Enjoying Our Time...

As difficult as it is to go past your "due date" (I still think they should just give a week long period of time rather than a single day so you don't get your expectations up so high!), we have been doing our best to enjoy this special time with just the three of us.  Today was a beautiful fall day, although it felt a bit more like summer with temperatures in the upper 70's!  We went for a nice little hike in the woods behind our house, played in the leaves in the yard, watched Scott's soccer game and I even enjoyed an incredible prenatal massage from my sister/doula!  :)  It was a great day overall and I captured some of these events on camera.  Here are a few pics of our day...

 Camden hanging out with his girlfriends (all the girls on campus LOVE him and he's loving the attention this year!  Last year he was so shy, but he's really coming out of his shell!)...

 Showing off with his somersault skills...

 Getting a ride on the gator after Scott's game...

And so we wait and enjoy life as a family of three!

Hello, and Goodbye, Due Date!

Well, my due date has officially come and gone.  But I'm OK!  I'm feeling optimistic and enjoying these last few days before our little guy arrives.  We had an appointment with our midwife this morning and got lots of great news!  The baby is finally in the perfect position.  For many weeks, he has been hovering close to back labor position.  His spine was closer to my back than my front, and after experiencing back labor during Camden's birth, I was terrified to have to endure that again.  Needless to say, we're thrilled that he's in the right position now!  I'm also 3.5 cm dilated already!  This is more incredible news as it took me at least 12 hours of agonizing labor for me to reach that point last time!  The baby's head is engaged and I'm about 50% effaced (for the three people out there who know what that means!).  Linda doesn't think I'll go into labor in the next day or two, but also doesn't think I'll be a week late, so hopefully pretty soon!  She thinks that once labor begins it's going to be really intense and really quick since I'm already dilated so much. 

I'm anxious for labor to start.  I just want to get the show on the road, put the pain behind me and hold our little one, but I'm feeling better after seeing Linda this morning.  Excited for what the next few days will hold for our family!  :)  I enjoyed looking back at this post tonight reflecting on Camden's birth and the weeks that followed.  It made me so excited to have a new little person in our lives again!

Our Bob Duallie (aka: AWESOME Double Stroller) arrived today in the mail!  YAHOO!!!  Camden sat in it and pointed at himself "Bubba's seat" and then pointed at the empty one - "Baby Bruce!" and repeated this little mantra over and over again.  At this point, he seems so excited to have a little brother, but I'm sure things will be different when there is actually a baby in the house demanding all my attention.  Thanks to all our friends and family who chipped in to help us buy this incredible item!  We LOVE it already!  :)

On another note, I made apple crisp tonight with the apples Camden and I picked earlier this week and it turned out to be absolutely delicious (if I do say so myself)!  After asking some friends on facebook for some recipes, I settled on one that sounded particularly gooey and unhealthy and it turned out to be SO good!  (Thanks Jill)!

Apple Picking

Camden and I went on an adventure today with our friend Amy and her daughter Paige and some of their friends.  I was a little hesitant to go at first.  Camden had a rough night last night, waking up multiple times and was so overtired at breakfast that he threw a temper tantrum in the middle of the dining hall that quieted the place down!  In order to join this apple picking gathering, we would be missing Camden's morning nap, but since the orchard was pretty far away I decided to go and bank on the fact that he would sleep in the car.  Unfortunately, that didn't happen.  He was so excited on the way there that he couldn't sleep.  He kept repeating "Amy, Paige, pick, apples" over and over again.  Luckily, he held it together at the orchard even without any sleep and had a blast on the hay ride (I thought it might put me into labor, but it didn't!), picking apples with Paige, playing in a little jumpyhouse and checking out the goats.  To top it off, Appleview Orchard sells delicious ice cream so we enjoyed that together sitting on the deck overlooking the rows of trees.  He was exhausted and fell asleep on the way home, but still managed to take an afternoon nap and let me sleep for an hour later in the day!  Phew...not sure what I would have done if I had to miss BOTH my naps today!  Here are some pictures from our apple picking adventure!

These two are little buddies!  So fun!

Thanks for a great day, Amy and Paige!  We had a blast! 

Now, does anyone out there have a delicious, unhealthy recipe for apple crisp that's full of butter and brown sugar?!?  Trying to find a good one!

Dorm Life

So, I'm going to take the lazy way out of blogging tonight and just link you to the dorm blog that I just started.  We had a really fun cookout today that some parents put on for our dorm and it gives you a little glimpse into what our life is like!  I used to do a blog when we lived in MLS (before I had a baby to worry about!) and the parents loved seeing what we were up to in the dorm.  I haven't done it since Camden was born, but thought I'd be an overachiever and see if I can manage it with TWO kids!  haha.  We'll see how it goes.  Anyways, check out this link if you're interested in seeing what we spent our afternoon doing!

On the baby front...lots of braxton hicks contractions, but that's it so far!  Hope we will meet this little guy soon!!!!

The Waiting Game...

The wait is on!  Our due date is just ten days away and we are ready for this baby to arrive!  His room is set up, the baby swing has been pulled out of storage, the instructions are typed up for our parents who will be taking care of Camden.  The end of a pregnancy is tricky.  Will this be my last night putting Camden to sleep with my attention focused solely on him?  Are we stocked up on groceries for our families and Camden during the time we're gone?  Do I have everything packed for the hospital?  Is the house in order in case it happens today and we need to leave?  And then of course, there's always the possibility that I might not go into labor until six days late like I did with Camden, which just extends this waiting game even longer!  My friend, Lynne, who lives in the dorm next to us, just had a baby just a few days ago.  Her little girl is only seven pounds and holding her yesterday was a surreal experience!  The fact that they estimated that my little guy was already about 7.5 pounds last week made it pretty weird to be holding a baby smaller than the one that has been moving inside of me for 38.5 weeks!

Camden has been practicing his big brother skills.  He carries Curious George around the house.  Tells me that George wants to nurse.  Burps George.  Pretends to change his diaper.  Puts George down for naps.  He's going to be an amazing big brother and I can't wait to see the two of them together. 

We are SO excited to meet our little one.  Anxious about labor.  Praying for no back labor this time.  Sad to be leaving Camden behind...But so excited to be holding our little one in our arms...FINALLY!

Surprise!!!

So, I had my first ever surprise party last night!  My family organized a surprise shower for me and Baby #2 and I had NO idea it was happening!  Scott has known for over month and he usually can't keep a secret.  He's the type of husband who always says, "Guess what I got you for your birthday?  Can I give it to you early??"  And I always love tradition and surprises, so I cover my ears and run away and wait until my special day.  Needless to say, it was very impressive that he didn't let this one slip!  We had a fun Labor Day weekend cookout planned with our two families together at my in-law's new house in New London.  I didn't think twice about this, because our families are very close and it's common for us to do activities all together.  After cleaning up dinner, my Mom and mother-in-law came outside and put a "Mommy To Be" purple sash over my head!  I had seen my aunt and uncle arrive and thought that maybe we were just going to have a little family shower, but they led me into the house to a room full of friends and family!  I don't know how I was so oblivious to all those people arriving at the house and sneaking in the other door, but I had no idea!  It was a wonderful evening full of delicious desserts, good conversation and lots of presents and surprises!  Thank you to everyone who helped make last night so special, especially my mom, Mom A, Caren and Sarah (and Scott of course!).  Our little guy feels VERY blessed and can't wait to join such a wonderful family!

Here are some pictures from the family BBQ and the surprise shower!!!

Following in our footsteps!  :)

Dad and Clara's new dolly...I couldn't resist posting this!

Pop manning the grill...

And then, without any warning, I turned into the guest of honor!

SURPRISE!!!

My sister snuck into our house and grabbed these photos off the wall in the baby's room!  It was a nice touch!  :)

Talking with my friend Lynne who works at Proctor with us.  We were pregnant together with our first pregnancies and now we're just a couple weeks apart again!  Can't wait to meet her little one!

Everyone wrote little blessings on these cute cards and hung them on this clothesline!  Love it!

Thanks Amy and Cope!  Love these!

Little Miss Clara...

Lynne, Me, Clara and Amy...

The whole group!  Thank you all SO much!  What a wonderful evening!