I am scheduled to be at the hospital at 6:00am next Tuesday. I was hoping for a bit later, but I really can't complain. I had to be there at 3:00am when Mason was born! It will take awhile for them to prep me for the c-section so I anticipate her arrival to be around 7:30 or 8:00 CST. I expect to come home on Friday, and I will post pictures of our beautiful baby girl as soon as I can.
I made this super easy valance using left over fabric from the pillow sham. My friend monogrammed it for me.Every night before going to bed, we read a Bible story, say our prayers and sing "Jesus Loves Me." Right now Mason's favorite story is Jonah and the Big Fish. We've been stuck on that one for about a month now. But last night he asked to read about David and Goliath. And, yes, Mason sleeps with all of his "friends" - bear, rabbit, Goofy and Mickey Mouse. Oh, and we can't forget blanket!
The past couple of weeks I've been trying to be sure I have as much as possible done and ready before Hannah Kate arrives - enough toiletry and paper goods items to last a month or so, stamps for Christmas cards, diapers and wipes, and the list goes on and on and on. Yesterday I took Mason to get a haircut. I told the girl that it would probably be awhile before we would come in again and asked her to really "shape it up." Well, she did what I asked, resulting in the shortest haircut Mason has ever had. It's not a bad haircut. It just makes him look a lot older. I keep looking at him and thinking he just shouldn't be that big already!
Mason is really into firetrucks. Everyday he asks me if he can have a firetruck for Christmas. He is also asking for a choo-choo train. This past weekend he asked for a kitty cat for Christmas. I'm afraid he's going to be sorely disappointed about that one. Yesterday he asked for a 4-wheeler for Christmas. He'll be even more disappointed!
Mason's new thing these days is flying. He keeps telling me he wants to fly! At first I couldn't figure out where in the world this was coming from. I thought perhaps it had something to do with Rocket on Little Einsteins. But the other day I noticed he was flying his Buzz Lightyear figure through the air, and I realized he had recently seen "Toy Story." So I guess that's where it's coming from. Needless to say, I have to keep a close eye on him. The other day I was in Hannah Kate's nursery getting the bedding arranged. I had a bunch of pillows and some quilts on the floor in the corner. When my back was turned, Mason took a dive right onto the pile and then proceeded to slam into the wall chin first. Blood went everywhere. To this day, I have no idea how there isn't a hole in the wall where he hit it.
A few days ago, we were riding home after running some errands. Out of the blue, Mason said, "Mama, I share with Hannah Kate." I was finally able to convince him that we will not get Hannah Kate at Wal-Mart. He used to ask every time we went if we were getting her.
And suckers . . . he loves suckers. A few weeks ago, we sat in the waiting room at my doctor's office for nearly 3 hours. Since Mason was such a good boy, Dr. Crews gave him a sucker. The next time we went, we were on our way out the door, and Mason looked at Dr. Crews and said, "I want sucker." Let's just say Mason doesn't have to ask anymore. He gets a sucker every time we go. I also took him for a flu shot. It didn't phase him in the least. As soon as the nurse stuck him, he sat up, looked at her and said, "Sucker please."
Miss Hannah Kate is still scheduled to arrive on December 4 . . . 1 week and 6 days! Yes, I'm counting! I went to the doctor today, and he told me she is actually breeched. He said at this point she isn't likely to turn. So I guess it's a good thing I have to have a c-section anyway.
Thanksgiving Day is tomorrow . . . it will be just the 3 of us. I started cooking on Monday. I'm doing the whole traditional Thanksgiving feast for us. It's actually kind of nice because I'm freezing half of all my recipes so we'll have some food in the freezer. It will be a different Thanksgiving this year as we are not with either of our families, but different can be good. We have so much to be thankful for regardless.
All of the food was really yummy! Chicken salad sandwiches, pasta salad, mini ham melts, Mexican 7-layer dip/chips, spinach dip, cheese ball . . .
And the cake was really yummy, too! It was precious. It was designed to match the plates and napkins.
Hannah Kate received so many beautiful gifts, including a personalized Christmas ornament from her Uncle Rob and Aunt Kristi, along with this big basket of goodies.
It was nice to receive some "practical" gifts. After all, Hannah Kate needs pink bibs, not blue! And she also received several toys so she'll have some of her very own in addition to Mason's hand-me-downs.
Barbara and Caroline even made the trip all the way to Zebulon for the shower. One of their gifts to Hannah Kate was several monogrammed burp cloths, which Barbara made herself!
MeMama crocheted a beautiful pink and white blanket for Hannah Kate.
Of course, Mason got in on the action, too. They call it "big brother gifts," but I call it spoiled! He got several presents from his Pop, Mimi, MeMama and cousins.
Having said all of that, we are exactly 4 weeks away from the scheduled c-section. It seems so close, yet so far away. I mean, Thanksgiving has to happen, first! We are almost finished with the nursery. Hopefully, this weekend we will be able to arrange the furniture, assemble the changing table and put the bedding on. I still haven't made the window treatments yet, but I plan to get to that next week. This week I'm refinishing the day bed that will stay in her room. I also have to wash all of her cute little clothes. Other than that, I think we are ready for Miss Hannah Kate's arrival . . . I know I sure am!