Flower Girl

Yesterday, two of our friends got married. They asked Emily to be their flower girl. She was sooooo excited and totally in her element. For the girl who lives to dress up and is already talking about getting married someday...this was the event of her dreams. She did a GREAT job and we were VERY proud of her. She lifted her dress up in front of everybody only once and she waved to us about 4 times. Oh....and she did NOT pick her nose. (Quite the acheivement!) She marched down the aisle and threw the petals (evenly) like a pro. She even walked back down the aisle arm-in-arm with the ring bearer at the end of the ceremony. Note in the video below WHO was actually walking WHO down the aisle. This girl will have no problem getting a husband someday. She'll just tell her choice groom that it's time to get married and she'll drag him down the aisle. :)

It was a very special moment for our little family. Thanks, Tony and Jama, for letting us share in your day!!! :) :) :)

Just 'Cause I Like "Random" Lists...

1. 4 years ago at this time, I was in labor.
2. My husband has been experiencing labor pains of his own over the past 36 hours.
3. The emergency waiting room is not a fun place for a person with kidney stones to have to sit & wait.
4. The IV drugs they give once you get a room makes the wait worth it.
5. Emily LOVES to watch "Alf" reruns on Hulu....almost as much as she loves to snuggle and watch "I Love Lucy".
6. I'm due to have a baby in like...9 weeks.
7. I'm baffled as to how my body will accomodate the necessary growth of this baby that will occur in the next 9 weeks. I feel so huge already.
8. Emily told me that "Emily" (from Clifford the Big Red Dog) had the "Chicker Pops" (read: Chicken Pox). She informed me of this on Tuesday...which was "St. Patches Day".
9. I was a crabby driver today.
10. Aaron and I were talking recently about the fact that Emily might make a good nurse someday. She's got a pretty compassionate heart with just the right amount of bossinesss. If one of us isn't feeling well, she tells us that we need to lay down...go potty...get a drink...etc.
11. I'm really scratching my head over the fact that she turns 4 tomorrow.
12. I feel like she's grown up even more over the past 2 weeks. The things she says/does are amazing to us.
13. We had a fun tickle fight today.
14. It's nice having Aaron home tonight...despite the fact that it's because he's "out of commission".
15. I have such a hankering to go camping. Yet, I don't think this is the summer to do it. Somehow I don't think camping and a new baby would go well together.
16. For two years in a row we have wanted to take Emily to Chuck E. Cheese on her birthday and not had success. Last year, Aaron's dad collapsed and had to be taken to the hospital. This year...well....like a baby and camping, I don't think kidney stones and Chuck E. Cheese would mix.
17. Alex is moving a lot tonight.
18. I think the mouse at Chuck E. Cheese is creepy.
19. If I can't go camping, I wish I could at least have a really good S'More.
20. Alex is using my bladder for a punching bag. Gotta go!

It's 4:47 AM...

...on a Saturday morning and I'm up and ready to start the day. If I knew how to put the crib together myself, I would. Alas, I wouldn't have a clue where to start. So, I decided to pour some *energy* into a greatly overdue blog post instead. :)

Let me just start out by asking if you have noticed my baby ticker recently at the top of the page. I swear it's different from any baby ticker that I have EVER seen. While most just seem to creep along slowly, mine flies along at an alarmingly fast rate. Honestly...I didn't know it was possible for a pregnancy to go by so fast. I feel like I just took a pregnancy test yesterday, and I now only have 78 days left until my due date! Unbelievable!

I think I owe this in part to having such a WONDERFUL pregnancy. God has REALLY blessed me. I have felt great and have had very few minor complaints. Maybe that old wives' tail about boys being easier on their mommies is true. I've really just been cherishing this special time in my life...trying to savor every moment of it.

Alex seems to be healthy as far as we can see. He's definitley a fiesty little guy. I just LOVE feeling him wiggle and squirm inside. To say it's an amazing feeling is such an understatement. My main source of entertainment these days is watching my stomache, and grabbing the hand of the nearest family member/stranger/mailman/lady in line at the grocery store so they can share in the experience of feeling his latest boxing match. Yes...a slight exaggeration, but I'm sure my family thinks my obsession with my tummy is getting a little old. :) Except for Emily, that is. I think she shares an equal level of fascination. She loves to talk to Alex hoping he'll kick her in response. I love how quietly she talks to him and how her eyes and face just LIGHT up when she feels him. It's so precious. Melts this mommy's heart everytime. She's going to be such a good big sister. I just love her so much.

Let's see...what else is there to report pregnancy wise? Hmm....I've been nesting like crazy ever since sometime in December. This has been great for my now non-existent-for-several-months-laundry pile. My house has stayed in good shape and the dishes are rarely a stressful thing anymore. I'm VERY prepared for the baby. With the exception of a few items I need to purchase, my hospital bag has been packed for at least a month. The furniture, car seats & strollers are washed up and ready to go. A swing and bouncy seat have taken up residence in our living room, and I even have a garbage bag in the diaper pail. Craziness....I know. It makes me almost wish I could have this pregnancy-induced obsession ALL the time. My husband isn't sure what to think. He doesn't mind, of course. Except for maybe those times when I'm up at midnight INSISTING that WE have to figure out how to put the bassinet back together after I took it apart to wash. He's been pretty patient & helpful, though. He's been willing to do things like give up a lunch hour toward the cause of sanitizing and preparing our Pack-N-Play. I've tried to hold myself in check and not drive him to batty. Little does he know how it's taking every ounce of will power to NOT wake him up right now so we can set up the crib. :) Ahhh nesting....there's nothing like it.

Now that I'm entering the stage of pregnancy where it IS starting to get a bit uncomfortable and my energy is slowing down some, I'm glad for the last few crazy nesting months. I'd like to give our house a good spring cleaning over the next two weeks & then make up some meals to freeze. After that, I'm just about as prepared as I know how to be. (Even the birth announcement envelopes are stamped and addressed.) I'm glad for that, because I'm realizing that if I were just starting now, I don't think I would have the energy for it all. I'm mostly happy about it, though, because I really want to take the last couple of months and enjoy some special time with Emily. The weather is going to be getting nicer, and I want to make the most of it with her before things change so drastically in our family. I've cherished the last (almost) 4 years of her little life and presence in our home. It's going to be quite different for us (and her) having two children to divide our attention between. I'm a bit nervous about that, but mostly excited.

I'm also nervous about this whole being "a mom of a little boy" thing. I get Emily. She's a girl...like me. What's it going to be like connecting with a little boy? I know this is silly, and don't misunderstand me. I'm madly in love with Alex and CAN'T WAIT to meet him. I wouldn't trade him for a girl for anything. I just know it's going to be so different having a boy than a girl, and I'm wondering if I'm cut out for it. I know God must think so, or he wouldn't have blessed me with a son. I just still have these nagging thoughts in the back of my mind that really make me wonder what it's going to be like. (Potty training...the amount of cuddling he'll tolerate...snakes, spiders, bugs...more *exciting* diaper changes...etc)

I'll never forget our ultrasound moment though....you know, the one where we found out we were having a boy. I burst into tears of happiness. I felt so complete. I was going to experience both a girl and a boy. How rich can you get?

*Note: This is the part where all you moms out there of little boys get to comment and tell me how silly I'm being. :) *

**Another Note: I seem to forget in my pregnant daze how much I loved babysitting a little guy from church when I was growing up. I started watching him at 7 months old and he was 10 when he was in our wedding. I got pretty attached to him and he totally made me want a boy at some point in my life.**


Let's see....I'm also pretty nervous about labor this time around. I think knowing what to expect makes me a bit more uptight about it. I had some pretty severe stomache aches this past summer that reminded me of labor. Each time, I thought to myself that we would need to adopt if we ever wanted our family to grow more. Alas, here I am...gearing up for labor. For all you women out there who make it look so easy and effortless WITHOUT pain medicine...I am NOT one of you! I do NOT have a high pain tolerance (hey...I even threw up last time!) and I will be VERY glad to let my insurance company fund the anesthesiologist's summer vacation. I admire you...I want to be like you...but I will also be asking for the epidural from the moment my feet hit the hospital entrance door. I just hope it doesn't wear off this time... :)

The truth is, I know I survived the first time around, and I know I'll survive again. I'm glad God has given me another chance to go through it, and I pray I can go through labor and not have to deal with a c-section. Emily was worth every ounce of pain...and I know Alex will be worth it too. My memories of her birth are pretty precious. Fortunatley, as the time draws nearer, my excitement about meeting Alex is starting to outweight the pre-labor nerves. Besides, they say sometimes the 2nd time around is easier and shorter. Maybe we can shoot for 24 hours this time instead of 26!! :) :) :)

Well, it's 5:51 AM. Still too early to wake Aaron up to work on the crib (Drat!). Guess I'll try to doze a bit more. :) Toodles for now!