Special Week at Preschool

In many ways, God has orchestrated our days. With my due date here and gone - I have felt like a ticking time bomb waiting to go off. Elise had several special days planned for the week of May 11-12th; her Spring recital for dance class and a special day of music with moms in her classroom, and a year end picnic as a class. I prayed about these events all week & asked God to let me be there for Elise so that she wouldn't feel left out. God is good - we were able to attend all three!

The recital was very cute, however, our little ballerina just wasn't feeling "it". She didn't want to wear her tutu or her pretty pink veil...so we just went without. These are the days that come and go with a 3 (almost 4) year old. Her dance teacher was so sweet and just wanted the girls to have fun. Of course later that afternoon after the recital Elise was happy to do all her dances for us here at home - go figure!

Spring Ballerina

All the moms got to visit the classroom and make a butterfly project as well as enjoy some angel food cake, fresh strawberries and vanilla pudding. They have been studying the ocean and animals that live there & the video attached is a little dance they did for us - darling. Elise has loved her teachers this year and we are amazed at how much she knows.

Music with Mom - we made a pretty butterfly

Here we are enjoying our picnic indoors....

Year End Preschool picnic (indoors because of a wet playground)

Mother's Day Weekend 2011

I had high expectations that I would be holding a newborn in my arms this weekend, but she and God have different plans. I am now 1 week past my due date and we are still waiting for this little one to arrive. Even so, it has been a wonderful weekend. On Friday Elise and I went to a birthday party for her friend, Kate, and in the evening John brought home yummy Donato's pizza and a movie for us to enjoy.

On Saturday we spent the whole day outside with absolutely beautiful warm, sunny weather. Elise and I watered our garden & flowers, and then spent several hours detailing our Jeep. I even shampooed all the carpets and floor mats - it is a joy to drive and it shines! We grilled out in the backyard & John and Elise put together beautiful flower bouquets to place all over the house for me to enjoy for Mother's Day. They are stunning - and from our knock-out rose bushes. I got to relax and read a good book before falling asleep.

Beautiful roses!

Today (Sunday) I woke up and had a wonderful cinnamon coffee cake breakfast with my dear John and sweet Elise, and then we got ready and went to church. After the service, we came home and again I was blessed with a delicious grilled steak, Dean & Deluca's house salad & delicious dessert. I am very blessed & it has been such a relaxing, wonderful day with my little family. Thank you, Lord, for all these good things from your hand.

Smelling the roses

41 weeks...how much longer before she arrives?

Chocolate dome cake...yum.

My fun Mother's Day gift from Elise...a ring!

Playing with the settings on our camera...enjoying the back patio

Happy John

Well, I must sign off - my Mother's Day is not yet complete & we are now heading out for an evening walk. Our outdoor temp in the heat of the day read 91.6 - but I'm sure that must have been in direct sunlight...it is now a beautiful evening with a great breeze.

This past week was a little different as I would wake up each day wondering if it was going to be "the day." Mom and Dad left late Thursday night for MN to spend a week there attending my cousin, Cari's wedding & see Josh, Debi & baby Jesper & get some things done in Mt. Lake at the farm. They return this next Wednesday...we'll see if the baby will wait for them to return? I feel a bit like I've become a professional text messanger. Family and friends have been checking in all week for a baby status...I feel very loved and excited that everyone is sharing in this waiting adventure with us. I keep assuring them that we will be sure to let them know when something is happening.

So...we continue our waiting game. I have an appointment scheduled for Tuesday afternoon where they will do an ultrasound and stress test to check the baby and determine next steps. As of my last appointment, my blood pressure is great, baby's heart rate is strong and I feel lots of good movement for the baby, too. So no medical concerns at this point, and we will let her come when she's ready. Until then...

Lots of walking

Monday was a fun day. We visited with our friends/neighbors Heather & Emma Grace & went over to the pond in the next neighborhood to feed the turtles and ducks & play on their playground a bit. Then, when John got home from work, we had dinner on the patio & went for another walk in the evening. These are such gorgeous days...and we're trying to stay active as we wait for our little baby to arrive.

Perfect Rock for sitting

Feeding the turtles

silly

Elise was bathed and it really was past her bedtime...but we took her on an evening stroll & let her watch a DVD on the laptop as a "wind-down"

Only in pregnancy...sporting a sundress with walking shoes.

May 1st

40 Weeks

Well, my due date has come and gone...

I keep telling my friends that I feel like an alarm clock waiting to go off. We are excited to meet this little one, and see what she looks like. I had 3 pretty strong contractions between 3:30-4:00am on Sunday morning (May 1st) and I thought for sure this was the start - so I woke John up, and told him. Then, I got up and did my nails & was ready to do my hair and everything - but I didn't have anymore activity, so I went back to bed and we went to church & had a relaxing afternoon. Again, early Monday morning around 2am (May 2nd) I felt another contraction, but nothing consistent...so we continue to wait!

Daily Life

Elise has been enjoying her Wednesday afternoon dance class, and I just had to post a couple pictures of her getting ready for class....too cute!

We have been enjoying such a fun week together. My schedule is cleared and we have just been having lots of mother/daughter time. I took her to get her nails painted at My Bella Spa & she got to sit in the little girl chairs & later told everyone she got her toes painted by the big lady. These are small Asian women...but to her it was a big deal. The polish has lasted and lasted - so I felt my money was worth it. Then, on a whim, we decided to go to see a movie in the theater one afternoon - Rio. Pretty cute movie...but a word to the wise: they no longer consider it a matinee unless the movie is before 2pm. We went to a 3pm showing, and I had to pay full price for both of us...ugh! We still had lots of fun. I'm savoring these days with just the two of us. Before we know it - I will have my hands full with a newborn as well. Elise has also helped me put in a few plants for our garden this year. We planted 2 tomato plants, cucumbers, dill, basil and zucchini. I'm trying to scale down everything so there isn't too much to water - but I just couldn't give it all up this summer. We have had beautiful weather the last week & this is my favorite time of year here in North Carolina - perfect warm days, cooler nights and no/low humidity.

Easter Weekend 2011

We had a great Easter weekend as a family. John had Good Friday and the Monday after Easter, so it felt like a nice long weekend.
We colored eggs on Friday morning, then picked up mom from the airport as she was returning from MN after spending a week with Josh and Debi to meet their new baby, Jesper. We went to a powerful play at church later that evening called Pilate on the Beach giving a little insight into the torment that this man faced after handing over an innocent man, Jesus, to the angry Jewish mob.
I sing in the choir, and so we attended our Saturday night Easter service as a family. It was a little strange to go in the evening, but we wanted to be able to sit together as a family, and our morning services get so full, that after singing the choir pieces...there usually isn't room to fit in the pew at that point. We went out for pancakes after the service, which is becoming our routine after attending on Saturday nights. I went to sing Sunday morning again, while John and Elise had a nice morning at home. They got re-dressed up so we could take some Easter pictures together as a family!

Beautiful colored eggs

Jammin'

39 Weeks

Backyard Egg hunt

Mom and Dad made a yummy ham dinner and I brought a coconut cake as well. It was such a nice, relaxing afternoon. We were able to webcam with family out of town, and they even got in a game of Bocci ball to enjoy the gorgeous afternoon.

Bubbles from the Easter basket

An evening game of Bocci Ball

Spring Break

We enjoyed a fun Spring break last week. We have had beautiful summer temps, and so I pulled out the sprinkler for Elise and her friends to enjoy. She was also excited to be sporting her new "tutu" swimsuit.
The following day we set off for Carowinds with Michelle, Kaylie and Alex. The girls loved going on the rides together, and it worked out great for me, too. Since I am unable to go on the rides, I hung out with little Alex while Michelle helped the girls. I must say that by the end of our 5 hour day walking in the heat...my body was ready to relax.
I am savoring these days with Elise as they will soon change as we bring home another family member.

Ride through the sprinkler

Chillin'

Sweet girl!

38 Weeks