still here... barely!

Well, we are still here! The due date is 15 days away and CANNOT come soon enough. On a serious note, I will not be completely at ease until we have a screaming baby in the delivery room. However, I am definitely over this whole "pregnant" bit.

We are 0 for 2 as far as our triage visits at the hospital go. I went in at 34 weeks with some very consistent, pretty strong contractions. But apparently, there were no match for modern medicine and a shot of something-or-other stopped it all and we went home.

Then this past week, I woke up Tuesday night with horrible, make-you-want-to-cry, piercing contractions. They continued regularly for an hour, so following WHAT THE DOCTOR TOLD ME TO DO, I called and they said go to triage. The contractions continued, I was at 2 cm, and just assumed that Ryan would be arriving that night or early the next morning. Well, I was checked again and was still at 2 cm. The triage nurse came back in and started, "Well, the doctor feels comfortable..." and I was all excited to hear "... admit you and get this party started!". Instead it finished like this, "... sending you home." You know that movie music where it goes, "wah, wah, wah". Yeah, that is what I heard in my head. I was still contracting and could not believe it. 37 weeks, come on! Close enough, right? The nurse told us we would probably be back later that day or the next for full-on labor. That was a little better and so we went home.

And of course, as soon as we got home, everything stopped and here we are - 2 weeks to go and sooooooo ready to be finished!

There is LOTS of waddling, LOTS of swelling, and LOTS of crabbiness. However, I try not to get too whiny about it and just remember it is all in preparation to meet those 10 tiny toes and 10 tiny fingers and sweet, sweet face.
It is very different, the second time around. I have an idea of what I might feel and the anticipation is overwhelming! Can't wait to meet the beautiful boy I am already so in love with!

William has been great! He is really excited about meeting Ryan and talks about all the things he will do. He talks about being the big brother and changing all the poopy diapers by himself - and I PROMISE I did not coach him to say that! We have been trying to include him in all the baby preparations including all the clothes washing, furniture arranging, and decoration making - he is excited!

In the meantime, here is what we have been up to:

We met one of my good friends from A&M, Megan, for lunch a while back when she was passing through town with her husband, Jon, and their sweet little girl, Emma.


Then, a few weeks ago, this guy:


opened this thing for preseason:


and we were there! (thanks Dad!)


we saw this crazy thing:


and this guy:


and this guy (Gig 'em!)


And of course, William and Lucy continue to bond over Sesame Street books.




Everyone say prayers for a healthy baby arriving very soon! Love to all!

my book

So I am putting the little man to bed tonight (a whole 'nother story in itself!) and we go through the whole ritual:
pajamas. brush teeth. wash hands (don't ask - somehow it became part of the routine and the world will end if it is removed from the routine). give Daddy hugs and kisses. read the "moon book" (Goodnight, Moon). turn out lamp. get into bed.

however, tonight, I say to little man, "Are you going to throw your pacifiers down?" (a new lovely little trick he has to get us back in the room). he shakes his head no.
"Are you going to cry and yell?" (this kiddo is a master manipulator). he shakes his head no.

I tuck him in, leave and close the door, and the screaming/shreiking/yelling/completely snot-covered ordeal begins. following my American Academy of Pediatrics advice for crazy 2-yr olds, I give him 10 minutes.
the minute I open the door to go back in, he stops crying. oh yeah.
then he says to me. "mama, poo poo."
what?!?

and actually, he did. he really had pooped.(to his credit, however, he had not thrown the pacifiers on the floor! way to go, son!)
so, lamp on, change diaper, apply ointment, discuss "night night" again - no throwing objects, no yelling, etc.

tuck into bed, kiss, "I love you", leave, close door. he doesn't yell. great, right? I thought so.

until he started growling at me.

yes. growling. I told him he couldn't cry and yell, so instead my brilliant son decides he will growl at me. so I quickly opened the door again and said, "no growling either."
and honestly, that was that. he was asleep in 2 minutes.

we have had going-to-sleep drama for a month or so with the little man and I was stressed, reading articles, receiving lots of unsolicited advice from well-meaning co-workers, etc.
and to think that all I had to do was to tell him to stop.

I think I will write a book and make millions of $$ - the title will be "How to Get Your 2-yr-old to Quit Throwing Fits and Go to Sleep". the inside will have 5 words: "Tell him to stop it."

and you can all say you knew me back when... (and yes, I'll give you all an autographed copy of the book.)

sigh.