My kiddos

Lily and William dancing at the bus stop this morning.

Yesterday morning, watching some cartoons before school

I had my weekly appointment today for Kiddo #3 (we are now just under 37 weeks), and things are looking surprisingly good. My blood pressure is holding stable, and all tests are coming back within normal limits except for the Strep B test which did come back positive. Apparently about 1/3 of pregnant women test positive for Step B, and it's not a huge deal. We will try to get in 4 hours worth of antibiotics administered through an IV before I deliver, if possible. If labor & delivery go quickly, and I can't get in the 4 hours, it still should not pose any real danger to the baby.

My doctor seemed very happy with the moves my body is making toward delivery. I'm almost 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced with a soft cervix. All very good signs. Unfortunately, what I think this means is that the ultrasound is going to show a normal-sized baby, and since I'm not having any real issues and my body is naturally moving in the direction of labor, no induction is in my future. It's not that I'm anxious to have the baby right away; my nagging problem is that I think I am going to go into labor sometime immediately before my class begins. If I had to place a bet on a date right now, I'd say Monday, the 17th, making it impossible to be at my Wednesday class. Carl is betting on Monday, the 10th. I think he thinks this because it would be the most inconvenient time in terms of his schedule, as he is on a tough rotation to rearrange that week. Is it weird that we both think the baby will come when it will pose the greatest amount of work-shuffling for each of us? The ideal time would probably be Friday, the 14th. (Truly it would be Saturday, the 15th but knowing a little bit more about the ins & outs of hospitals, you are not exactly getting the best hospital staff during the weekend.) So, that's where we stand right now. Only time will tell, and it is going to be great and wonderful and perfect no matter when she comes!

Like father, like son

We had a super-productive weekend with lots of family outdoor time - a perfect Fall weekend. Above is a picture of William assisting his daddy in his cleaning escapades. Lily had Apple Day at school on Friday and made the hat you see in the video as part of the apple activities that day. William loved the hat and wore it on and off all weekend. Maybe it brought us luck because our VERY finicky eater, William, ate 3 whole apples today! Yay!!

Pregnancy update

I haven't updated much about the pregnancy because there has been so little to tell. All appointments to date have been rather boring. They are the 5-minute, "How are you feeling?, Any questions?, Let's check your blood pressure and the baby's heartbeat...See you next time" kind. But today was the first of the weekly visits that are bit more exciting. First, he checked for dilation...1 cm, thank you very much. He said that she is very high and definitely moving and shaking in there (not that I needed him to tell me that!) Surprisingly, my blood pressure is holding steady - just slightly high but still falling in the normal range. They did the Group B Strep test today, but I won't get those results back for a couple days probably (those Pathologists, always holding things up...).

The biggest news of the day is that he wants to do an ultrasound in two weeks (Oct 5th) to check the size of the baby. Because William was so large at birth, he wants to check and see where we stand at (just under) 38 weeks. I asked what it would mean if the baby measured big, as in, would he induce? He said that if the baby measured big, it would mean we would have a discussion. Okay. I'm up for discussions. I only wish he would have considered this with William when I was practically begging him to induce so that I would not miss my sister's wedding! The other thing he mentioned was that if I went into labor from this point forth, he would not try to stop it. Even though there is little to no chance of that happening in the next couple of weeks, it is still nice to hear that you are in a safer zone for delivery. So all around, pretty good things.

Of course, there are other things happening in October from minor - Halloween parties - to major - the beginning of a hybrid course I'm teaching starting Oct 19th. A hybrid course means that it is half online and half face-to-face classes (once per week for 8 weeks). The first face-to-face class for this course is Oct 19th, just 3 days before my due date. I was well aware of this fact when I agreed to teach the class, but the Chair of the department really needed someone to teach it, so I agreed. A full-time professor in the department very kindly offered to teach the first class if I was in the hospital at the time, but I would hate to miss the very first class. Of course, this is not something that I wanted to worry about right now, but so it is.

The other October event I've been focused on is William's birthday. My due date is on William's birthday, and while I'm not worried about having the baby on his birthday, I still want there to be a celebration on his birthday (which is a Saturday) and to make his day special. So, I planned a little family party at my mom and dad's house on that day. My plan is to get all decorations and as much food as possible there beforehand so that everything will be set and go on regardless of whether or not I'm actually there. It's just very important to me that this happens even though I know he doesn't know the difference.

So that's what is going on right now. We are super-excited to meet our little baby girl - and excited to reveal her name! Speaking of which, with just about 4 weeks to go, I think it is time to place your bets!!

Good weather, good fun

Today is a perfect Fall day so we spent the morning at the Transportation Museum. It was Carl's first time going there, but now that we are members (thanks to Groupon!), we will probably stop by there a lot more often. Today we explored lots of trains, rode the trolley, the tram, and the miniature train. William was loving life! And Lily got to see the Lion King with daddy this afternoon while William slept and I graded. A very good start to our weekend!

Everyone loves a good basket

I'm not sure what it is about kids and baskets, but they sure do love them! I have several pictures of Lily in baskets (the one above is from when she had just turned one), and it looks like William is going to have a few of his own. I love these weekend mornings and being entertained by their cuteness.

Baby love

Sibling love

Finally Fall

Can anyone really dispute that Fall is THE best season of the year? The calendar may not say it's Fall quite yet, but all the things that count scream Fall is here! And, we could not be happier for it. For the past couple of weeks, Carl has been on a good rotation and getting home in time to enjoy some time outside with the kids before dinner. As if the gorgeous weather were not enough, not having to contend with mosquitos, bug spray and sunscreen is just heavenly. Bring on the cozy sweaters and comfy jeans, apple orchards, pumpkin patches, the changing colors of the landscape, delicious baked goods, nighttime fires, morning snuggles under the blankets with the kids...and of course, the arrival of our sweet baby girl. Life is good.

Hangin' with William

I really miss Lily during the day, but it has been nice to spend one-on-one time with my little guy. Yesterday was a rainy day so we spent the morning at the Magic House. I had my camera on the wrong setting so all of the pictures came out a little blurry, but I'll post a few anyway. The fishing area was by far William's favorite of the day.

This ball area was a close second.

Another ball game

Yet another ball activity - sensing a theme yet?

Today was William's first Toddler Fun class at our school district Early Childhood Center. This is set up pretty much exactly like the class he took here this summer. They have free play time, circle time, art/table activities time, music & movement time and then snack with a story. William was mostly focused on riding the cars or playing with the balls the entire time but did allow a few minutes for some of the other activities.

Weekend pics

We've had a series of weekends lately that have been just awesome. This weekend was filled with kiddie fun and some adult productiveness to boot. On Friday, we took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese which was a big hit for both of them. On Saturday, I had to work on my online class which opens today so Carl took the kids on one of his epic walks. We then had a date night when the kids went to bed (completed exhausted) with a movie from red box - gotta love those $1 movies! On Sunday, I redecorated the nursery to prepare for our little one's arrival - just 5 1/2 more weeks! We then went to the annual Homecoming Fair for our town. The pics in this post are from that fair. I'll have pics of the new nursery up sometime within the next few weeks.

I'm not sure that Lily was convinced that this slide was worth the long walk up to the top ;)

A little horse for my little boy

Daddy had to go on all the rides with the kids because of my current status. However, this one I would not want to go on in normal circumstances - these twirly rides make me so dizzy.

William was so, so excited about this helicopter ride. In fact, he really enjoyed every ride and wanted to do some of the rides that he is not old enough for yet. He is our little thrill-seeker.

Good fair food

The Optimist Club of Layfayette was at the fair (I'm not exactly sure why), but Carl and I agreed that you would have to be an optimist to eat the things they were serving up, especially the deep fried twinkies.

Hugs before school

There's nothing better than seeing William and Lily partaking in spontaneous acts of affection. They clearly miss each other during the day, but we are all adjusting to this new lifestyle.

As stated in the Labor Day post, Carl's calculated assault against the poisonous copperhead snake he spotted in the pond is a post unto itself....so here it is. Carl initially spotted the snake but did not have a tool handy to catch and kill it. So my dad & Carl rigged up a spear by attaching a large knife to a wooden stick. Carl then monitored the area carefully and snagged the snake in the water when the opportunity arose, bringing it on land for its final minutes of life. What happened after that can only be fully appreciated if you envision the scene in "The Patriot" with Mel Gibson in which he is freeing his son from captivity and uses his tomahawk to REALLY make sure his enemy was eliminated. From my vantage point, the only thing I could see was large, sweeping hacking motions from Carl and bits of mud and snake pieces flying up all around him. It was truly a sight to behold, and it makes me laugh every time I think of it.

The decapitated head latches on to the stick.

Remains of the day

Labor Day

On Sunday, we went to my mom & dad's cabin (now with partially complete pole barn!). It was a perfect day with perfect weather. For some reason, in my pregnant state, I have not been very good with making decisions lately. So, sorry in advance for the vast number of pictures in this post!

The watermelon ceremony

In the loft of the cabin

Jeff and family

Tim's rocket show was a big, big hit

Hike on the property

The bonfire

Who says you can't be stylish while fishing?

Carl tried to help me, but there was just no hope of me catching a fish that day.

Everyone else, including my 22-month-old son, caught a fish that day.

Jeff snags dinner for everyone.

Carl spotted a copperhead snake in the pond (yes, that would be the poisonous kind). Of course, it was his mission thereafter to catch and kill it which he did successfully (luckily without injury). His hunt and kill tactics is a post unto itself.

My first lattice-work blackberry pie

A surprise shower! This is the same saying that was on a cake for my mom when her family gave her a shower when she was pregnant with me. Incidentally, my mom is also the third-born in her family.

My little helper

A grow-with-me snuggie for the baby - love it!

Mary with her dog, Sandy. My brother's dog, Oscar, can also be seen in the background.

Angela with all the grandkids

Mom with all the grandkids