Bye Bye June!

June was packed with lots of family events and celebrations. The first weekend was spent in Houston at my cousin Adam's wedding. It was a very interesting ceremony (part Jewish and part Chinese) followed by a beautiful reception at a safari ranch.
The next weekend was spent in Austin with the Danzes for some of Eli's cousins' graduation party. Somehow those pictures I took have gone missing--along with the camera--but we had a really fun time visiting with the extended family.
On the third weekend Eli took me to spend the night in the same hotel on the riverwalk which we stayed in the night of our wedding. We combined celebrations for father's day, my 25th birthday, our 3rd wedding anniversary, and the coming of the new baby. Emily stayed with my parents, so we had a nice relaxing time eating out at restaurants on the riverwalk, taking a long nap during the day, and ordering breakfast in bed. I don't think we'd had that much time to talk uninterrupted in years!
On Father's Day my parents rented a boat on Canyon Lake--all 4 of my sisters were able to come. Emily cracked me up by pretending to sleep in the lake...it was just too bright to open her eyes! Last weekend we invited over some young family friends who we've recently met to swim and BBQ. We had a great time despite the 103 degree weather!
As far as new baby news, on Monday morning I was 80% effaced and 2 cm dialated. The rest of the day I was having lots of contractions, probably caused by the earlier exam. Tuesday and Wednesday brought several contractions as well, these more painful but still very irregular. We took a tour of the hospital and have my bag packed, and i've been working incredibly hard at keeping laundry done, cooking and shopping done, and things clean. It's not easy having everything ready to go to leave your toddler for two days and expect to have clean clothes and food for a few days after a birth that can come whenever!
Since we didn't have the typical newborn experience last time, Eli has decided to stay with me and the baby in the hospital the entire time. It'll be such a change from Emily's birth! I'm so excited to be able to hold the baby right away, rather than a full week later in the NICU.
So say some prayers for us. On Friday we are throwing a bridal luncheon for Lauren's best friend Seana at the house and Saturday is the wedding. The next Thursday my parents are hosting a summer-associate party here for my Dad's company, and Friday is rehearsal dinner and Saturday is my aunt's wedding...so those blackout dates are a little worrysome as far as childcare is concerned. Because of my heath issues, I'll be induced before July 10th if necessary. The best time to have this baby is today, tomorrow, or Sunday-Wednesday. I hope God gets the memo! :) What baby wouldn't want to see fireworks! Keep posted for baby updates and keep us in your prayers for a safe delivery and a healthy baby!!!

Enjoy the new pictures!
Happy groom, mother of groom, and best man
Always great to see my brother Paul!

The Harkins girls plus our adopted sister MaggieEmily sneaking into the sink to make bubbles Teresa heading to camp for a week

Our weekend getaway!
Ready to go to the Lake!
Me, thinking skinny thoughts between my sissies Annie and MaryLoving the wind blowing through the hair!
Daddy of the year:)

What do you mean I can't just eat dip?

Relaxing and pretending to sleep

Love my Nana!

Our newest SA friends Isabel and Mark, and cute baby Jacque

Contagious Sweetness

It's happening. I didn't think it'd come so soon, but it hit me hard this week: it's my energy crisis. As in, when I'm at 9am mass I'm already beyond exhausted. Mommy-guilt is setting in hard...crankiness is spreading quickly. If you don't know Emily, I'll let you in on a little secret. She has just about the sweetest temperament possible. Here are some examples.
1. When she spills her milk, on her own accord she runs to get a towel and cleans up the mess entirely.
2. She puts herself in time-out. She sits in the corner and says "no-no" while wagging her finger, then comes to give me a hug.
3. When Sweetie our dog needs to be taken out, Emily will stand patiently at the driveway, clapping and yelling "wee wee" until she's safely back in the house.
4. Her favorite activities are unloading the dishwasher, doing laundry, and cleaning. And rocking her babydoll while singing "rock a bye baby"
5. She says hi to everyone about a hundred times a day. 9 people live in this house...she's very busy being friendly.

So don't you think she deserves to be taken to the park? I used to take her 3 times a week. Zoo? Every Tuesday. Storytime? Every Wednesday. This week, the only place she's been besides mass is strapped into a shopping cart at Target for 20 minutes. I nearly passed out from heat exhaustion after playing in the backyard for 30 minutes today. Pregnancy is wearing me down! I guess this is God intended training for the sleep deprivation to come in the next few months. Thank you God for sending me the most adorable child in the world.

And a side note...Good news!! Emily has been receiving occupational therapy 5 times a month, and has caught up to speed and will only need it 3 times a month. YAY!!! Also, I had my last dr. appt with the specialist today, so I'll go to only one appt. a week with my OBGYN. Less things for me to do = happier mom.

UD Graduation

This is about the last thing in the world I should be doing right now...but I remembered that there are pictures that I wanted to post! This week is flying by, starting off with a VERY relaxing Memorial Day mostly spent lounging in the pool with the fam. Tonight Lauren is moving home from Dallas after graduating from UD last weekend. You have no idea how excited I am!! On Friday my Mamaw is coming to stay along with my Uncle Doug and his 3 kids (Jacob and Clare were my ring bearer and flower girl). It is such a treat to have Harkins come to SA since we usually can only travel to Mississippi once a year at most. I just wish the whole family could come too! Saturday is my mom's huge 50th birthday extravaganza, called a Cinquentaera meaning "party like you've lived half a century". Lots and lots of planning and work to be done for then...but it's going to be a blast!

Baccalaureate Mass...Lauren's in the front row

Graduation on the mall

Lauren called the week before and said she wasn't graduating because her grades were bad. And she got cum laude. I love the "end of senior year freak out" sessions. To take this picture my Dad pretended to chase Emily all the way in front of everyone. Classic scammer dad.

Awww...

Gotta get a pic with the tower!

Rommies

Even my brother came in from the big apple to celebrate!

Random Pregnancy Thoughts

#1. I feel so round! I've heard tons of complaining preggo ladies saying "there's just no more room for the baby to grow". Now, I didn't think I'd ever make it to 32 weeks, which means less 2 months left. But, that also means 2 months for this child to get bigger. A few weeks ago he measured almost 4 lbs., so basically the little squish is going to be a lot more squishy than Emily ever was in her life! How on earth is this going to fit?? If I can't breathe or sleep now, I guess God is just preparing me for 2 kids under 2.

#2 Eli has been indulging my nesting impulses patiently, which I have zero physical energy to fulfill. The biggest task has been to rearrange clothes and pack them up for the storage unit to make room for a whole other person to be living in our bedroom along with Emily. Millions of things to do, and we're running out of time. Where the heck is the cradle? How do I find that double stroller which a baby carrier snaps into? Where is the newborn box holding hopefully gender neutral blankets and clothes? Which type of sling is most comfortable for a baby who may spend a good amount of the day with me bending down? I need to order tiny cloth diapers! More importantly I need to take this one day at a time and continue to pray for grace.

#3 I'm worried about scamming Emily. I know it'll be good for her not to be the constant center of attention or to be constantly entertained. The problem boils down to the fact that I'm not really sure what kind or attention this baby will need. If you remember back to the newborn days of Emily, her eating pattern was 15 minutes on, 15 minutes off, 24 hours a day. Praise the Lord that didn't last more than a few months. I already know that this baby will be different...but I guess it'll take actually being with both kiddies to know how to help/enjoy/love/teach both on a daily basis.

(baking a cake for Nana's 50th...very sneaky girl!)

#4 My unfinished sewing and knitting projects are nothing but depressing to me! Off I go to try to make a dent while Emily is still napping...

TGIF! Enjoy your weekend:)

Mother's Day

Eli has always been the most thoughtful gift-giver. This year he framed my favorite picture of me and Emily alongside this beautiful poem.

The most important person on earth is a mother.

She cannot claim the honor of having built Notre Dame Cathedral.

She need not.

She has built something more magnificent than any cathedral--

a dwelling for an immortal soul,

the tiny perfection of her baby's body.

The angels have not been blessed with such a grace.

They cannot share in God's creative miracle to bring new saints to Heaven.

Only a human mother can.

Mothers are closer to God the Creator than any other creature;

God joins forces with mothers in performing this act of creation.

What on God's good earth is more glorious than this:

to be a mother.

-Joseph Cardinal Mindszenty

Cheers to all you moms out there:)