The time is near

Elena and Olivia on Memorial Day

I had what I can only call contractions starting at 4 a.m. this morning and suddenly realized... maybe I don't want to go into labor earlier than the scheduled c-section after all. Holy moly. If those weren't contractions, WHAT were they and why were they trying to kill me? But they ended after about 40 minutes and the day went on as planned. Ryan helped me clean and we got the whole house done in an hour and a half, then filled the shelves with groceries before he took a late morning bike ride and I readied for a very enjoyable pedicure with some friends. They treated me to a nice afternoon and boy, I think I'm ready. Things are clean, I'm as coiffed and painted as I'm going to be and 'the plan' is set. Alright, alright, so I'm a little neurotic, but it makes me feel better and that just can't be bad.

So in case it hasn't been clear before, we're ready and very eager to meet our little man (or little tank as he is expected to be... I measured 41 weeks at this week's appointment).

I think that'll do it for now. A new posting should be expected in about a week when we introduce the second half of Two Grohs into the blog. Happy Memorial Day from our family of three and a half.

Flower girl

Elena is very excited these days for the following reasons:

• She had a birthday party today;



• Monday is the big Memorial Day barbeque in the neighborhood (we live in glorius Mayberry) where we gather with fabulous neighbors, eat, drink and watch kids slip, slide and ride in blocked off streets;



• She will be a big sister in nine days; AND most recently



• She was just asked to be the flower girl in Corey and Zoe's wedding!

She is very excited about this important role, though she's not exactly sure what she will do. She only knows that Zoe will be a big princess and she gets to be a little princess. She feels very honored for sure, especially since she received a special Flower Girl tee-shirt, cookie and beautiful card requesting the honor of her filling this role. Corey and Zoe made it very special indeed and we're all looking forward to their big day in October (right after Elena turns four years old)!

A fortnight

Only two weeks remaining, a fortnight, half a month... And according to Dr. Gregg, the kiddo is measuring 40 weeks tomorrow, so he's all the way cooked. We're predicting 9lbs, 3 oz. if he makes it until June 1. Elena is ready and waiting and knows the plan backward and forward - ask the kid when her baby brother will be here and she promptly answers, in two weeks, on June 1st. In fact, she looks ready to assist.

Elena is also responsible for the artwork hanging in his room and is very eager for him to see her extreme Picasso-like talents.

I love you because I love you, Mommy

On this Mother's Day eve, I gaze at Elena's beautiful face and it is clear... This is all worthwhile. All this ridiculous discomfort, indigestion and belly (etc.) expansion is worth it. But anytime this kiddo wants to come out and prove it, is A-OK with me.

Happy Mother's Day.

May showers

Ryan just pointed out that it is a mere four weeks 'till our little man arrives, and though I know this is accurate, I still prefer 'less than a month' because as close as we're getting, it can't be soon enough. We keep talking about meeting him, wondering if he'll look like Elena (the little mexican-asian baby she was), if he'll be as big as we think and what kind of a person he will be. I can be fairly confident he'll be incredibly active, as he has clearly developed Daddy's robo-legs in-utero.


A funny story today kept us all laughing for a couple hours....Ryan and Elena accompanied me to the doctor where he kindly took her to the potty mid-appointment. They came back about five minutes later, soaked in water with Ryan laughing that, "I'd never guess what happened to them" and Elena saying, "It just kept coming out, Mommy!" I guess the faucet broke and spewed water into the air, covering them. The floor of the medical office building was in bad shape when we left, but we couldn't help laughing for quite some time with Elena telling everyone she met that the water 'just kept coming out.' In every life, a little rain must fall... Glad we can laugh at it.