight gain at this appointment...I guess that's what traveling for a month will do for you! Luckily, I am still only at a 28-lb. total weight gain so far (much better than with Aiden), and I have actually lost 2 lbs. since my appointment Thursday, probably just due to eating normally again!

The second bit of news is that we have decided on a name...Lucy Elaine! I realize not everyone is crazy about the name, but most people I have told like it a lot...plus MOST importantly Ryan and I both think it is a cute name. It comes from my dad's grandmother, whom I've heard was a very spirited woman, and I've been compared to more than once!! Elaine is my and my mom's middle name, so we are carrying on that tradition as well. I always think of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" when I hear this name, and I think we are going to stencil a line from the song on her bedroom wall: "Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes"