Bummed Out.

All I want is a healthy baby. I understand there are many people out there that would do anything to get pregnant and have a healthy child. So, with that said, I would like to vent a little bit about a phone call I received today...(I know I am blessed to be pregnant and to be healthy so far)...

Cell phone rings:

Caller: "Hi, Is this Heather?"

Me: "Yes"

Caller: "I am the scheduler for Dr. J at the hospital. I have you scheduled for your C-section on July 31st at 8:30 am"

Me: (with surprised tone) "Oh, O...K..."

Caller: "You sound surprised. Are you?"

Me: "Well, yes. I thought Dr. J had said the week of the 27th and I was hoping for Monday the 27th (of course!)"

Caller: "Well, that is what fits in Dr. J's schedule. Let me call him and see if he can slide you into Tuesday the 28th".

Me: "Thank you so much".

We hung up and I had some hope that I would not have to "hold on" for an extra week (which by the way, feels like several weeks).

I get a second phone call at work today...

Caller: "Is this Heather?"

Me: "Yes, it is."

Caller: "I talked to Dr. J and he doesn't want to take the baby any earlier than the 31st (which is FRIDAY of the week he told me I would have our baby)."

Me: "Oh, okay."

Caller: "What is your actual due date?"

Me: "August 4th according to the ultrasound."

Caller: "Hmmm...okay. Well, that is what Dr. J told me."

Me: "He's the doctor (in my sad voice like I wanted to cry)".

The scheduler was super nice and I love my doctor. I am just bummed out! Don't they realize that 4 days longer than I thought having this little one push on my bladder and make me super uncomfortable is not what I wanted?

So, my next hope is that she comes a little bit early on her own. Brooks came 14 days (or so) early and was over 9 pounds. Maybe she will do the same thing and I won't even have to worry about July 31st!

Otherwise, in the grand scheme of life, everything is going well. I am officially super uncomfortable, but that didn't start until the last week or so. This pregnancy has been much easier physically than the pregnancy with Brooks. I think a lot of it is because I have worked out the entire time, six days a week, and have not missed/skipped at all. I may be the "big girl on the treadmill" as we call it, but it is all worth it.

Keep praying for an early arrival. Not too early, maybe just July 27th like I once had planned. :)

This is how I feel...

Happy Father's Day

Brooks loves his Daddy. We woke up on Father's Day and made Greg French toast. It was pretty yummy if I do say so myself. After we ate, Greg got back in bed so we could give him his presents in bed. Brooks made his daddy a very special present that he painted all by himself. At first, we started with only one color at a time but eventually during the project I gave Brooks the freedom to mix the colors. The result was a very beautiful piece of art for Daddy's office. Brooks kept telling Greg, "I made it, I made it". Greg would put it down and Brooks would want him to pick it back up so he could show his Daddy what "he made". It was pretty awesome to see how proud Brooks was.

My two favorite men/boys in the whole world (although Brooks continues to tell us he is a girl not a boy)!

Here is the work of art that Brooks worked so hard on. He really did the entire thing by himself. It was a really fun project to surprise Daddy with.

We went to church and then went down to the lake to see my dad and Greg's dad. Brooks ended up napping almost the whole time so both Greg and I got to have a few moments of relaxation. It was nice. On the way home we saw a turtle on the side of the road. Greg, being the super dad that he is, stopped and showed Brooks the turtle up close. I think the picture above captures perfectly what kind of dad Greg is. He is so hands on and so patient with Brooks. He adores Brooks and is an outstanding daddy.

Brooks is so happy to be touching a real turtle. Brooks is also so happy because he has a daddy who loves him, protects him, puts him first and would do anything for him. Happy Father's Day, Greg. You are amazing.

A Fun Week

I was cleaning out my workout clothing (nesting much?) and Brooks had a blast putting on my biking jersey and other clothes. He was sure he was "just like daddy" with his Wookiee Juice bike jersey on. He also managed to put my arm warmers (pink) on his legs. What a cutie.

Brooks loves to bathe in our "big bathtub" or "mama's bathtub". Greg gave him a bath in his favorite tub this week and captured some pretty cute pictures if I do say so myself. One of Brooks' new favorite things is actually laying back in the water and getting his ears and hair wet. It makes him seem so grown up. I remember when he used to barely be able to sit up in the tub and we were so nervous about him falling backwards and hitting his head. It really seems like yesterday.

Here is the description of the below picture (according to Greg):
"Cheeseburger and french fries"...
Do you think he goes to McDonald's too much? Yikes! He was so creative to use his Daddy's reading lamp and watch charger in order to mimic the lady who takes the orders at his favorite place.

Greg was going to give his old Nike hat to Goodwill until he realized it fits his two year old son! Brooks got my head which is very large and Greg has a tiny head which is just about the same size as Brooks' head! I noticed in this picture (which Greg took), he has a sucker in his hand and a taffy in his mouth. I think everyone is going to start thinking all we do it give this kid junk food. That isn't entirely true as Brooks loves mushrooms, broccoli, sweet potatoes, meatloaf, apples, grapes, turkey, chicken...you get the point. I think we just capture some of his happiest moments when he is eating candy or thinking about McDonald's.

Things are still just super normal on the baby front. Our little princess should be here in about 38 days (who's counting?). We finally ordered her changing table and it will be here in six weeks. Looks like she may arrive without a changing table. I think it is so funny how different the second child is. I would have DIED if Brooks arrived without a changing table. I am not as worried about our new baby not having a changing table because I realize she will never know the difference. (BTW: The changing table we used for Brooks was a hand me down and was completely trashed when Brooks was done with it. The drawers wouldn't open and it was literally falling apart.) I am just as excited about this baby, but have so many other things (Brooks) to worry about. It seems so much more relaxed this time knowing that when she gets here it will all be fine even if her bedroom isn't perfect.

Tomorrow is the marathon. Greg hopes to run a 3:20, but feels like if he has a great day he would be able to run a 3:15 which would qualify him for Boston! I told him if he qualifies, we are taking a family vacation to the East Coast to watch him run. Go Daddy, GO! Brooks is at his Auntie Linda's tonight so that I am able to go and give Greg water along the course tomorrow without the help of a two year old. Thanks, Linda!

I go to the doctor on Thursday and if there is anything to report I will be sure to do so. The appointments have seemed so normal and have told me nothing new, so I doubt there will be much to report. I guess that is a good thing. Keep praying for a healthy baby.

Stopped home for lunch and...

...this is what I pulled up to! I am not sure why there was no swimsuit involved (Brooks has like 10 swimsuits), but it was so stinking cute! I actually called Oma and Opa (who were at work about one minute from our house) and told them they HAD to come and see their Grandson. He is so cute and he has such a fun Daddy!

"I'm working hard"

Brooks loves to "work hard". He tells us every day how "hard he is working" while he vacuums, sweeps, tries to make his bed and participates in many of the household chores. Today we had the counter top guy come and install some brackets for us. Brooks watched the whole thing and then quickly grabbed his tools and "worked hard" helping Daddy finish up! :) What a cute kid.

I want to be my Daddy!

Brooks imitates everything we do and say. Today Greg was working on his bikes and Brooks wanted to get in on the action. Greg said that Brooks "fixed" his bike and his Auntie's bike for over an hour. Brooks was very interested in all the bike tools in his Daddy's toolbox. It looks like they had a great day. I can always tell they have had fun when Brooks has a different outfit on at the end of the day because he got so dirty!

It is so fun to watch Brooks do exactly what his Daddy does. It is also pretty scary to think of what an influence we have on our kids. I am so glad there is no swearing in our household and for the most part nothing "bad" that Brooks would imitate!

Taking the allen wrenches to the wheel just like Daddy.

Brooks even helped lube up Auntie Bean's bike that Daddy was installing a seat on.

Brooks had no time for sidewalk chalk and kid toys. He has moved on to bigger and better. It just melts my heart to come home to a ton of cute pictures from the day. Brooks has a good Daddy.

Question and Answer with Brooks

Q: Brooks, what do you want to drink?

A: "Meatloaf"

Q: Brooks, are you a boy or a girl?

A: "Girl"

Q: Brooks, are you handsome or pretty?

A: "Pretty"

Q: Brooks, why are you smearing your granola bar into the seat of Mommy's car?

A: "It's funny!"

Q: Brooks, why does Daddy have to go to work?

A: "To make money!"

Let's go fly a kite!

Greg and I took Brooks to fly a kite and play on the playground on Friday night. We packed a picnic and had a really good time being a family. Brooks loves climbing up slides and scaring his mommy half to death! He enjoys climbing on pretty much anything and loved the freedom he had on the equipment. The baseball field next door was a perfect place to try to fly a kite. Brooks got more frustrated than anything and didn't understand why he couldn't hold the kite the whole time. When Greg would get it in the air, Brooks would run after it and seemed upset that Greg was keeping the kite away from him. I think the kite ended up broken in the end, but it was still a fun time and great to enjoy shorts and t-shirts.

Brooks isn't sick, he just had a blue sucker!

Sweet baby deer

We got a call on Friday morning from Great Grandma Garnette telling us she had something very special to show us. We packed up in the car and headed to the other side of town to see a sweet baby deer that had been born on Tuesday. It was so precious and had not moved from its spot in four days. Garnette had not seen the mother deer, so she was going to call the DNR to see if they would come and rescue it from the yard. As we were enjoying looking at the baby, it got up on all four legs for the first time and took off! It was so neat to see. The kids loved the adventure and I am sure they wished they could take it home for a pet.

Afterwards, the kids played in the backyard for a while. Brooks "climbed" his first tree and amazed me with his athletic ability. He has scratches all over his legs now, but when we showed Daddy he just said "Well, he's a boy!" We are loving summer so much. Today is cold and icky but the nice days make up for it. The local pool opened up, so we are hoping to check that out this week. Pray for sunny days!

Precious moments

Seriously, our child has gotten ten times cuter than he already was in just the last 4 days. We have had so much cuddle time and time to bond lately. Brooks has been sitting still (amazing) and giving us lots of time to kiss him and snuggle with him. I am loving it and will take it while I can get it!

Baby Update

I just got back from the doctor. Everything looks normal and Dr. Johnson is letting me go 3 more weeks before I have to go back. He told me that I was very healthy and he has no concerns. Keep praying for a healthy baby, though. I know things can seem so perfect and change so quickly.

I gained 1 pound in three weeks which thrills me. I had gained a larger amount last time and felt pretty down about it. On the bright side--I am currently about 40 pounds lighter than I was at the end of my last pregnancy. I think it would be pretty hard for me to gain 40 pounds in the next 7 weeks! Yeah! Maybe the weight will come off quicker this time although I would gain all the weight in the world if it means a healthy baby.

We have an official name for the baby and can't wait to see her sparkling blue eyes! I guess we assume she'll have blue eyes, but we'll see! :)

On the Brooks front--He took a "cute pill" about 4 days ago and has turned some type of corner and became absolutely adorable. He's always been cute, BUT he has been extra cute these last 4 days. Both Greg and I have noticed a change in him. Maybe he is entering the next stage of being two (if there are stages of being two). It is also sad, because he is growing up too fast.

I will post with pictures soon. I hate posts without pictures but this will have to do for now!

Love, Love.