Delivery Day

Tomorrow is D-day! We are really excited. It is probably going to be hard to sleep tonight (not to mention that it feels as though Hailey has "dropped" and I am back to going to the bathroom every 2 hours!). We have to be at the hospital at 6:30am which is WAY too early for me. My parents are arriving tonight and will be at our house tomorrow watching Eli until Hailey is born.

Her room is mostly done but unfortunately we are still minus a mattress and a dresser changer top attachment. I am not usually a difficult person to please but I have been so annoyed with this local furniture store that I finally filed a complaint with the BBB. I am tired of dealing with it all but am thankful we at least got the large pieces before she got here. Here is a peek...

When we get a mattress for the bed, I have a yellow sheet to put on it that matches the walls and the yellow that is in the fabric. I really like how her bedding turned out!

I forgot to post these pictures from us at the pool last weekend. I have made several last ditch efforts to get this baby girl to turn. One of which involved some headstands in the pool at the YMCA. I made Marc take a picture in case it worked. :) Unfortunately, it didn't work but I still think this will make for a good story for when she is older!

And here are some pictures of my little cutie pie. He loves playing with his balls and jumping in the water to Marc (or more like falling in the water expecting Marc to catch him!)

Stay tuned for pictures of Miss Hailey June when she arrives...

Baby Countdown and Taco Soup

This has been a great week and I really feel like Fall is here. There is something refreshing about experiencing all of the seasons. I know some people miss out on this where they live but I truly love it. It always makes me reflect on God our Creator and for the seasons of life he walks through with me. The cooler air and changing leaves just seem to whisper that change is upon us. A new baby is coming to us very soon... next week as a matter of fact. I can't wait to meet and hold her. My eyes well up with tears when I think about it! I love being a mom and am SO thankful that God has given me another special life to look after.

I had my last OB appointment this morning and everything looks great (except that she is still the wrong way). I am going into the hospital next Thursday for a version/induction or c-section unless she decides to turn on her own before then. I will be 38.5 weeks at that point. Dr. H wants to attempt the version before I would go into labor which was at 39 weeks with Eli. So, October 14th will be the day! They will be doing a test on the amniotic fluid the day before in the doctor's office to make sure her lungs have reached full maturity and then we will be all set to go.

It has been funny sharing this part of my pregnancy with my patients over the past few weeks. I see a little two year old girl for her well child check-ups whose mom recently told me she had been breech until 39 weeks. Then, she decided to turn on her own the day before her mom was going to have a version done. I saw a 60 year old woman yesterday who told me about two of her babies that were breech that she delivered naturally. That is not usually the way they do it anymore, but I enjoyed listening to her tell me all about her experiences. Overall, my patients all think Hailey is going to turn... but that she is going to be ornery when she comes out. :) Ha! We will find that one out soon enough.

I have been whittling away on my "to do" list for a few weeks now and it is mostly done. We have had a difficult time getting our baby furniture here on time (we procrastinated a little this time around ordering it and then it was running 2 weeks late!) but it is finally getting to the store today and I am going to get her bedding put on and all her clothes put away when it gets delivered today or tomorrow. Then, after a little last minute cleaning, I will feel mostly ready. Next week, I don't plan on cooking at all because I don't want to mess up a clean kitchen. :) I am making our last meal tomorrow night and then putting the apron away at least for a little while. I did manage to get a meal together for some friends earlier this week who just had a baby. I wanted to do something easy so I made the perfect Fall meal... soup! Here is the recipe for one of Marc's all-time favorite soups. We eat it with crushed tortilla chips and cheese on top. Yummy!

Taco Soup (this recipe came from my mom's principal in their school cookbook)

1 lb. ground beef
1 package of taco seasoning (mild or regular, your preference)
1 package of Hidden Valley ranch dressing mix
1 can of mild Rotel
1 can of green chilies
1 can of whole kernel corn + 2 cans of water
2 cans of pinto beans
1 can of Del Monte Mexican tomatoes (I can't ever seem to find these so I use Mexican stewed tomatoes and chop them a little in the food processor before adding them into the pot)

Brown beef, drain, and add taco seasoning. Mix all other ingredients into a large pot without draining any of the cans. Add in beef and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Serves 6-8.

I plan on putting a post up next week of Hailey's room so stay tuned! I did have to share this picture with you of shirts I got for Eli and Hailey for when she arrives next week. Aren't these so precious!!! I just LOVE them. I found them on Etsy through a seller called Zoey's Attic. She has some other cute designs that you should check out if you are looking for big brother/sister and little brother/sister shirts.

Have a great weekend!

Time for a Trim!

Eli's hair had gotten pretty long so we figured it was time for someone who knows what they are doing to cut it. :) We decided this would be a trial run before my sister's wedding but they cut it so short that he may not need another cut before then!

They had free cookies to enjoy while we were waiting. There were animal crackers, chocolate chip, and oreos. Mmmm!

Here is the before picture. All the kids get to sit on a horse or rocket while they get their hair cut.

Here we go. Eli is watching Bob the Builder on TV while she is cutting. He never really watches TV unless it is football with Marc so it kept his attention for a little while.

 It looks pretty good! This cut looks SO much better than the last one I attempted. It was a much better experience for Eli as well. He only cried the last minute or two when we had to hold his head so she could get a straight line across the back. They gave us a certificate for his first hair cut and a bag with a locket of hair. This place was so much fun!



Our Family of Three

Marc was talking the other day while we were waiting to eat at Olive Garden about how we are living the last few weeks with our family of three. I remember having a similar discussion shortly before we had Eli. Change is upon us and it is a WONDERFUL thing, but is also something different. Things will never be the way they are right now again. After he said that on Friday night, I think I was able to cherish our weekend as a family even more. We ate out a lot this weekend (what else do you do when you are 37 weeks pregnant?) so here are some pictures of our fun.

We are working on Eli's ability to smile for the camera. He still avoids the camera when he sees it but he will now say "cheese" when we take a picture of him which is what he was doing in this picture

He loves this monkey harness. We take off the "leash" part and let him run around with this monkey on his back. He LOVES it.

All ready for church. Isn't he a cutie? My friend Dianna got him this vest and it matched perfectly with an outfit my mom had bought.

A little snack for the road...

and who doesn't enjoy a cat nap in the car. :)

If you can't tell, Eli's hair is much shorter in these last few pictures compared to the first ones. He got his first real haircut on Saturday and I have lots of pictures to share but it deserves its own post! I will try to put them up in the next day or two. :)