Hi All
Just to keep you up to date:
We're at t minus 2 weeks until baby...
I'm going twice weekly for ultrasounds now to make sure all is well. So far so good! This kid is a mover and was actually sucking - quite enthusiastically - on it's fingers when I had my ultrasound yesterday. The little cheeks were just moving and the jaws were chomping away... It's kind of funny to be able to peek in on what's going on in there.
Since we have not been able to find our own place, we are trying to settle ourselves in for the next few months. It was a complete overhaul in plans, but the closer we were getting to my due date, the more I felt like moving and actually getting settled before the baby's birth was becoming very unrealistic. It has been an extremely tough pill to swallow for us, since we are so anxious to get back to "normal" (I'm not even sure what normal is with 3 kids...), and feel
desperate for our own space, boundaries, stuff, rules, routines, privacy, decisions, plans, etc. I've said this before: my parents are GREAT... It's just time to go. It has BEEN time to go, but apparently not (according to the Man in charge). Anyway - we have decided to go with staying put until I get recovered from surgery, the baby gets adjusted to life with 2 loud brothers, and Samuel & Cole get adjusted to another baby. Hopefully sometime this Spring we can revisit house hunting.
Until then...
We got into our storage space and got out some baby things. I have been hard at work washing things, figuring out what we need, etc. We still need to shop for a bigger car (probably a minivan) - as we cannot all fit in our Maxima (can you say 3 car seats??). We were hoping to do that this weekend, but once again - no time. I have also been sick and really hope to be recovered before the baby arrives. My Dad has pneumonia, Cole is recovering from bilateral ear infections and is working on 3 teeth, Sam has a cold and has complained intermittently of his ear and throat hurting... I really would like to just quarantine my family and Clorox everything. Yes, I am that person - even with kid # 3. Keep your germs to yourself.
I am working until next Friday before going out on leave which will put me at 39 weeks. It's more exhausting than I can describe, but I'm not the only woman in the world who has done it, and I'll make it. Thankfully I have a husband who loves sleep as much as I do and is well aware that in 2 weeks + or - I'm going to lack significant amounts of it. He encourages me to get to bed. My belly is huge and though I know it to be true it really doesn't feel good when anyone other than my husband comments on it. I know I'm pregnant, but I've done this before. It's not ALL baby, and there will be quite a bit there when the baby is out. Not a happy thought for me. The response I'd like to give to the "your belly is huge comment" is: I'm pregnant. What's your excuse? but I have been trying to sensor myself. :)
Samuel says that he doesn't really remember Cole being born. Recently he said, "If anyone brings another crying baby to this house, I'm leaving and going to my own house.". He told me that I could come with him, but when I said that I had to take care of the baby, he said, "OK, well then Dad can come.". Darin is actually fine with that - given his affection for crying babies... Samuel loves his school and has started asking to stay for "lunch bunch" (2 hour extended day). He said, "Mom, how come everyone gets to stay for lunch bunch but me?". So, now he gets to stay about once each week and is very happy with that. Samuel is a neat kid - he is very inquisitive and is an excellent negotiator. He is actually a lot of fun to talk to. He pushes everything to the limit, but to his credit boundaries have been pretty gray (impossible to enforce the rules when I'm gone for most of his waking hours). Samuel is into some more stuff now, and it's fun. He tried and liked bowling and is asking to try soccer this Spring. He is still a huge superhero fan and says that he wants to be Ironman when he grows up. He still talks CONSTANTLY and lately has been asking when the Summer is coming so we can go swimming.
Cole has absolutely no clue that his life is about to change, and this baby will rock his world for sure. He is having lots of fun though - pulling the baby clothes out of the dresser drawers, lying down in the Moses basket saying "night", and sitting in the baby tub. He's a cuddler and has been talking even more. He loves to read his books and will lobby for 4 or 5 at bedtime if you let him. He finishes most of the sentences in his favorite books, and it's so cute! He is also starting to count but his favorite numbers are 2, 5 and 8. We usually get to 3 or 4 successfully then he jumps right to 5 and 8. Cole still loves to eat and I wish we owned stock in Stonyfield Yo Baby because he would eat 4-5 yogurts a day if we'd let him. He does all of the normal 18 month old things: Throws his cup, gets into any unlocked cabinet that he can and takes anything out that he can reach. He is stubborn as heck. He can open twist caps - even the child proof ones, and had a ball dumping out some chocolate extract the other day. Cole still loves to be outside, and the cold weather doesn't seem to bother him. I know that when the baby is born Cole will seem so big to me, but he is still my baby...
Darin and I are good - both working hard and looking forward to having our own place again someday. We are excited for a night out - just us - on 2/6 (hopefully it won't snow!). Darin is VERY happy that the Colts are going to the Superbowl this year, and he is looking forward to hunting this weekend (end of deer season).
I don't know how long it will be before I get to do a REAL update again, so I just thought I'd keep you posted...
