Monday, February 16, 2009

10 Reasons

10 Reasons How I Know I'm Ready for Baby Girl to Come:

1. When my "innie" belly button becomes and "outie".

2. When I need to take a break and sit down in the middle of taking a shower (I need one of those geriatric chairs in there!).

3. When my maternity clothes don't fit me anymore, and I feel more comfortable in Jared's t-shirts and sweatpants (with cuffs rolled up, of course!).

4. When I can't even put my socks on without breaking a sweat.

5. When I start calling Baby by her full name, as if she's in trouble, because her stretching and kicking is causing me pain and discomfort.

6. When I get overly creative about using my toes to reach and grab for things because I just can't be bothered to sit or stand up.

7. When I lay in bed for 5 minutes trying to decide if I should get up and pee, or if I can try to hold it, because the whole ordeal just takes too much effort!

8. When I'm IMing my friends overseas in the middle of the night because I can't sleep.

9. When I'm wishing that the dog or my 2-year-old would be able to make me a cup of tea.

10. When I'm up in the middle of the night coming up with this list and blogging about it!

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Baby's "walls"

Since Baby Girl will be in our bedroom, it will be a little tight, so we've had to get creative! She has 2 walls (yes, walls) that's hers. This first wall is ready for her (see pic)...it's where her bassinette is. The other wall is where her changing table is, but the wall itself is awaiting a shelf to be put up and other decorative accessories. Will take a pic when this is done. We also managed to put the glider and ottoman in our room. It's currently wedged in the corner between her 2 walls. Unfortunately, it's in front of our closet. So, it will be interesting getting to our clothes!

Well, at least she's got somewhere to sleep!


Saturday, February 7, 2009

Joshua's Day

Before Baby Girl comes in a few weeks, we wanted to do something special for Joshua, just to celebrate him and to remind him how much we love him. So, on Friday, we planned some fun activities that he could enjoy.

Friday AM: we went to the DuPage Children's Museum in Naperville (actually, it was only Jared and Joshua because it would have been too difficult for me to walk around - I had breakfast with Super Jen instead...heehee). They had a blast!! Jared is convinced that it's better than the Chicago Children's Museum at Navy Pier that we went to this summer. So, here are just some pics (we took over 100 these last 2 days!).

Friday Lunch: we went to McDonald's in Oswego for lunch. Joshua got a Happy Meal and an ice-cream cone afterwards. What a treat!

Friday PM: we checked into our hotel in Oswego where there was an indoor pool. We had intended to go to an indoor waterpark while we were planning for this, but it was all too expensive. We figured that Joshua wouldn't care, and a hotel with an indoor pool would suffice!
Friday Dinner: we drove to the Fox Valley Mall area and went to Magical Castle for dinner. We had a certificate for a large cheese pizza, a pitcher of pop, and 40 tokens to play games with, all for $8!! (you all need to check out 1410AM on the radio, or go to http://www.wrmn1410.com/) After pizza, Joshua and Jared hit the game room, and played Skee Ball (well, Jared did most of the playing). Joshua played in the indoor play area, but unfortunately, was not tall enough for any of the rides. With 212 tickets in hand, he was able to exchange it for a plastic yellow truck and a bouncy ball!
Joshua and Mommy sharing a Concrete Mixer from Culver's!
That evening, Joshua slept very soundly, and did not wake up once during the night!

Saturday AM: we enjoyed a wonderful hot breakfast at the hotel, and then Jared and Joshua went back for more swimming. We checked out before lunch. The hotel was awesome, and really added to the enjoyment of our day. We had a an awesome time overall, and will cherish these 2 days for a long time! Yay for Joshua!!

Sunday, February 1, 2009

35 weeks!

It's 4am, and I've been up since 2. This has been a recurring thing over the past couple of months. I didn't think that this "nesting" phase would last this long! When I was pregnant with Joshua, at least I could work in his room and get things ready for him. But this time around, I've had to go downstairs and try to pass the time by reading or getting on the laptop (actually, I've been able to chat online with my overseas friends - it's nice that they're in a different time zone!).

Anyway, I'm glad that I made it to 35 weeks. Every week counts, and each passing day is a blessing. I'm praying that she'll stay in-utero till at least 37 weeks. That being said, that's only 2 weeks away! Isn't that crazy?? Some days, I feel totally unprepared - I realized today that we don't have any bath towels for her. I guess she can just use one of Joshua's - he only has 2. Also, I wonder if I can remember how to care for a newborn. I'm sure it'll come back to me. Other days, I feel like I'm ready. Since this pregnancy has been more difficult, I wouldn't mind if she came early. I've had trouble sleeping, and walking around just kills sometimes. So, in that respect, I'm ready to birth her! Not to mention, I'm dying to put her in cute girly outfits!

More importantly, I look forward to moments where I can just gaze at her and relish in the astounding beauty of God's creation - examining every contour of her face, the wrinkles in her hands, the curl of her toes, the flecks of (brown? red?) in her, perhaps, black hair. I remember doing this with Joshua, and I never got tired of it. I treasured those moments, especially during the midnight feedings (I know, I'm crazy because I actually look forward to getting up at insane hours to nurse!). But, is this what Mary meant when she "treasured these things in her heart"?

Despite the ups and downs of this pregnancy, I'm very thankful for being a mom of almost 2 kids. God HAS blessed us abundantly. Just thinking about how difficult it was for us in the beginning when we were trying to have a second child, I know that God's timing is perfect. I think of the story of Esther, and how she felt that perhaps she had been born for such a time as this (that she was the only one who could save her people), I can't help but wonder what God's plans are for our little girl. Why was she conceived almost a year after our own intended timeline? I guess we'll never know till we get to heaven. What I do know is that she's indeed a blessing - a huge gift from God. As she squirms and kicks in my tummy right now (I had a chocolate brownie!), I know that God has fashioned her and woven her into the exact person that He wants her to be. And I get the priviledge of being her mom, and loving her and teaching her, and God-willing, leading her to the one true King, Jesus!

When she comes, I feel like our family will be complete. Not that it isn't complete right now, but perhaps enriched would be a better word. I am indeed blessed, and despite the current economic circumstances in our lives, there are still so many reasons to rejoice and be thankful! My prayer for our family is that we'll bring Him all the honor and glory and praise, by loving God, loving each other, and loving other people WELL.

Here ends the ramblings of a sleep-deprived, pregnant woman...