Leap Day, here we come (and hopefully go)

My doctor would like to induce labor a few weeks early to give me the best chance of delivering naturally.  We scheduled for February 22, but Christine will be in Costa Rica at that time and can't come stay with Shae. 

Sooooo, we have opted for February 29 (apparently my doctor only has scheduled hospital hours on Wednesdays).  I really, really, don't want a Leap Day baby.  That was one of my first thoughts when I found out my due date.  Birthdays are a big deal to kids, and no matter how much you try to sell the idea of it being 'unique', I don't think it would take long for him to realize it sucks.

Luckily, my doctor is understanding and willing to induce late in the day, with the intention of my labor going past midnight.  I never thought I'd say this, but I hope for a long labor so he can be born March 1.  If it goes quickly, he can blame his Aunt Chrissy for the fact that he only gets a real birthday every four years.  When I asked my doctor what my chances were of going faster, he said 'not likely'.  This baby is big, and I am not.  He said if he measures Shae's size or larger (7lbs 10oz), they won't even let me try, it's an automatic c-section, so we can avoid the traumatic labor she had. 

Help me wish for a smaller, healthy, baby that will deliver easily.  And not on Leap Day.  Please and thank you.

Shae's 2nd Birthday

I made the mistake of telling Shae her birthday was coming just before Christmas. She was so surprised to find out she gets one.  We had to sing Happy Birthday in the car every day for three weeks.  She still didn't really get the Christmas thing, but she is well aware of birthdays from her friends parties, so that became her focus.  She kept saying "Shae's birthday coming?" every day, so we created a calendar to check off the days.  We had a small party at home and she had so much fun.  She woke up at about 2am the night after, yelling 'Mommy!'.  When I went in, she just wanted to talk about the day and who came to her party.  She was that excited about it.  So sweet.

I'm 2!!

She was testing it first to see if she liked it.

The swingset was a big hit.

Mmmm, carrot 'icecakes' as Shae calls them (because all she really likes is the icing).

We made a banner with monthly photos from 1-2 years.
I loved to see how she's changed and so did she.

Exhausted at the end of a great birthday.

Pregnancy: The good, and the really good

Is it weird that I love being pregnant?  Most women I know were miserable, so maybe I'm just lucky and have easy, healthy pregnancies.  I had no morning sickness and I'm not very tired.  I love the feeling of carrying around this little life inside me.  I know he is warm, safe, well fed, and healthy.  I think I'm good at this.

I'm not at an uncomfortable stage yet and enjoy the little squirms, turns, and pokes.  He now gets the hiccups frequently, just like Shae did.  Other than that, the pregnancy itself is very different.  I've never understood before when women talk about carrying like it's a boy or girl, but with Shae, I carried more around the waist, hips, and legs (everywhere really).  This one is all out front like a ball. 

People are just plain nicer to you.  They hold doors, ask if you need help carrying things, and strangers actually start conversations (especially the women who want to guess if you are having a boy or girl).  It's almost like walking a puppy. 

I don't have to wash my hair.  Seriously, this may be the best perk of all because I've always hated washing it.  What a waste of time.  Luckily, my body seems to think it has more important things to do than lubricate my scalp, so if I wash my hair once or twice a week, it is more than enough.  Same goes for shaving my legs, but I can't really reach or see down there anymore, so who cares.

I'm still craving beer, and my doctor has said I can have them now (but only one a day he warned, as if I thought he was giving the go-ahead for partying).  I've never been much of a beer person unless it's a hot summer day, but boy does it taste delicious now.  The dark winter lagers are my favorite.

Shae likes to yell 'hi baby' into my belly and pat it.  She keeps saying 'baby come out soon' too.  I'm not sure if it's a question or an order.  We're trying our best to prepare her for a sibling but I worry about how she will handle it.

Sometimes, Santa comes early

This year, we wanted to give Shae a playroom for Christmas.  She doesn't really have a place for all of her 'things', other than bins in the family room... which end up everywhere and need to be put away every night.

The Sorensen family arrives this week, and we figured that was enough excitement for Christmas, so we put the playroom together early and surprised her this morning.  It's not quite done, but at 1:30am we said it was close enough. This is probably the beginning of many late nights of putting together Christmas gifts for her.

Luckily, she loved it, kept pointing at everything saying 'ooooo, mommy'.  She now has enough room for everything, and will hopefully share the space with her brother when he arrives.

I love how it looks, and who really needs a dining room anyway?  We used it a whopping three times in the three years we've been in the house, so this is a much better use of space.  We have a playdate with some friends tomorrow morning to break it in.

Hard at work with her playdough.

Oh Christmas Tree

Something about a Christmas tree makes the house magical.  We put ours up last weekend and Shae had a blast picking it out.  I couldn't even get her to stay still for a picture.  She kept running around yelling "trees!".

Last year I was worried about her breaking ornaments, but she was so gentle with them.  This year, she broke an ornament within 30 seconds of me opening the box.  We've now kept everything breakable out of her reach, or didn't even put them on the tree, so it looks pretty bare bones this year.  What I love most is every morning when she comes downstairs, she says "ooooo, Mommy, tree!" and runs over to touch it.

For years, literally, Matt has been asking if we can have colored lights on the tree instead of just white, so this year I bought him two strands to mix in.  Pretty generous of me, huh?  I figured Shae would like them too... but I have to admit, I prefer white.

Papa!

Grandma and Grandpa Sorensen visited us for a few days, and Shae now calls both of them Papa.  I don't think she really notices a difference between the 'ma' and 'pa' sounds yet.  I was so surprised with how easily she warmed up to them and how excited she was to see them when she woke up in the mornings.

We waved goodbye to 'their' plane when they left, and now, every once in a while, she'll point to a plane and say 'papa' with a sad little face.  :(   We explained that they had to go home to take care of their sheep, chickens, llama, dogs, and cats and they'll be back at Christmas.  She has no idea what Christmas is (or a llama for that matter), but it seems to be an sufficient explanation for her.

There must be something soothing about Grandma Lucy.
Shae would never sit this still in front of a computer with me.

Singing 'row row' before bed.

It's a BOY!

Shae is going to have a little brother!  I've had this image in my head of raising two little girls, so it has taken time to get used to the idea of a boy.  It's not disappointment, just different than what I pictured.  I'm sure once I see his beautiful little face, none of that will matter.  All I really want is a healthy baby.

The doctor says he has very long arms and legs (go figure).