Fancy Nancy...

My mom, aka Fancy Nancy (or Fancy Dancy if you ask Sophia), found a fun holiday dress for Grace at Macy's. The best part is that it came with a tiny doll dress that almost fit Claire.

Believe it or not, Claire was not thrilled about playing dress up. Shocking, I know.

Trimming the tree...

Once we got the tree home the hard part began. The tree trunk was HUGE. Way too big for the old fashioned tree stand that we had been using. Merrick trimmed, and trimmed and enlisted the help of our neighbor and his chain saw to trim some more. We finally got the base skinny enough to fit in the stand only to realize that the sand wasn't sturdy enough to support a 9-foot tree. Thankfully my mom and dad showed up just in time to help with this process (yes, that is a picture of my dad pinned between the leaning tree an our wall... sorry dad). Merrick and Bob left the tree leaning and ran over to Freddy's where they purchased a super heavy duty tree stand that will hopefully last forever - or until we are old and have an artificial tree.

*click once on the collage to enlarge it*

I think start to finish it took about 4 hours to get the tree up, sturdy and straight. Thankfully we had all four of our parents around that night because we needed the help... not with the toddler and the 10-day-old baby, but with our silly Christmas tree.

Once it was up, it was all worth it. Grace love the decorating and Tiny Claire loved the little white lights. A few weeks after our adventure I sat and watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and laughed harder than ever at their Christmas tree sagas throughout the movie. Classic.

The hunt...

We had a very unadventurous Christmas tree hunt this year. After some debating, we headed back to Loch Lolly tree farm in North Plains. We were really happy with it last year, and this year was no different. We parked our cars and headed up the hill and after about 5 minutes we found our tree. It was big, but didn't seem too big. Merrick and Gary (with help from Grace) were able to cut it down quickly and then we moved on to the other good stuff...

There was the pond with geese and ducks to watch, Santa's lap to sit on, real reindeer visit, leaves to tromp through, and hot chocolate to sip. Since the baby was eating every two hours we didn't have a ton of time out there, but we were able to enjoy each of those things briefly. I would have put Claire on Santa's lap too, but he was coughing in between kid visits, so I decided to keep her safely in the sling.

*click once on the collage to enlarge it*

We purposefully took the long way home enjoying the scenery of that part of town. It was such a beautiful day - perfect for a tree hunt and a nice drive home.

Visitors...

We had a wonderful, full day of friends on Saturday. Not many people had been able to meet Claire yet, so today was the day.

Tori came first and spent a good part of the day with us.

The Burch family came after Maren's nap. They didn't stay long, but it was fun to see them for a little while at least.

Grace loved seeing Maren and having a playmate for a bit.

After dinner Jeff, Emily and Daniel came by to visit. They were on their way home from Thanksgiving in Camp Sherman and the timing was perfect. Another quick visit, but it was great to see Daniel (he's changed so much since October... a reminder of how fast time goes with babies) and visit with Jeff and Emily for a bit.

1st Thanksgiving...

Our Thanksgiving was peaceful, calm and (except for Grace) quiet. We spent the day at my parent's house with my family, Merrick folks and my grandparents. Gracie loved the attention she got from everyone. At one point she was sitting on the couch between my mom and Merrick's mom saying, "hi two reguly grandmas!"

The meal was fantastic! My parents did the main dishes, and Merrick's mom made desserts, rolls, cranberry sauce and my special request - green fluff! Grandma brought a fantastic fruit salad that Grace devoured. Everything was delicious.

Claire meeting "Brownlee" for the first time.

Claire with my grandma. I forgot to take a four-generations picture, so we'll have to do that next time we are together.

My parents have a huge box of legos that Gracie loves.

This sweet baby loved sleeping in various arms throughout the day. I think the only time she was put down was while everyone was eating. Even though she slept what seemed like all day long, she came home and slept six straight hours that night. Yeah tiny Claire!

Thankful...

This year, not unlike others, I have much to be thankful for...

• God: I am thankful that I have a God who is never-failing, forgiving, full of grace and gives me undeserved and unconditional love.
• Merrick: I am thankful for a husband who is so much more than the father of my children. He is my my best friend, my partner, the one I lean on through hard times and laugh with through great times.
• My girls: I am thankful for two perfect, healthy, and beautiful daughters. I am so blessed to be their mama. My life is better because of them.
• My family: I am thankful for my immediate and extended family and for the love, support and prayers we receive from them.
• My friends: I am thankful for an incredible group of friends - some that are close, some that are much too far. They are faithful, loyal, real and fun.
• My life: I am thankful for my home, my church, Merrick's job that supports us and allows me to stay home with my kids. I am thankful for food to eat and clothes to wear. I am thankful for good health for our family. I am thankful for happiness and contentedness.

Life is good, and there is never a day when I don't have much to be thankful for. It is nice to have a reason to sit and reflect on the important things in life - big and small.

And, since it has been a few days, here are a few more pictures of Claire to hold you over until I have reason to post again...

Claire's birthday...

So many people have been asking about the details surrounding Claire's birth. I would like to document the events of November 17th - mostly for my own memory, but hopefully this will answer many of the questions we've been getting. So here is Claire's story - all the tiny details captured for my sake.

Monday, November 16 - after all the drama of the day, the extra testing, the ultrasound, the trip to the hospital - we had a very quiet evening. A big storm blew in and we enjoyed our dinner while watching the wind blow the trees around. Before Gracie headed to bed we decided to take a walk. It was still really blustery and something felt electric about the night. We walked our normal 2 1/2 mile loop around our neighborhood, laughing at Gracie running in snow boots and talking about what the rest of the week would be like. We knew then that at the very latest we would have our baby in our arms by Thursday morning (I was scheduled to have a c-section at 7:30 am on the 19th). We talked about what to name our baby - and it might have been then that we knew we were settled on our girl's name. We never did settle on a boy's name. We made it home, through the howling wind and lightning, just before the rain started. Gracie went straight to bed, but because the big trees in the front of our house have been known to fall over in storms, she slept on the floor of our bedroom. Merrick and I grabbed a snack and sat down to watch the Blazer game. I headed up to bed around 11:30 and fell asleep quickly.

Tuesday, November 17th - Merrick came up to bed about an hour after me. I woke up when he crawled into bed and it was then that I noticed I was just a little wet. Strange. I wasn't convinced that my water broke, so I got up to use the bathroom, and when I crawled back in bed the contractions started... and were immediately stronger than they had been. They weren't completely consistent at first, but were coming every 4-7 minutes and lasting about one minute each. Thinking that we might be running out of time, I got up, put clothes in the dryer, finished packing our hospital bag, and wrote out notes for my family (who would be taking Gracie while we were gone). Merrick also got up and did a few other things around the house - emptying trash cans, doing dishes, cutting his hair. :) By this time it was a little after 2 am, and I was still having regular contractions, but I was also exhausted so we crawled back in bed and tried to fall asleep. It didn't work. By 2:45 the contractions were too strong to lay still through, so I was up pacing and rocking and doing whatever else I could to ease the pain.

At 3:07 am I called my midwife - it was Robi who was on call that night - and after I mentioned that my water may have broken she decided it would be good to have me come in for evaluation. If I was indeed in labor, they would admit me. (I had the thought then that if I wasn't really in labor I would perhaps have a break down. What I was already experiencing was not fun!) I called Craig and asked him to make his way to our house when he could. I wasn't feeling rushed, and wanted to shower and change before leaving, so made sure he knew he had time... he showed up about 15 minutes later (he lives about 20 minutes away). By the time we were dressed, packed and ready to leave, it was just after 4:00. I had six contractions between our house and the hospital - putting them just about 4 minutes apart.

One last belly shot - in the triage room - 40 weeks and 3 days pregnant.

We arrived on the labor and delivery floor and were put in triage room B for evaluation. I was immediately hooked up to fetal monitors so they could watch baby. Because my first pregnancy ended in a c-section, and since we were attempting a VBAC, baby had to be monitored constantly. Any problems with baby would be the first indication that something might be wrong with my body (the main concern being uterine rupture). After an initial exam the nurse determined that indeed my water had broken, but I was still only dilated to 1 cm. All those contractions for the past 4 hours had done nothing - or at least that's how I felt. At that point I felt very discouraged and a little overwhelmed by what was coming next.

My first L&D nurse, Brandy, walked us to our room - birthing suite 27 - and after three attempts was able to get an IV started. She got me situated in the rocking chair, and let my midwife know that I was there. Robi came in and talked to us, but I don't remember much of what she was saying. My contractions were much stronger and getting closer and closer together. I do remember her telling us that it would be Kate coming on at 7 and she would be here to deliver our baby. I had only met Kate once, but she has a reputation for being one of the best. I was happy and relieved that she would be there with me throughout the process.

Oh, I've forgotten to mention the awful nausea that was coming with the contractions. I thought it was the pain making me sick, but I guess it is really normal for some women to get sick while in labor. By this point I had thrown up 5 or 6 times already, so they gave me a shot of Zofran - an anti-nausea drug. It seemed to help a little, but I still kept a trusty blue vomit bag close by at all times.

It was the same time that Brandy came and gave me a few options to help with the pain (it was now close to 7 am). She mentioned an epidural, but it seemed too soon to try that, and also mentioned Fentanyl - a fast acting and fast wearing off narcotic. By that point I felt like I just needed to take the edge off so I could rest for a few minutes before enduring more contractions. The Fentanyl seemed like a good plan. I moved into the bed and waited for the next contraction so they could give me the shot. That narcotic lasted for about 6 contractions (20 minutes or so). It was great that I was able to lay there and rest through some of the pain, but when I could feel it again everything was stronger and more painful. About an hour later they gave me one more shot of Fentanyl which lasted for about three contractions. The problem with that drug is they can only give you two doses. It gets less and less effective the more you take it.

In our L&D room - resting after my first shot of Fentanyl.

At 9:09 am Kate came in to check my progress. I was feeling nervous about how much progress I had made and feeling like I was in a lot of pain, and running out of options. I remember a surge of adrenaline when she said, "how do you feel about being six cm?" Really? Six? That's more than half way there. Maybe I could do this. Kate mentioned that it would be a good time to get an epidural if I felt that was the way I wanted to go, or I could try the jacuzzi tub first and go from there. Most of me wanted to crawl into bed and have the magician with a big needle come and make all the pain go away. But I know myself well enough and knew that I would later feel disappointed if I didn't try a few things before going with the epidural. Much to the surprise of those around me I chose the tub. My nurse (who is now Sheri) got the jacuzzi room ready for us, and at 9:32 I waddled down the hallway and crawled into the most glorious hot bath of my life.

My body instantly relaxed more than it had all morning, and with my body relaxed the contractions became slightly more bearable. I don't remember a lot about the next 45 minutes. I closed my eyes and focused on the job at hand. I know that Kate and Sheri came in and out of the room going between me and the screens that were monitoring our baby. Someone still had to be watching that little heart rate at all times - even if I was neck deep in a bath. I know that Merrick didn't leave my side and was there to talk me through every contraction as it was happening. I remember after each contraction thinking that I could get through one more and then I wanted to go to my room and have an epidural. It was right about then that I had about three horrible, painful, intense contractions in a row. Kate was in the room and I remember her saying that it looked like my uterus was starting to push. I remember the majority of the pain being in my back and I couldn't do anything to relieve it. It was probably then that our baby was positioning for birth. Kate had me flip over to my hands and knees thinking that getting the baby off my spine my help with the pain. She checked me again - at 10:23 - I was now fully dilated. (So much for that epidural).

I gradually made my way out of the tub and between contractions headed back to my room. It took some time to get there and get settled. At 10:41 I was back in the bed and pushing. The next 18 minutes were extremely intense. The memories I have seem more like out-of-body experiences. I remember voices of encouragement. I remember squeezing Merrick's hand and physically not being able to let go. I remember people coming in and out of the room and introducing themselves (as if I cared who they were). President Obama could have walked through those doors and I wouldn't have had the energy or will power to acknowledge his presence. I remember Kate asking if I wanted a mirror so I could see what was happening. As hard as it was to watch, I am sure that seeing my baby coming was what helped get her out so quickly. I remember the physical sensations that go along with a non-medicated birth. The intense pressure being the worst part of it. I remember when the head came out Kate said, "there's your baby" and feeling like the head wasn't enough. I wanted to hold her - all of her.

The look of total relief - it was over and baby Claire was here safely.

I remember the final seconds of being pregnant and the instant that I was no longer pregnant. At 10:59 am, after only 10 hours of labor, our sweet Claire was born. She was warm, healthy and totally perfect. Kate put her straight on my chest - tummy side down - and I wrapped my arms around her. It took a few minutes before we flipped her over to reveal that she was indeed a she. I remember feeling slightly relieved... only because once again we dodged the boy-naming bullet. I remember the look on Merrick's face - instantly and completely in love with the tiny person I was holding and total pride in his second daughter (and in his amazing wife who had just delivered that baby). I remember the 3 second conversation we had about her name... just making sure we both were still set on it. We were. It was official. The baby girl that was in my arms was now Claire Esther Brownlee.

Tiny Claire rested on my chest for the better part of her first hour of life. No one was in a hurry to weigh and measure her, to give her any medications, they just let her be. I remember feeling guilty that Merrick hadn't held her, but he was constantly reassuring me that it was fine.

When I was pregnant with Grace we took a holistic childbirth education class. The one thing that stuck out to me from that class was that parents could plan and prepare and write out a birth plan, but it was very rare that things went how you wanted them to go or how you planned to have them go. Claire's birth was more perfect than I could have imagined. I couldn't have written a birth plan that would have fit us better. God knew our needs and my desires, and he met them all.

I used to wonder if I would be strong enough for natural childbirth. With Grace I was never given the option. With Grace I was never in labor. With Grace I had a c-section, and though it got my baby to me safely, the recovery and healing process was horrible. When I found out I was pregnant this time around we immediately started researching VBACs. My very first appointment with these midwives when I was 10 weeks along, we brought it up. Though we had no idea what would happen, they were very willing to try to help me accomplish this goal. If it hadn't worked I don't think I would have felt like I failed, but if I never tried I would have been disappointed. We met with a specialist who laid out the pros and cons, the risks and benefits, and after all that decided that VBAC was indeed the way we would like to go. I can't put into words how great it feels to have met this goal of ours. I feel like I accomplished something great... I beat the odds. After Claire was born Kate said, "this just proves that your body wasn't ready last time. You were made for this... You are a champ!" I thought her words were funny, but not as funny as the next day having two other people tell me that I was the talk of the L&D floor. Who knows if that really was true, but maybe I really am the rock star they were talking about.

Though the rest of Claire's first day had many, many special moments that we don't want to forget, it was her actual birth that was a miracle. There have been many times this past week when Merrick and I have started talking about her delivery and stopped to thank God for all that happened throughout that morning. We have so much to be thankful for... not the least of which being a healthy, perfect, beautiful daughter.

Here are few other snapshot of our morning:

Being weighed and measured...

Weight: 8 pounds, 3 ounces

Length: 21 inches

Head circumference: 13 1/2 inches

Getting her first full exam. She got a 9 out of 10 on her apgars.

Her first bath.

Warming up after her bath.

First outfit.

Meeting daddy.

Clean, warm, and with her daddy... life couldn't get any better.

Simple...

We are really enjoying our days at home... with no agenda, nothing scheduled, and the freedom to just be. Right now life is simple. It is good.

The downside...

So we are quickly discovering the downside to having a baby during the middle of flu season. First of all there was the changes to the hospital visitation policy. No kids under 18 and only one adult visitor every 24-hours - which kept us from seeing anyone. It ended up being okay because we were able to hang out and rest. We also got to go home 24 hours early so we could be with Grace... even though it meant an extra trip to the pediatrician and another trip to the hospital, it was worth being home with our big girl.

The second, is that our pediatrician has asked (more like strongly recommended) that we keep Claire away from all other kids for at least the first month. He told us that there have been only a handful of times throughout his practice when he has recommended parents take every precaution possible to keep their kids healthy... and this is one of them. We are more than happy to do whatever it takes to keep our girls healthy, but it does put a damper on our ability to visit with friends and family. We've been feeling a little crazy that we've kept Grace away from groups of kids (church nurseries, etc) but it was reassuring to hear him say that if it was his kids, he'd be doing the same thing right now.

So, here we are, holed up for the next few weeks. Seeing friends as they are gradually able to find baby sitters. It is less than ideal, but we'll make it work. In the mean time, I'll try to keep posting snap shots of our days to keep everyone happy.

Sucker...

Claire is quite the little sucker. She loves her thumb, loves her binkies, and LOVES to nurse. Her big sister was the same way (but eventually gave up the thumb and stuck to just binks).

She had been out of the womb for about 4 minutes before she found her thumb and started sucking.

Her first binky experience... it was love at first suck.

A different kind of binky didn't effect her love.

Content in daddy's lap - once again with her thumb.

Sisters...

I can honestly say that no matter what gender our baby was, we would have been thrilled. I can also say that I am so excited that Grace gets to experience life with a sister. I know there will be bumps along this road of raising two girls. They will have their times of jealousy, anger and frustration towards each other. But I also know that Merrick and I have an opportunity to help our daughters develop an incredible relationship. Our prayer for our girls is that they will love each other deeply, learn to put the other first, and at the end of each day remember how blessed they are to have a life-long best friend.

Daddy and his sleeping girls.
Grace, the "fantastic" big sister... can you see her pride?
A quick snuggle before bed time.

Tonight Grace said, "Claire loves me!" Yes honey, I think you are right. I hope that you never forget that and that soon I also hear you saying that you love her too.

Introducing...

Gracie's little sister!
We are so excited to welcome Claire Esther into our family. She came into the world on Tuesday, November 17 at 10:59 am. She was 8 pounds, 3 ounces and 21 inches long.

Since we were all feeling great, we asked to be discharged early and headed home Wednesday evening to introduce Claire to her big sister.


It is so great to be home with our girls. Gracie seems to totally get what is happening, and is thrilled to have a sister (she was right all along). Claire is the prefect addition to our family and is fitting right in.

I have so much more to share, but am instead going to opt to head to bed. Hopefully I'll have some time tomorrow or in the next few days to post more pictures and share Claire's birthday story.

Home from the hospital (round one)...

My current stats on 11/16/09

Gestational age: 40 weeks, 2 days

Weight: Up one pound in two weeks.

BP: 113/64

Fetal heart rate: 150's

Fetal movement: not moving a lot

Fundal height: 43cm

Cervix: 1 cm dilated

Well, today has been a bit of an adventure... we started out rushing to an appointment with Lindsey, one of my midwives. We really like Lindsey - she lets Grace help with all the fun parts of the appointment. Today she stood up on a bench, felt around my tummy, and then got to hold the doppler and listen to baby's heart beat. She stood so still and looked so serious. I wish I had taken my camera in with us. Next time. As Lindsey was feeling around my belly she asked us how big Gracie had been. She was 5 pounds, 13 ounces and came exactly 4 weeks early. She smiled at us and then guessed - reminding us that she could be off - that this baby was over 9 pounds. Not too surprising, really, but strange to think about how different these babies will be from the beginning.

Since baby's movement has decreased a bit in the last few days we decided to stick around and have an NST (fetal non-stress test) done. They strapped me up to the monitors and had me just hang out for 20 minutes. Unfortunately, baby was not cooperating. After 20 minutes, and a few contractions, there were a few variables that Lindsey wasn't comfortable with, so she sent us off to have a few other tests done.

First stop, an ultrasound. Since they squished us in a very busy schedule, we had to wait quite a while to be seen. Gracie was so good and patient while we waited... especially considering we aren't letting her near the germ-infested kid's areas at any doctor's office. The ultrasound was fun since we hadn't peeked inside there since 19 weeks. Baby is huge, and chubby, and I think s/he has Merrick's nose. Even though its head is way down low, she was able to get a few glimpses of those fat cheeks and its little hands moving around up near the face. She even printed us a profile picture to take home. All-in-all, the ultrasound looked great (we still don't know the gender, so you don't have to bother asking). The fluid levels are where they should be, and there was no sign that baby was distressed... just running out of room. S/he was moving, wiggling, and "breathing" just as s/he should be.

Next stop was the L&D floor at the hospital. This part was tricky, since we had Grace with us, and she isn't allowed up there. So, luckily, my dad was available and could take her for a bit. (They enjoyed a date at Taco Bell and then played at home before we were done.) We could have split up and Merrick could have stayed with Grace, but since there was a small chance that an unhappy baby could lead to an immediate delivery, we decided it would be best for him to stick with me. It was a bit surreal waddling up to the third floor of the hospital and checking in at the front. Last time I did that I had no idea it would lead to a month-long stay. Long story short, once we were put in a triage room and hooked up to the monitor, the baby decided to start showing off. Everything looked absolutely perfect. So much so, that the nurse came in and started talking to me about what it feels like when baby is moving and how that is all normal. Really? I know what I am supposed to be feeling, and this whole ordeal started because I mentioned that I wasn't feeling those things. I'm not dumb. Thanks.

So, now we are home, with a very happy-to-still-be-in-mommy's-uterus baby. I am glad for the reassurance we received today, and it was fun to see that sweet face all squished in my belly. Strange to know that soon we will be kissing those chubby cheeks. Oooh, I can't wait!

Baby update (could it be the final one?)...

My current stats on 11/12/09

Gestational age: 39 weeks, 5 days

Weight: Didn't take my shoes and coat off, so this week doesn't count.

BP: 100/70

Fetal heart rate: 160's

Fetal movement: sleeps a lot, but moves when s/he is awake

Fundal height: 44cm (so much for evening out!)

Cervix: nothing has really changed

Today was my last scheduled appointment... weird. I made it to the end, and there is definitely an end in sight! Since nothing has changed, we went ahead and scheduled two more appointments for next week. We want to double and triple check everything before we end up doing anything drastic (aka going ahead with the planned c-section). It was nice to meet the last of the 7 midwives in the office, so now I know all of their faces and think I would be comfortable with any of them being at our baby's birth. We talked a lot about where we go from here, suggestions she had, and how long she thinks we should give this baby before heading into surgery. We have a date on the calendar (we actually scheduled this back in September), but it is not set in stone. And no, we are not going to tell anyone prior to heading in to the hospital. We want to feel like this is unexpected and a surprise - for everyone - something we didn't experience with Grace.

For the most part I am still feeling really good. I haven't gotten puffy (one thing they ask every week). My wedding rings and all my shoes still fit. I knew before she measured me, however, that I had grown this week. The skin on my tummy is really itchy and feels like it is going to rip off my body. The baby's head is right on my bladder still, so every night I literally head to the bathroom between 8 and 12 times in a 6 to 8 hour stretch of "sleep." Other than that, I can't complain. I (really, truly, honestly) am glad to be pregnant. Maybe it is easier now that there is light at the end of this 42 week-long tunnel.

We are soaking up our last moments with our first baby and enjoying this time immensely. Tonight she crawled up on my lap to snuggle with "the pamplemousse." I was glad that Merrick had just gotten home so he was able to capture the moment.

I have belly pictures to post, but haven't had time to look through them. Maybe tomorrow. Right now it's time for dinner with my little family.

Fantastic...

Lately I've been telling Gracie that I think she is going to be a fantastic big sister. It is funny, because she won't acknowledge that she hears me say this to her, but I have heard her repeat it to more than a few strangers (who have absolutely no idea what she is saying to them). Yesterday I asked her what kind of a big sister she was going to be, thinking her answer would "fantastic." Instead, our conversation went like this...

M: Hey Grace, what kind of a big sister are you going to be?

G: (long thinking pause) "um, a black one."

I'm not quite sure where she came up with that, or how that will pan out for her, but we shall see.

Lots of people have been playing my guessing game! It is fun to see your entries. If you haven't yet, pop on over to Expect Net and enter a guess. Obviously, it isn't too late.

We're off to the doctor in an hour... there may be another update coming this afternoon.

Baby update...

My current stats on 11/6/09

Gestational age: 38 weeks, 6 days

Weight: gained 1 pound this week

BP: 112/62

Fetal heart rate: 150's with accelerations in the 160's

Fetal movement: check!

Fundal height: 38cm (evened out at the end, like most women do... perhaps a sign of an average size baby).

Cervix: softened, 50% effaced, 1 cm dilated (is this too much information?) =)

My appointment last Friday was pretty routine. Nothing out of the ordinary is happening, and there is no sign of impending labor. Still lots of prelabor happening, but that's really normal and my midwives are being careful to not give us any false hope by guessing when this baby will come. We are happy that my body is still showing signs of progressing and maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to do this on my own. If not, we have our plan b in place. I go back in on Thursday morning, so perhaps we'll find out more then. Now, we wait...

In the meantime, let's play a little game. Perhaps I'll come up with some great prize, perhaps your prize will be knowing that you won and having bragging rights. Let's guess the baby's info. Click this link and fill out the form. If you need it, the game name is "Brownlee" and the password is "Grace." Hopefully it works for everyone and is self explanatory. Just so everyone is on an even playing field you should know that my due date is Saturday (the 14th) and they won't let me go longer than 2 weeks over due (the 28th). Gracie is the first entry, and no, she doesn't have any insider information... she picked numbers completely randomly. She wanted it to be 2 inches long, and do you really think I'd wish a 10 pound, 14 ounce baby on myself?

Let me know if you have problems. Have fun and good luck!

A funny prayer...

This week has been filled with one great Gracie quote after another. For this to make any sense at all you need to know that the nickname we've been using for baby number 2 is "the Pamplemousse." We were watching a show about horse racing and heard that name... for some reason, it stuck. (It means grapefruit in French.)

Anyway, during our prayer time tonight Gracie was praying for her great grandparents and then out of the blue prayed: "Dear Jesus, please help mommy's bladder feel better. Help the Pamplemousse not be sitting on it anymore. Amen!"

We had no idea that she knew what a bladder was, or that she understood that the baby is literally laying on my bladder. She must have heard us talking about it and must know that it is causing a lot of problems for me.

So our prayer time tonight ended in hysterical laughter... great for Merrick and I, not so great for getting the two-year-old to sleep, but totally worth it for yet another funny memory of Grace at this stage of life.

Our {first} baby...

We've had many people tell us that once you have a second child, your first born suddenly seems really big. Our baby isn't here yet, but I think we are starting to get glimpses of that feeling. I've found myself tearing up at night as I'm putting Grace in bed thinking about how quickly these 27 months with her have gone. I've boxed up hundreds of outfits that no longer fit her, watched her grow from preemie sized diapers all the way to a whopping size three before now solely using panties. The last big change was losing the binkies. I don't think we will bring baby home and be surprised at how big Grace seems. To us she has seemed like a big girl for a while now... perhaps because baby is coming, or perhaps because of who she is becoming.

Now we look at our baby and see a very self-sufficient two-year-old. She has a funny little sense of humor, and knows how to make us laugh. She is very confident, very stubborn, and very talkative. She is active and playful. She has an incredible imagination. She shows no fear - of anything.

This is a list of Gracie's quirks that I don't want to forget. Things she does at this stage that are a mix of her unique personality combined with being two. I know this isn't complete (hopefully I will be able to add to it as we think of other things), and some won't make sense unless you know her well.

• She refuses to be called Grace. She will answer to a whole slew of nicknames, but if anyone tries to just say just Grace she will say, "Don't call me Grace, CALL ME GRAC-IE!"
• She will sometimes request a certain nickname, "I love when you call me lovey" or "here I come, I'm a silly Gracie-goose."
• She prefers to wear just panties... no matter how cold it is. She also loves "pb's" (aka pj's) and if we let her, would wear those all day long too.
• She has a crazy head of hair that is usually in her face and is constantly and violently brushing it out of her eyes.
• She loves her "guys" and takes great care of all of them - baby dolls or teddy bears - she loves them all . Right now her little bear named Farmer is her favorite.
• She loves the baby in mommy's tummy, loves talking to it and sitting on it. The other day she said, "I'm ready for that baby to come out any second." (And no, that is not something she has heard me saying.)
• She doesn't have a slow speed. She runs from one thing to the next.
• She says "n" instead of "m" at the ends of some words, ie botton (bottom), I men (I am).
• She mixes up her opposites - striping down naked while saying, "I men too cold for those pb's." (I am too cold for those pj's.) She also says her r's like w's, and though is getting better, words that start with s and a second consonant come out funny, ie fweatshirt (sweatshirt), hnow (snow), cooter (scooter), etc.
• She is never completely quiet unless she is asleep. And when she is asleep, she sleeps soundly. We can move her, talk to her, crawl in bed with her, and she doesn't ever notice.
• She sometimes announces it is nap time and asks to go to her bed.
• She loves getting in our bed in the mornings. Recently we heard her say, "Hi! I'm comin' up to snuggle with you guys."
• She says "I waked up!" whenever she gets out of bed... whether she'd been asleep or not. She also loves saying good morning at random times throughout the day.
• She wants to help with whatever we are working on... fixing things, cooking, cleaning, folding laundry.
• She commandeers my showers. It takes a while for our shower to warm up, so I will usually turn the water on and then do something else for a few minutes. If I'm not careful, she'll run in, take off her clothes and get in first (even it if is still freezing cold). She then gets frustrated if I am standing in the stream of water and nothing is hitting her. She says, "it isn't working down here!"
• She has her favorite books memorized and will sit in her bed during quiet/nap time and read them out loud to herself.
• She also loves to help out the books' characters. If Little Bear is cold, she will offer him pretend shoes. When Harry curls up to sleep, she will cover him with a pretend blanket.
• She loves her family and friends with her whole heart and talks about them all the time. Out of nowhere she will announce, "I need to pray for _____," and then usually do so.
• She is obsessed about going to high school, but thinks it will be just like Sunday school where you eat "gold fishies and water."
• She loves to eat - everything. She claims her favorite foods are peas and corn (which very well might be true).
• She knows about her allergies and will often stop and ask, "are there eggs in this?"
• She loves looking out the windows for specific landmarks while we drive. She seems to usually know where we are or where we are going just by what she is seeing outside.
• She will also announce every time we pass by a Taco Bell (oops), but in my defense she has no idea about McDonalds or any other fast food restaurants for that matter. =)
• She gets gaspy when talking about things that are exciting or talking when she is in a hurry.
• She has a funny backwards sentence structure, "that's empty because we have a new one."
• Any time she even brushes a body part against something she will stop and say, "I need ice!" When she is really hurt, however, she is usually too upset to think about needing ice.
• She is also obsessed with band aids, but knows she only gets one if there is blood involved. The other day she tried to convince me that she needed a band aid on her finger, but the so-called blood was the red finger nail polish I had put on her the day before.
• She names her favorite parks by color: Gracie's little yellow park, the red park, the purple park, etc. Luckily Merrick and I have figured out which name goes with which park.
• She has certain games that she will only play with Merrick... hide and seek, "princess and the pea," and follow the leader. She thinks that follow the leader means crawling on her hands and knees under the dining room table and then pulling Merrick out by the ears when he gets stuck under one of the chairs while saying, "oh daddy boy."
• She recently learned how to gallop and that has now become a favorite mode of transportation around the house and elsewhere.
• When she is wearing clothes, she doesn't like the feeling of her back being exposed. She'll frantically say, "my buns are coming out!" Likewise, when anyone else's back is showing she will say, "your buns are coming out," and then try to help rectify the situation.
• She is completely neurotic about silly things - blankets have to always have a certain side down, she refuses to sleep under the sheets on her bed - and there is no changing that.

Developmentally Gracie seems to be right on track. I'm no expert, but we are around lots of other little girls her age, and they all seem about the same... good at some things, great at others, each slightly different. At this point in life (if she's in the right mood and willing to perform) Gracie can...

• Recognize all of the letters in the alphabet. She is beginning to learn her phonics and knows about half. It is fun to say "book, what letter does book start with?" She will then run to the fridge and grab the magnetic B and bring it back to me as proud as can be.
• Merrick has been singing the state song to her, and she can now sing Alabama through Indiana alphabetically.
• She knows her months of the year and days of the week.
• She loves art projects and is gradually getting better at coloring in the lines (thanks to Sophia), but usually is in too much of a hurry to do so.

I would also say that we are done with potty training. She hasn't woken up wet from nap or nighttime since the beginning of September. She goes weeks without any accidents, and though we don't know why, will every once in a while she'll just decide to not head to the potty. I have to remind myself that she is two, and that might be reason enough to decide that toys or food are better than a quick bathroom break. Hopefully there won't be too much regressing after baby, but we are prepared just in case.

I've this before, but we are so blessed to have Grace in our lives. We can't imagine life before her or life without her.

As we look to the weeks ahead we are a bit nervous and anxious, as I'm sure all parents are, but we are ready to take this next step as a family, knowing that Grace is going to be fantastic big sister (she says so herself!). We are excited to meet her brother or sister and know that two years from now will be saying the same thing... we can't imagine life without him/her. We definitely appreciate your prayers during this time of transition and are so thankful for the support we have from our family and friends. Thank you.

I'll leave you with this random video from last week. I really should do an entire post about the things that happen when daddy is in charge, but we'll start with this...

Funny girl...

One more funny quote came today. Grace was telling me about her family - cousins, aunts, uncles. I asked her about her grandmas and how many she had. She said, "great grandma and two reguly grandmas."

Out of the mouth of Grace...

Our Gracie-girl has been saying some hilarious things lately. I am kicking myself for not writing them down as they are spoken, but I have documented a few...

• When playing hide and go seek - "Here or not. I'm coming!"

• Instead of regular she says "reguly." Recently she handed me her pretend credit card and said, "fill it with reguly, please."

• A few nights ago when she was supposed to be sleeping, but was in bed talking to herself, Merrick went up to settle her down. He walked through the door and she looked up and said, "it's not time for this little girl to be talking."

• Anytime she has something to look forward too - "I'm so exciting to _____!"

• All hand sanitizers are called "purella."

• Everyone she prays for she asks that God will keep them "healthy and safey."

• Her initial answer to any question is "I don't know" which is then usually followed up with "um ____" (the answer).

• A few weeks ago she was outside with me as I was working. She'd been quiet for a few minutes so I asked her what she was doing. She said (very mater-of-factly), "I'm tasting ants!"

• Grace has been enjoying watching all sorts of sports with us lately. She loves the Ducks and the Beavers and usually will cheer for them regardless of what team is actually on television. The other day I asked her when the Ducks play the Beavers who she will route for. She though for a minute and then diplomatically said, "Rudy." (who happens to play for the Blazers).

Baby update...

Wow, we are getting close to the end. I can't believe that this baby could come at any time now. The count down is in single digits. Crazy!

My current stats on 10/30:

Gestational age: 36 weeks, 6 days

Weight: holding steady... aka huge!

BP: 102/62

Fetal heart rate: 150's

Fetal movement: slowing down as s/he is running out of room

Fundal height: 39 cm

I go back to the midwife on Friday, so we'll see what's changed. My body is definitely preparing for labor. The most noticeable is the seemingly constant contractions. They tend to happen more at night - probably when my body is tired and I am a little dehydrated. I usually have one or two strong ones that will wake me up in the night, but nothing to indicate "this is IT!" So, we wait.

Since I have never experienced this stage of pregnancy there is much newness to this all. The return of my morning sickness has been the most un-welcome change. (Just another pre-labor sign... nothing to worry about). The exhaustion, the difficulty bending over (or moving at all for that matter), the fact that none of my maternity cloths fit and the aches and pains that people talk about are really real. BUT, I always said I wouldn't complain about having a full-term or even late baby. I am so happy to still be pregnant and that this baby is getting the chance to fully develop and prepare for life in the world.

As far as preparing for baby, I think we've done all we can. My nesting instinct is constantly battling with my exhaustion, however, and every night as I head to bed I think of the undone things that will bug me if labor starts. I'm not sure why, but I just feel like it (the on-set of labor) will happen in the middle of the night. I try to have the house clean, laundry done, and toys picked up before I head to bed so that if we rush off to the hospital we don't come home to a disaster. Some days I win, some days I give up. Today was a day that no matter what I tried, I couldn't keep up with "Tornado Grace" who was one step ahead of me. That, and the fact that I dumped an entire bowl of cereal and milk all over my desk this afternoon made for a really long day.