39 weeks, 1 day

Baby T #2 will arrive sometime today. (we hope)

We decided to induce, and today just happened to be the only day this week that worked for us and our doctor...which means that the chain of due dates/actual birthdays will continue with #2 being born on Audrey's due date...how fun!

I'm really tired and have no creative juices flowing right now. forgive me for the boringness.

now, I'm off to have a baby!

thoughts at 37 weeks, 5 days

Well, it's almost time to have this baby. Here's a few of my thoughts these days:

-I'm relieved that Audrey's birthday weekend is behind us. I purposely had Audrey's birthday party the weekend before her birthday "just in case."

-I'm also relieved that Audrey's actual birthday is also behind us. I really didn't want both of my kids to have the same birthday. I know the odds are 1/365, but when their due dates were only 6 days apart, the thought definitely crossed my mind. anyway, they'll each have their own special day, now. whew!

-Speaking of due dates: My original due date (according to my cycle) is May 23. According to the 8-week ultrasound measurements, the baby's due date is May 27. Our 20-week ultrasound measurements also showed the baby's due date to be May 27. The 36-week ultrasound measurements showed the baby's due date to be May 19. I wish there was some test that would tell you when the baby would ACTUALLY be born. but, oh, well.

-Part 2 of "Due Dates": So...here's some random facts. I was born on April 29, but was due on May 5. Audrey's birthday is May 5, but her due date was May 17. May 17 is only 6 days before baby #2's due date. Wouldn't that be cool if #2 was born on Audrey's due date?

-Are we really ready for the all-nighters again?!? and how am I going to have the energy to take care of our very energetic 2 year old all day after all those all-nighters?!?

-I wonder what it will be like to shop with 2 kids.

-I wonder if we really know what we're getting ourselves into with 2 kids...too late now! :)

-These last few days I've really been trying to enjoy my "me time" (aka Audrey's nap time) as I probably won't have 2 hours to myself in the middle of the day again for a very long time.

-I'm also trying to really soak up my time with just Audrey lately. I have to admit, I'm a little nervous about how she'll react to having my time split between her and her little sibling. She's been used to me being able to read to her and play with her and just be there with her, only her. I know we'll figure it all out, it's just going to be a big transition for all of us!

-My doctor just informed me that she will be out of the state from May 19-22. Prime time for this baby to arrive (if he/she hasn't by then). Just so you know...I really want my doctor to deliver my baby. I can't really explain why. I just do. So...I have a few choices. I can just go with the flow and let the baby arrive whenever. (I keep reminding myself that this kiddo could arrive in the middle of the night or on a weekend when my doctor isn't on call anyway and a different doctor would deliver the baby and there's nothing I could do about it.) Or. I could choose to be induced when my doctor is going to be here. Is that a good enough reason to be induced? Do you even need a reason/excuse to be induced? Does is really matter who is "down there" to catch the baby as he/she comes out? Will I even care in that moment? THEN...I start thinking about the conveniences of being induced, such as: you know when the baby will arrive so there's no "am I really in labor? should I call Tyson and have him leave work?" or "great, my water just broke in Target!" Another perk is that you get to have your bags packed and ready to go. And Audrey's bags will be packed and ready to go and we'll get to drop her off with my parents before we head to the hospital the night before...all in a calm manner. Another thing is that I'll get to pick my baby's birthday (I could actually pick May 17 because it's a Monday!!!) I better stop thinking of more perks or I may just talk myself into it! Only time will tell what we'll do.

-We have boy and girl names officially picked out. If you're really curious about what they are, just log onto my Shutterfly account (or TinyPrints or PhotoAffections...I can't really make up my mind yet) and check out "my saved projects." yes, I've already picked out options for baby announcements. I'm just waiting for the baby to arrive so I can insert the birth info and some pictures. Does that make me prepared? or just crazy?

-We have the pack-n-play set up in our bedroom with diapers, wipes, desitin, baby lotion, blankets, burp cloths, etc. We have the infant car seat installed in the car. We have the swing and bouncer ready and waiting in the baby room. All of the neutral clothes are washed and folded and in the dresser. We have a girl and boy outfit ready to bring the baby home in. Daddy is done with all his classes for this semester, which means: Baby, you can come whenever you're ready. We can't wait to meet you!!! :)

Happy Birthday, Audrey!

As I sit down to write you a letter for your 2nd birthday, I'm in disbelief that it was 2 years ago that we first met you and held you in our arms. So much has happened since then and you've grown from a squishy, little blob of cuddles into an independent little girl. Where has the time gone?!?

I'm about to get tears in my eyes just thinking of how much we love you and all the things you do to brighten our days. We look forward to many more years of smiles, giggles, tackles and funny faces from our little squirrel!! (And we also look forward to seeing you in your new role as a big sister very soon! We know you'll do great!)

And now, a little trip down memory lane:

Just an hour old

one week old

6 months old

1 year old

18 months old

last week

at your 2nd birthday party

We love you more than we can ever tell you!!!!

love, mommy and daddy

Mailbox Mystery

Let's go back in time about 3 weeks.

Tyson, Audrey and I were gone from our house from 4:30-7:30pm. When we left, everything was just as it should be and when we returned, our mailbox was gone. Both Tyson and I noticed that the mailbox was not laying on the ground where you would think it would be if it had been knocked over, so I thought that maybe whoever hit it was nice and moved it up onto our porch for us. Nope. It was no where to be found. So Tyson asked some of our neighbors if they had heard or seen anything during the 3 hours we were gone and none of them knew anything.

(Sidenote: I don't know why the picture orientation changed when I uploaded it, but I don't want to take the time to change it...)

(2nd Sidenote: This same mailbox was knocked over a year or so ago, so Tyson put it back together with JB Weld and reinforced it with some steel posts inside...so we also wondered how much damage it caused to whatever or whoever hit it.)

So...I went to the post office and had our mail put on hold. I was told we could have it held for 30 days and then we would have to get a PO box until we had a new mailbox. I also contacted our homeowners association to find out where we could get a new mailbox and found out that if we wanted a new one, it would be around $300. We decided to not buy one right away.

About ten days later, Tyson was talking to one of our neighbors and he said that he saw one of our neighborhood mailboxes in the trailer of the company that mows our neighborhood common areas. Tyson called the mowing company and, sure enough, they confirmed that they had picked it up because it was in some bushes by the entrance to our neighborhood.

Seriously...so you're telling me that whoever knocked our mailbox over thought that it was a good idea (and worth the extra effort) to pick it up, load it into their car, drive to the entrance and then dump it in the bushes?!? Why not just leave it on our lawn so we can at least try to put it back together?!? I don't get it.

Anyway, we were able to get it back from the mowing company and, to our complete surprise, it was fine! I was expecting to see it cracked and broken and to have to buy a new one. What a relief!

So...on Sunday, we decided to put the mailbox back together and it just happened to be a very windy afternoon. Tyson was JB Weld-ing it back together but the wind kept blowing it over. I tried to hold it in place but a gust of wind would come up and it would cause me to move and we realized that we would have to stand there any hold it for 4-5 hours until it was dry. That was something we weren't willing to do, which meant we had to come up with something that would stabilize it. We tried the ladder and the wind knocked that over in about 10 seconds. Tyson's next idea was the mower and it just so happened that the handle was at the perfect height, so we backed the mower up next to the mailbox and then put some wood blocks under the wheels so it wouldn't roll away. Then Tyson got some rope and some stakes and tied it all together and it worked! And it looked rediculous! It made me think of one of those Jeff Foxworthy "You might be a redneck if..." sayings. Here's some pictures to prove it:

Now, if there was just some way to find out what happened during those 3 hours we were gone...

Curiosity

(First of all, I want to wish my wonderful husband a very happy 29th birthday!! I love you, hun!)

As we inch closer and closer to the arrival of our second child, we're both getting to that "we're really getting curious about the gender of the baby" stage. We've been through this before since we didn't find out what Audrey was until the doctor announced "it's a girl!" as she was laid on my chest for the first time. (simply, an amazing moment, by the way!) But this time my curiosity level is through the roof! With about 7 weeks to go, I find my thoughts wandering to what our home and lives would look like and how different they would be depending on the gender of #2. We like the look of both scenarios, but for some reason, I'm way more curious at this stage in the pregnancy to find out than I was the first time around!

Let me explain: When we were pregnant the first time around, it didn't seem to matter to either of us if we had a boy or a girl. Tyson, obviously, wanted a son, but we knew we didn't want only one child, so he knew it wasn't worth getting all worked up over the first child being a boy. I want a son at sometime, too, but just as much as I wanted a boy, I wanted a girl that much, too. Basically, we'd like to have at least one of each by the time we're done having kids. That being said, it would be nice to have a boy this time and have the pressure taken off to have one of each, but we are also thinking that we want more than 2 kids, so why should we care if this one is a boy or girl? #3 (or possibly #4) could be a boy. anyway...

All that to say...

Throughout the last two years we've had many friends have babies and one thing we noticed was that most of them had an ultrasound around 35-37 weeks. For whatever reason, we did not have an ultrasound that late with Audrey; our "big" ultrasound at 20 weeks was our last one. So...at my last appointment, my doctor mentioned doing an ultrasound in about a month, so we now have one last ultrasound scheduled before we meet our new little one. And I'd be lying if I didn't admit that a tiny, itty-bitty, really small part of me just wants to find out. And for those of you that really know me, that's a big deal. That's how curious I am!!! Tyson is now the one holding strong saying "we've already made it this far, we might as well wait a couple more weeks." I don't think I would actually give in when the day of the ultrasound came, but it's nice to know that Tyson will be there reminding me of how much I want that same moment with #2 that we had when we found out #1 was a girl. I'm not sure when the roles reversed, but I am very glad that it happened or else we might cave in.

But who knows...we still have about 3 weeks to decide! ;)

9 weeks to go

Dear sweet little baby,

Mommy is now 31 weeks along with you and we can hardly believe that you'll be here in such a short amount of time! I know that I told you in the last letter that we couldn't believe how fast the time has gone but seriously...the weeks are flying by!!!
Another thing I told you in the last letter was that we had a girl name pretty much picked out for you (in case you're a girl). and we've picked that name about 4 times. What I mean by that is: one of us will come up with another girl name and we'll like it for a few days and then we'll change our mind and go back to the original name we've liked since about 18 weeks. So...I'd say, we're almost set on it. ;) We've made some lists for boy names and veto-ed a few of each others' and we now have a list of about 4-5 names that we both like, but for now, there's not a real favorite. We'll work on it. Baby, you'll have a name when you're born, don't worry about it!

We have been very busy getting ready for you! We have your big sister moved into her big girl room and big girl bed, so the nursery will be all yours when you arrive! All of the newborn and 0-3 month neutral clothes are already washed and folded and put into the drawers in your dresser, the crib mattress is up on the highest setting again with the bumpers back in place and we have both a boy and girl outfit ready to take you home in!!

Kiddo, I can't get over how active you are! Especially when I'm ready to go to sleep! Just this week I started feeling you kicking me in my ribs. I feel like I'm carrying you lower than your sister was, but those kicks reminded me of how high you really are! As much as I may complain about being kicked in the ribs, I know I'll miss this precious time we have together.

One of the questions we get the most right now is: "What are you most looking forward to with #2?" Other than finding out if you're a boy or girl and just getting to finally hold you, we really can't wait to see Audrey as your big sister! She loves giving you hugs and kisses already and is having fun practicing with all of our friends' newborn babies and, for the most part, she's doing really well! We hope that she's as excited about you when you arrive as she is about mommy's baby bump! Of course, we're looking forward to all of the usual things, too, like figuring out your personality and seeing all of your firsts and all of the little smiles and giggles that you'll bring into our home. :)

Baby, keep on growing strong and healthy for about 2 more months. We look forward to the day you arrive and can finally see the little face that we've been waiting for that will make our family of three into a family of four. We thank God for the blessing you already are and the joy you will bring into our lives!

We love you!!!

Update

Just an update...nothing too amazing.

1. I did not get to go to the retreat last weekend. I finally started feeling better Saturday afternoon so I was able to enjoy part of the weekend with Tyson and Audrey. I'm very bummed that I missed the retreat...especially after hearing all the ladies talk about how amazing it was and all the fun they had together.

2. I passed glucose test #2 (the 3 hour test) with flying colors. I scored 15-25 points below the cut-offs on all four tests. My doctor assured me that I definitely do NOT have gestational diabetes and says she thinks the first test was a fluke. What a frustrating, waste of time that got me all nervous for no reason! anyway, I'm now 28 weeks along with #2, which means I'm in the 3rd trimester. Seriously, didn't I just find out a few weeks ago that I was pregnant again? I can't believe how much faster the second pregnancy goes!

3. Last night, Audrey came down with what I had last weekend. I don't like being sick, but it's a whole other level when it's your child that is sick and you can't do anything to help them feel better. It was a long, sleepless night, but we made it and she was pretty much back to normal today (after taking a 3 hour nap), so I'm hoping it was just a 8 hour bug. (and I'm also hoping for a full night of sleep!)

4. Tyson is out of town again for work this week. I miss that guy when he's gone.

5. Audrey is doing great in her big girl bed! We're a week into this new adventure and we're slowing figuring out what comes along with her new freedom and making up the rules as we go. The thing I'm finding the hardest to deal with is once she's awake (no matter what time it is and since she can open all the doors in our house) she leaves her room and comes directly into our room. fun, fun!!

So...there's the update. Good night, everyone!