Update

Well, I had my dr's appt. Nothing too exciting. He did check me, but my cervix was too high to really tell if there was change. He could have been more invasive and found out, but he didn't want to aggrevate things. I basically had contractions for nearly 11 hours yesterday...it was a long day. My belly and back are sore, sore, sore today. I feel like I did 5000 crunches! I am up to 143.6 or something like that. Not bad. He said if I have this baby then I have this baby...they won't stop it. Otherwise, he'll see me in 2 weeks and then we'll go to every week. SO, looks like he's gonna get more time to cook. We'll just have to wait and see!

40 days...is it raining?

Someone reminded me that it rained for 40 days and 40 nights in the great flood. Was that you, Tracy? Whomever it was, I don't want rain for that long...while it is seeming like a short, short deadline right now with the baby coming, raining for that long seems never-ending.

HOWEVER, I'm thoroughly not convinced that Conrey is going to be content in there for 40 more days. It's been a rough afternoon, folks. It all started about 1:30-1:45...somewhere in there. What started? Contractions...every 8 minutes for an hour and a half...sometimes every 6 minutes. After that timeframe, they slowed to 10-12 minutes for 45 min or so. Then, it was back to 8. WHAT??? Finally, by about 6 p.m., they had slowed to 15-20 minutes where they currently reside. Yes, it is 9 p.m. and I'm still having contractions every 15-20 minutes. SHEESH! I'm supposed to wait until I have them every 5 minutes for a whole hour before going to the hospital. Um...I think that if they get to every 6-7 min for an hour, I might go and fib. Do you KNOW how quick my labor went last time? I started contracting at 6:30 and Cassie was born at 11:13. For tonight, though, it looks like labor is not organizing and I'll be okay.

Mentally, I am so not prepared for him to come right now. Physically...well, you all know how that's been. However, I do feel a bit jipped for all of these contractions with no baby. Oh, well...he's safe in there and is getting stronger every day that he's in there. I trust that God will have him come out when he's ready and not until then. Let's just leave the contractions until...well...then. :)

Misc.

Thought I'd start off with some pics from our photoshoot. We went to Portrait Innovations. It was a great experience and I will go there again! I think the pictures speak for themselves as to the quality. Yes, they were digital pictures and I got the CD of all 77 pics. Of course, I spent way too much money in the process, but can you blame me? :) :) :)



Mark got Conrey's room almost completely painted (2 coats) last night. He has 2 more walls to do the second coat on before the base is done. Then, we'll do circles on the walls in blues and browns and get his stuff set up. I'll get pictures up as soon as it's done. I'm really excited. The base color is a tan, which is a color that I've never done before, so it's branching out for me! :) The only thing that I'm not crazy about is that his room with kind of be a hodge podge of furniture...white changing table...everything else different shades of wood. Oh, well, at least he'll have a bed, right?!? :)



For now, here are the things that I need to purchase before he comes:
*Bassinet sheets that are not pink
*Hooded towels that are not pink
*Changing table cover that is...you guessed it...not pink
*Some type of dresser/bookcase/toy organizer for Cassie's room, as that is currently the job of the changing table. This is what my parents are giving us money for for her b-day. I just have to find one and get it now.
*Hangers for his clothes (Yes, I have pink and purple ones in Cassie's closet, but they're all being used)

I think that's it off the top of my head. He won't need "toys" per se at the beginning, but a large majority of our baby toys are pink. Poor kid! :) I tried really, really hard to get the big ticket items in neutral colors, patterns, etc. The bumbo is green, the high chair, infant seat, stroller, swing, etc. are all gender neutral. I think I'm good on all of that. It's just the toys...



Cassie has been really excited about babies lately wherever we go. I tell her "that baby is like baby Conrey is going to be." She just oogles over them and is so, so excited. I just hope that excitement continues once he's actually here!!! :) I think that you can tell how much she already loves him by the "belly pics" above, though.



As for Conrey...this boy keeps getting those super-sonic hiccups and he's still moving around quite a bit. Not as much, but still quite a bit. I officially have lost over half of my wardrobe because he's so big that things don't hide my belly anymore. I usually have to try something on and then ask Mark if he can see my belly. More often than not, it's a "yes." SO, if you see me wearing the same things over and over, just know that it's because nothing fits!!! :)



Well, that's all I know for now. If you're in our area, we're always up for playdates and company, so come on by to see us! We get bored around here just the 2 (well...3) of us! :) :) :)

Cassie's 2-year-old pictures

If you would like a link to Cassie's 2-year-old pictures, just send me an email and I'll send you the link...if I know who you are, that is! :) I will get some on here ASAP. They...are...priceless!

Birth Order

I thought that this was cute. It's about how you change from pregnancy to pregnancy and child to child. Hope you enjoy! Oh, and I have to say that there are certain ones that I am NOT! :)

Clothes:
1st baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your OB confirms your pregnancy.
2nd baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible...ghetto rigging the button with a rubber band.
3rd baby: Your maternity clothes already ARE your regular clothes.
_________________________________________
Preparing for the Birth:
1st baby: You practice your breathing religiously.
2nd baby: You don't bother because you remember that last time, breathing didn't do a thing.
3rd baby: You ask for an epidural in your eighth month. _________________________________________
The Layette:
1st baby: You pre-wash newborn's clothes, color-coordinate them, and fold them neatly in the baby's little bureau.
2nd baby: You check to make sure that the clothes are clean and discard only the ones with the darkest stains.
3rd baby: Boys can wear pink, can't they?
_________________________________________
Worries:
1st baby: At the first sign of distress--a whimper, a frown--you pick up the baby.
2nd baby: You pick the baby up when her wails threaten to wake your firstborn.
3rd baby: You teach your three-year-old how to restart the swing.
_________________________________________
Pacifier:
1st baby: If the pacifier falls on the floor, you put it away until you can go home and wash and boil it.
2nd baby: When the pacifier falls on the floor, you squirt it off with some juice from the baby's bottle.
3rd baby: You wipe it off on your shirt and pop it back in. _________________________________________
Diapering:
1st baby: You change your baby's diapers every hour, whether they need it or not.
2nd baby: You change their diaper every two to three hours, if needed.
3rd baby: You try to change their diaper before others start to complain about the smell or you see it sagging to their knees.
_________________________________________
Activities:
1st baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics, Baby Swing, Baby Zoo, Baby Movies and Baby Story Hour.
2nd baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics.
3rd baby: You take your infant to the supermarket and the dry cleaners.
_________________________________________
Going Out:
1st baby: The first time you leave your baby with a sitter, you call home five times.
2nd baby: Just before you walk out the door, you remember to leave a number where you can be reached.
3rd baby: You leave instructions for the sitter to call only if she sees blood.
_________________________________________
At Home:
1st baby: You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby.
2nd baby: You spend a bit of everyday watching to be sure your older child isn't squeezing, poking, or hitting the baby.
3rd baby: You spend a little bit of every day hiding from the children.
_________________________________________
Swallowing Coins:
1st child: When first child swallows a coin, you rush the child to the hospital and demand x-rays
2nd child: When second child swallows a coin, you carefully watch for the coin to pass.
3rd child: When third child swallows a coin you deduct it from his allowance!

WILD night x2

We had a crazy night of storms again last night. Oh, the joys of spring in the midwest! At about 1:30 or so, there was a rotation over our town. Luckily, it did not turn into a tornado. We did, however, have hurricane-like conditions with 70-80 MPH winds. Thank you Lord, for letting our new roof get put on before this! Up north of us, they had winds that measured up to 111 MPH. There was tons of damage and destruction. Quite crazy! Needless to say, I'm quite sleepy today.

I'm also bored today at only 8:40 a.m. SO, if anyone has a hankerin' to hang out, give me a call.

Finally, I wanted to pause to mention my sis-in-law and brother in OR who are putting an offer on a house today. We're praying for you, guys! I know that God has the perfect house picked out for you! If this is it, then I pray that the negotiations go smoothly and that you're proud homeowners SOON! :)

Everyone have a great day!

45 days to go

...until my due date, that is. Man. As each of those days ticks by, I am reminded of the mountain of things to do. Poor little man has NOT been prepared for due to my "issues" during this pregnancy. By this point, I'm pretty sure Cassie's room was all ready to go...her clothes had been washed...I was waiting for those 45 days to pass. That's like 30+15! That's just not much!!!

I have to weed through all of Cassie's old things to see what is gender neutral. I'll give you a hint...not much. Mark and/or his dad have to get the nursery painted. After that, there is bedding to wash and the crib to put together. Then, I have to get out the carseat, swing, bouncer, etc. and get those all washed up and ready. The changing table has to be moved from Cassie's room where it is currently a toy holder to Conrey's room so that it can be a changing table again. Oh, and I need to buy a cover for it that is not pink. :) Hmmm...what else? Tracy and Lori had said that I could borrow some clothes from them, so I have to get them and organize them. Lots to do...only 45 days (or less...that's the stressful part...the OR LESS!!!) to get it all done.

Do you think my tune has changed a bit on this whole due date thing? My outlook is so much better now that I'm not in constant agony. Please continue to pray that it stays that way. I really want to enjoy my last 45 (or less) days with just Cassie and Momma. We've been playing outside a bunch. If you happen to drive by, you'll see our artwork on the driveway. We've been going places (her favorites are Target and Toys'R'Us). We've been just having fun together. I want that to continue clear up until baby brother comes.

Well, trash duty calls. Everyone have a splendid evening/day and I'll catch ya later.