Ready for Baby...

It's so hard to believe the new baby will be here tomorrow!! I just can't believe it. I'm getting so excited and anxious...it's 5:30am on Sunday and I've been awake for a while now. It's actually nice to have the house so quiet :-) Our c-section has been moved up an hour to noon and I had a pre-op appt. at the hospital on Friday morning. I feel so much better after the appt. The nurse walked me through the entire process and showed me the OR's and recovery rooms. Now I know exactly where to go and what to expect. She spent over an hour with me and answered all my questions, took all my info., and of course, also took more blood. After all the tests and blood work over the last nine months, sometimes I am amazed there is any blood left at all! Today, Bryan and I are planning to tie up all our loose ends and do a very good house cleaning. My parents will be here this afternoon and they will be staying for 2 weeks. We are so thankful for their help!! Katelyn is so excited to see them!
Speaking of Katelyn, she has been cracking us up lately with expressions that come out of her mouth. I have to share some with you:
My dad bought donuts a few weekends ago and Katelyn inhaled one. She reached in the box for a second helping and I took the donut away from her and ripped it in half. I know she would be complaining of a stomach ache if she ate 2 donuts. K wasn't too pleased with this, looked up at me and said, "Hey, what's the big idea??" (Donald Duck says this on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse).
We just had to laugh.
Out of the blue, she told Bryan and I, "We're going to have a bundle of joy soon!"
Yesterday, she was in trouble for climbing up on the toilet and opening a cabinet to get out a squirt bottle she wanted. I told her she could get hurt by climbing up on the toilet, plus the things in the cabinet are not safe for her. She looked upset and said, "That's a safety violation!" (for those who don't watch "playhouse Disney" every morning, there's a quick cartoon every morning called "Lou and Lou Safety Patrol" where a brother and sister are basically tattle-tales and go around looking for "safety violations.")
Katelyn seems to be getting excited about the baby's arrival. She has her "big sister" t-shirt ready to go!
We'll be sending pictures and updates soon. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers tomorrow.

Only 5 Days to go....

...until Baby #2 arrives. Yes, I'm still huge out front, don't know where this baby is finding anymore room to grow. We're still on schedule for our c/section on July 21st and I have my last dr.'s appt. tomorrow (hard to believe!!). I feel like I have been pregnant forever and I've been trying to enjoy this last week, knowing I'll miss these quiet days and feeling the rolling and hiccups from inside. Sleeping has actually been a little better in these last few days, which makes life so much better. It is an uncomfortable time (this may be an understatement, especially in this Florida heat), but it is such a special time. It's funny now because the sight of me is making strangers very nervous. At the dentist yesterday, they were afraid to touch me and pleaded with me not to have birth on the dental chair. A man at a gas station offered to pump my gas and asked me to sit down. Another man let me cut in front of him in line at Publix. Once people hear I don't know the gender, they love to guess. Most say boy. Another thing strangers like to do when they hear my due date and tell me when their birthdays are, or someone they know close to my due date. No one really reaches out to touch my belly (doesn't bother me), they just get a little nervous and have been so sweet to offer to help me with everything.

Since we're losing our guest room to the nursery, we set up the bassinet in our bedroom and kept the guest bed up in the nursery for my parents who will be staying with us for 2 weeks, then Bryan's mom and grandma who will be staying with us a for a week. We have the changing table and closet ready for baby and then we'll set up the crib later.
So, 5 days to go and we'll have another baby!! Can't wait!!

Time is flying by!

I've been a terrible blogger lately!! Our new camera has finally arrived and now I've learned how to use it, so I think we'll be back on track :-)

It's been so nice having Katelyn in school two days a week now. What a difference an extra day makes! She really enjoys it and has been doing well in her new classroom with her new teachers (we were having some issues with time-outs for not listening to the teacher, but she's doing MUCH better!!). While she's at school, I'm able to run errands, mostly taking care of doctor appointments, the dentist, car seat check, etc.

My friend Jeanne and I discovered a new cupcake bakery near us called "Sweet!" The cupcakes are HUGE, but are very good. Some interesting flavors to choose from...strawberry, red velvet, boston cream pie, key lime, etc. They are giving away cupcake decorating kits for the kids, so K was able to have her own cupcake (smaller size) and decorated the top with m&m's and gummi bears. I took a few pictures of her doing this yesterday afternoon while it was storming (again!) outside. She loved decorating it, but took one bite and ran away from it. She's never been much of a sweets person, prefers salty chips like Bryan. At least it took some time to decorate and it was a different and fun activity to do together.

Catching Up

Pictures:

Top: Katelyn at a bowling birthday party...she had a blast!!

Bottom: Bryan gives K a haircut at home

I know it's been a while since we've written in the blog. Wish I could say I had a great excuse, but time has just gotten away from me. Katelyn and I have been busy so far this summer...she goes to preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays, on Wednesdays we go to the free movies at our local theater in the morning (they play a PG and G second-run movie for you to choose from, so far we've seen "The Bee Movie," "Alvin and the Chipmunks," "Robots," and "Doogal."), and Fridays we either go to the library or we've been in Tampa. The days fly by!

Our digital camera bit the dust about 2 weeks ago. I took it in to be repaired, but they told me it would cost $250 and told me to just buy a new one. Bryan found a great deal online and one is being shipped to us as we speak.

We're getting ready for baby!! Only 17 days until my scheduled c-section on July 21st. We've been doing lots of washing and organizing. I'm going to the dr. every week now and we've added classes at the hospital as well, so I feel like we're always downtown. Katelyn just completed a sibling class and it was wonderful. She was able to join the 4-6 yr. old class since it was the only open class before our due date. I thought she might be a little young, but you couldn't even tell the difference between her and the 5 yr. olds. She also did the most participating (she told the whole class she's having a little sister) and it was bordering on interrupting. A few times, I was so embarrassed. They watched a short video about babies, then they read them a book about being a big brother/sister. They each got to select a real-life looking baby doll, and the nurses who taught the class showed them how to hold a baby, feed them with bottles, and change a diaper. Katelyn did so well with the diaper change...I was impressed!! When they finished with all that, they were able to decorate a onesie for the baby with stamps. I'll take a picture of Katelyn's onesie when our camera arrives. She did a great job! She insisted on a pink rattle being on the the onesie, so who knows...maybe she knows something we don't. They finished the class with a cookie and juice box for the kids and they eached received a big brother/big sister t-shirt, a certificate, and a button with their picture on it. I was very impressed by the whole class and I think it helped get her excited about coming to the hospital and helping with the baby once we're home.

On the baby front, we are scheduled for our c-section on Monday, July 21st at 1pm. I'm a little nervous about having such a late time, as we can easily be bumped as emergencies pop up. I can't eat or drink anything until after the surgery or 8 hrs. before the surgery, so that makes it difficult. I'm just relieved to see an end in sight!!

That's all for now...