Quick Update

Hi everyone! I had another OB appointment today. I am 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced.
I didn't sleep much last night due to all the pressure from the baby being so low. When I got up this morning to let the dog out I thought the baby was going to fall out he felt so low!
I told the doctor this and he said he could understand why I felt that way, because the baby's head is extremely low now.
He told me to make sure my hospital bag is packed and that we have things in order, because even though no one can predict when it will happen, he said it probably won't be much longer.
I have been having lots of contractions the past two days, so my body is gearing up just as it should be. I am very happy that everything is going well and baby is still doing fine.
Hopefully it won't be long before I am posting his first photo on here.

It's very hot out and I am pooped from running errands. I am going to go sit in front of the fan and fold laundry now. Hope everyone is keeping cool.
Have a great weekend!

Baby Shower

Hello everyone, and Happy Monday!
The baby shower this last Saturday was really nice. I want to thank everyone again for spending the afternoon with me. It was so nice to see each of you.
And the gifts were all very nice, thank you for your kindness!
Sherri did a wonderful job at putting the shower on for me. The food was so good! I loved the cake so much, I told Ben we are going to have to start coming up with excuses to buy those.

Ben, Maddie, and I are very anxious to meet our new family member. Hopefully the big day isn't too far off - though I do have plans for every day this week, so if he could just hold off until next week, that would be great. :)

He will make his debut when he's good and ready, I suppose. Until then, I will try my best to keep busy and not think about it. I'm taking these last few weeks to get some cross-stitch projects done, and to finish the baby's blanket I am crocheting.
Speaking of which, I think I will go work on some of that now.

Have a good week everyone!

Things are moving right along

Ben has been working in the "back bedroom", trying to get it ready for us to move into (so that the baby can have the room that we are currently in). He has the drywall/taping/topping done and is working on getting the paint primer on.

The baby's room has been painted a beautiful shade of "cornflower blue" for about two weeks now. We love the color, it really turned out nice.

Maddie starts summer school on Monday (and no, she is not at all happy about it). She only has to attend 8:30 to 11:30 am, Monday through Thursday - so it's really not that bad. But try to tell an 11 year old they have to go to summer school and convince them it's not so bad. Her main complaint about attending is that it covers the window of time when the baby will arrive. She is extremely worried she is going to "miss the baby". I have assured her that we won't let that happen, but I'm not sure she's convinced.

Maddie has also decided to play volleyball this fall. According to the information we have received to date, her games will be on Saturdays and practice will be on Sundays. This program will run from the middle of September, through the middle of October. I'm really glad she is getting involved in an activity this year. She will have that many more opportunities to make friends at her new school. I find myself very excited for her, starting a new school (that we have heard nothing but good about) and getting involved in a sport. She has a lot going for her, the possibilities are limitless!

I had an OB appointment yesterday and everything is still fine. I have to start going weekly from here on out, so my next appointment is next Friday already. I guess the end is in sight now, since I only have about four or five appointments left.

I have a big day of laundry and running errands. Ben, Maddie, and I send all our love to everyone!

Happy Birthday to Ben!

Ben celebrated his birthday on Saturday, and again on Monday. He was pretty pleased about getting two cakes.
We gathered at Ben's parent's house on Saturday, along with Jennifer, Dan, and Ian. We had Ben's favorite meal (sloppy joes) and some very yummy angel food cake.
Grandma and Grandpa Rekstein came over to join us for dinner and cake Monday night. We had homemade "sub sandwiches" and German Chocolate cake. I'm going to go ahead and confess now, that I am losing my "attention to detail". I managed to purchase those "magic relighting candles". I didn't intend to purchase candles with any special powers, and I will be much more careful in the future. Those 27 candles threw sparks and ash in a way that seemed extremely unsafe. Of course, the whole house filled with smoke as we tried to blow them out long enough to pluck them off the cake and drown them too.
Once the evil little sticks were extinquished, the fine layer of ash cleaned off the waiting cake plates, and the windows opened to allow for some fresh air, the cake and ice cream eating commenced (and all was right with the world again).
Ben said he had a really good birthday! Thank you to everyone for the phone calls and the visits - family is what makes a "very special day" so special.

The 5th of July is here...

Good morning everyone, and Happy July 5th!
Ben had lots of fun setting off fireworks last night, and we had lots of fun watching.
Saturday we visited Kelly, Mick, Jeanne, and Jim at Kelly's lake place. Afterwards, we stopped in Lake Crystal to visit my mom. Sunday we just stuck around the house and worked on a few projects. As we do a few times a week, we played an intense game of Monopoly in the evening.

The back bedroom is coming along pretty nicely. Ben has been doing a great job at fixing the walls and ceiling in there. We picked up a couple paint swatches a few days ago too.

The birds found our feeders. There have been times we have counted a dozen or more around the feeders at one time. The Grackles are pretty greedy, they manage to empty the one feeder on a daily basis. Ben now rations out the food - they get a cupful a day. The Mourning Doves are my favorite. They aren't such piggies, so their food lasts quite awhile.
My mom bought me a Stargazer Lily (same kind of flower I had for my wedding) after we moved in. We planted it out front last weekend, and already I have a bloom! I just love Lilies, they are my favorite flower. The bloom I found when watering this morning is so perfect I just had to take a picture.

I got an email from Maddie's principal that she has been accepted into summer school. Her first day will be on Monday, the 24th. I don't think she's all that thrilled with the idea of summer school, but I really feel it will help her ease into her studies this fall.

I am happy to announce that the baby "dropped" last week. I can now breathe a LOT better! For a while there I wasn't sure I was going to make it until August, gasping for air constantly.
I have an appointment at the hospital today to pre-register and talk with the Birthing Center nurse in regards to my preferences. I'm not sure what this process entails, but it will be nice to have it done and out of the way. My next OB appointment is tomorrow, but I expect it to be pretty uneventful.
I removed all the tags from all the baby clothes we have purchased so far, so that they can be washed in Dreft. I sure hope the ultrasound wasn't wrong, because now I can't take any of these little boy's clothes back! My hospital bag is almost packed, and our cradle should arrive anytime between today and Friday.

Maddie and I visited my friend Sherri, and her little Tayla, last Friday as well. We wanted to squeeze in one more visit before they went to Canada for a week.
Wow! That little baby is changing and growing by the day! She is just getting cuter and cuter! I think it's the baby fat she is putting on, it's just the icing on the cake for babies. She is also doing a lot more smiling, so that's a lot of fun as well.

I want to get dinner thrown in the crockpot before I leave for my appointment today, so I better not play on the computer any longer.

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July! Take care, stay cool, and don't let the bugs eat you up.