SURPRISE!!!

On Saturday, I was sitting on my couch watching TV trying to decide what to make for dinner when there was a knock at my door. I looked at Daniel and asked him to answer the door. “No, I think you should you should answer it. It is problem one of your friends anyways,” he replied. Frustrated, I got up and opened the door. I stood there for a couple of seconds looking at the person in front of me like I didn’t recognize them; however, I knew exactly who it was. I just couldn’t believe what I was looking at! Who was it? Daniel’s mom! I have been bugging her for months to come for a visit. I was so excited to see her, finally I opened the door fully and gave her a big hug (she doesn’t really like hugs, but she has gotten better at giving them)! Daniel had known about the surprise as well as his whole family for about a month now. I even talked to his Grandpa about an hour before she got here and he had mentioned that Grandma was watching the girlies and when I asked why he said “Because she is shopping!” Ha. Everyone did such an amazing job at keeping it a secret! It was a wonderful surprise!

I really enjoyed having Fifi here. We tried our hardest to get baby Mason to come.

On Sunday we shopped the PX and enjoyed lunch at El Cerros. We then went to the New Bern Mall which I have to say I’m pretty impressed with the little selection of stores they have managed to get. We walked so much. We then went to Target and did SIX laps around the store. I wonder if anyone noticed us doing power laps around the store or if they were too busy shopping? That night, we went to Texas Steakhouse. I was in so much pain from all the walking. My hands and feet were at least ten times their normal size. At least, that is what it felt like. I was rather whiny at dinner and because of my discomfort I got frustrated with the waitress. She was trying to be nice, but she was rather awkward and kept flirting with Daniel which made me want to gag. I can get in some pretty ridiculous moods while I’m pregnant, and I was definitely in a funk at dinner. (Sorry guys!)

On Monday we made a trip to Jacksonville. We ate at Olive Garden. We also accidently parked in the “To-Go” parking. Ha, oops! We then walked around Toy’s R Us and Babies R Us which is always enjoyable. We made a stop at Target. At Target Allen found a toy from the PBS show The Dinosaur Train. It talks and has over 50 sayings! However, on the Demo mode it only said the same 5 sayings. Allen’s favorite sayings were: “Ready?!” and “We’re going to ride The Dinosaur Train!” So he would quickly press the button back to those two sayings and say them as loud as he could along with the toy. Ha. This made for a very interesting ride home until he finally fell asleep. Before we left Jacksonville, we stopped at Sam’s Club and stocked up on food. We also bought some crab legs for a Birthday Dinner for Daniel. Oh, and we got Coldstone! It was a perfect ending to the Jacksonville trip. When we made it back to Havelock we stopped at Wal-Mart to get a stockpot for the crab legs. I got the Paula Dean stockpot in the same robin eggs blue color to match my roasting pan. I love that color. We also picked up some castor oil. I will NEVER drink cranberry juice ever again. After all the walking and the castor oil I was for sure Mason was going to come. I stayed up that night due to all the pressure and the contractions….which brings us to Tuesday….

On Tuesday, I called the doctor and asked if I could come and be checked because I felt as if I had dilated more even though contractions were still irregular. The doctor wanted me to go to the hospital to be checked. So, I did. I was still dilated to a 5, but they wouldn’t let me go home because I was having some pretty intense contractions and they were starting to come every 4 minutes. After SIX hours of observation…SIX HOURS they decided to let me go home because even though I effaced more I had not dilated anymore. Ugh. This really disappointed me. I could have spent the entire day with Fifi and Allen. But I guess I shouldn’t be too disappointed because I feel like I did all I could to try to get him to come.

Today, Fifi left at 9:30am. We hugged (again!) I hated seeing her bright orange rental car drive down my street. I wish I could be making the journey home with her. I hope she enjoyed herself. I know we enjoyed having her here! Spending the three and half days with her made me realize just how much I miss being at home. I would love to be able to see my family anytime I wanted to. This past year especially has made realize how thankful I am for the people I have in my life. Life is too short to be mad at someone or to not take the time to call them or even write a letter. I’ve really been trying to let people know how much I care about them. I’ve also learned how much people care about me. And you know what? It is a wonderful feeling to be able to love and be loved. I think it is the best gift we can give to one another.

Until next time…

Santa Baby

 Why is every little kid scared of Santa? I really don’t know. Jenn and I took Allen and Lyla to get their picture taken with Santa. Lyla is a very outgoing baby and we both figured she wouldn’t have any problem at all sitting in Santa’s lap. I was hoping that she would be a role model for Allen, so I could do well with people he doesn’t know. Once Allen realized that I was getting him out of the stroller to see Santa he started to freak out. He jumped out of my arms and tried to crawl back into his stroller. Lyla proceeds to take one look and Santa and she has a meltdown too. Why? WHY?! I finally get Allen to calm down enough to walk up to Santa and get his candy cane. In hopes that he has been persuaded by candy, I knelt down in an attempt to take a picture with Santa. As soon as I slyly slide him onto Santa’s lap, he started screaming and then he crawled away. Yes, crawled. Screaming. It was really pathetic. I don’t think I will make Mason suffer through it next year. Maybe by next year Allen will be old enough to reason with. Who knows? After he calmed down I tried to get some cute pictures of him. Here are some pictures of the entire experience:

Here is Allen having a melt down when he realizes he is seeing Santa. He tried climbing back into his stroller.

Here is Allen after getting his candy cane.

Allen being good.

Allen loves letters. Here he is telling me what letters he can see.

Allen and Lyla. 

Allen ignoring me.

Allen loved playing Peak-A-Boo with Lyla!

Today, I spent all day in the hospital. I just got home not too long ago. I’m now dilated to 5 ½ cm. Since my contractions are not every 5 minutes I’m not in labor. I’m really concerned that when they do come every 5 minutes and my water does break that I’m going to have to delivery my own baby because more than likely I will progress really fast. I hate not knowing what is going happen or when he is going to come. I was induced with Allen so nothing was a surprise. I guess this time it is going to be an adventure. Wonderful. Wow, I sound a little bitter, huh? I know I should be really excited because my pregnancy is almost over with. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very excited. I’m just very exhausted too.

Please, say a prayer and keep your fingers crossed that we will be meeting soon! Until next time…

Quick Update!

I was so hopeful that Mason would be here this week. I had my bet placed on the 2^nd for sure. Well, it is the 2^nd. Mason, where are you? I have a feeling he won’t be coming out anytime soon. He probably figures we all had our chance to meet him, and since we didn’t want him to come he is just going to stay in there as long as he can.

I have a confession: I haven’t been the best at maintaining my bed rest. I have a ton of energy. My legs were really starting to hurt, so I figured getting up and doing some house work wouldn’t hurt things too much. My house is perfect now.

The past couple of days I have had nothing to do but sit around and play with Allen. I’m not complaining. We’ve been having lots of fun playing Little People, coloring, and watching Sesame Street. We have also had some fun working on the concept of sharing. Ha, slowly he has gotten a little better. He has also learned a new sentence this week. He can now say “Be right back, Mommy!” which he proudly announces before he leaves a room. He has also picked up a new bad habit: nose picking. It really grosses me out. I read an article that says this is just probably a nervous habit, and there isn’t much to do about it. It also might be because his nose is dry. Once, I asked him to stop picking at his nose at he looked at me…frowned…and stuck his other finger up the other nostril and stuck his tongue out at me. Really? The article also said they would continue doing it if they knew it bothered you. Maybe he knows I think it is gross. I’m trying to act like it doesn’t bother me. So far, I think Allen is winning.

Not too much else is going on. Just waiting to meet Mason!  I think this weekend I’m going to take Allen to get his picture taken with Santa. Hopefully it goes well. I need a good picture for my Christmas cards I’m working on!