while waiting

No baby yet. I have come so close to leaving for the hospital and have woken up the past few nights with awful back aches that don't go away and strong contractions that become regular only enough for me to pack everything and then they stop for hours. So we're still here. Its frustrating for me because I mentally prepare for labor and think through it and also just painful already. Then it stops and I know I'll have to go through it all over. I guess the good thing is when it finally does happen I'll be so excited hopefully it'll make labor that much faster. My sister left this morning so this baby will come tonight. haha doesn't it always work that way? It would've been perfect with her here just to be able to leave right away but God has other plans and I'm trying to be patient because I know this baby will be here eventually. But we have had fun with my sister here and here are some pictures of what we've been doing this past weekend. I'm so glad she came even though I know she was hoping for a baby to be here but it was such a help for me to have someone entertain Colin and also made the days go by faster since we were busy doing things each day.

"Fishing" - Colin's pole doesn't have a hook on it yet since he LOVES to play with it all the time. One of these days we'll put one one but for now the big fish always gets away. The other day I think a turtle took a bite on the end because he was having trouble pulling it in for a while.

Playgrounds aren't just for kids

Watching tv with ant ant and hanging out at the pool one afternoon

I thought we'd spend more time at the pool but we just went one day. I love how Colin is clinging to Sarah in the second picture. He didn't want Brent to get him.

For the 4th we had my parents and grandparents over for a cookout. (I was hoping to have a 4th of July baby and be in the hospital but that didn't happen) but Colin loved all the attention and was definitely the center of attention all day.

Sneaking up on Ba-pa. For the first time in years it wasn't horribly hot on the 4th so we went for a bike ride in the evening. (well brent and Colin rode bikes. Sarah and I just walked)

Eating ice cream cones with Ant Ant after our bike ride.

zoo & still waiting

So we're still waiting. The past few days I have felt lots of contractions and a lot of back ache. Every night I start timing the contractions, prepare for a long night and then fall asleep. Only to wake up the next morning. Not that I'm complaining about the sleep. But it would be nice to have this baby here. Last night I had a hard time sleeping so maybe today will be the day. On Wednesday, Jamie and I took the kids to a park and walked around the trails and I think we walked at least 2 miles. Then yesterday my sister Sarah came and we went to the zoo and walked forever and I can tell its working as Joel keeps getting lower and lower. Sarah is here until Sunday morning so we're hoping this baby comes while she is here. Colin is loving his Ant Ant time and had so much fun showing her everything at the zoo. Brent is off for a long weekend and if we're not at the hospital today (which i hope we will be) we will be spending the day at the pool.

Cooling off in the fountains

Colin loves the snake house... Ant Ant not so much

Joey (what he calls every rooster) cock-a-doodled dooed FOREVER to Colin. I thought we'd never leave. Colin loved it! "Joey's talking to me!"

Colin and Ant Ant

"but they are winning!"

Yesterday around dinner time Colin sat on the couch and we watched as he fell sound asleep within minutes. I just love watching him sleep. He's never crashed like that before but its a good thing he did because after he woke up we got a call from our friends Kelly and Rob that Kelly was in the labor so we went to go stay with their son until her mom could drive down from NJ. Colin was so excited when we told him we were going to RJ's house until I told him RJ's mommy was having her baby tonight. Colin got a little upset and said "Mommy RJ is winning! my baby needs to come first" But once we got there he and RJ had so much fun playing together that he forgot until we put RJ to bed (not until 10:30pm - oops! Both boys were wired) Then I heard how he wants baby joel to come first and asked baby joel why he doesn't want to come out now. Colin stayed up until almost 1:00am and then he fell sound asleep and never woke up even while transferring him to the car and then into our house. He asked me a lot of deep questions that late at night that I wish I could remember now but I was half asleep at the time. We left when Kelly's mom got there and talked the whole way home how we hope I go into labor during the day! Colin slept until after 10am this morning - which was WONDERFUL! I have heard repeatedly numerous times today "mommy you need different doctor to get baby joel out" He wants me to have RJ's mommy's doctor since they got their baby out first. He is so proud that he got to "stay up ALL NIGHT" as he says and wanted to go again to RJ's house and stay up tonight. Colin also asked to see pictures of when he was a baby so I got out all his hospital pictures and we looked at them for an hour today and I had to describe each picture and what happened and how mommy felt and he loved it.He still thinks he is going to be there when the doctor makes a hole to get Joel out so if he's awake when we go to the hospital that might be a problem but he'll forget it as soon as he can come see the baby.

sunflowers

Remember these seeds? (the middle ones)
They are now this: And this:

no baby yet

Still waiting on a baby. On Wednesday the doctor said it could happen any day now but here we are still waiting. Then on Thursday Brent called and said I wasn't allowed to go into labor until Wednesday because they just got a huge hail account so he's been working long days and making lots of money. So now I hope this baby waits a little bit so Brent can reap the rewards of wonderful hail. (Hail is a dent guys best friend! And since he started this job he has been hoping for a hail account) So now we wait. And I have a feeling this little guy wants to wait a little longer. Colin and I haven't been doing too much. We've been going to the pool every day which is wonderful and he's getting braver in the water and now swims all over the shallow end without me. I have also gotten out the hose to keep him cool in the mornings. Our ball sprinkler that I raved about fell apart after the second time so we took it back and got a frog sprinkler but that hasn't been as fun for Colin. But he enjoyed it this day and kept wanting to drink the water.Colin has also decided to give up his afternoon naps. Go figure - right before the baby is born. He will nap for 3 hours one day and then skip a few days where instead of napping he is doing everything but that in his bed during rest time. But we're still sticking with having rest time in his bed since I need a rest too. Jamie and Benjamin came over the other day and Benjamin chased Colin around all morning and right after they left Colin fell fast asleep. Benjamin might be almost 2 years younger but is almost as fast as Colin. Colin really had to work to keep from getting caught.Yesterday we had our friends Kelly, Rob and RJ over and went to the pool and then they brought us dinner. It was so great not to even think about making dinner and complete with yummy cake! The boys were playing in the other room and were quiet so when we checked on them they were sitting at this table both coloring. So cute. Colin kept singing "working together to get the job done." Then about 10 minutes later we saw them run past the window outside. They had gone outside and were play catch in the back yard. This hail money might be going towards a fence now! Colin was so tired from all the swimming and running around that he was asleep before we even finished singing our songs at night.
Today we are relaxing. Brent is outside working with colin in the garden. We all watched a little of the soccer game and Colin got really into that for a while as you can tell from the picture. Sorry its so blury. We've been trying to trim colin's hair for a while as it gets really hot in the summer and he keeps saying he already had a hair cut. So he was really excited after church this morning to tell me all about Sampson and his long hair that made him strong and God told Sampson never to get his hair cut because he will become weak. And he did get his hair cut and wasn't strong anymore! haha Colin is really into being strong so his hair will stay. And I love the curls even when they are out of control.

"duper" hero

Lately Colin loves to put on his goggles and race around the house pretending to be a "duper" hero saving all different things, people and animals. When I tell him I feel so safe knowing he is here protecting me, he gets the biggest grin on his face. He goes around saying "if you have a problem just ask me." Its so cute watching him run in the room, get into his "duper" hero outfit, and then race out calling out to the poor person in trouble that he is on "me way" to save them. This morning he wore his cape that I made him for Christmas. He had to run really fast to make it fly in the air, which tired him out for a wonderful nap this afternoon.

waiting... waiting.. waiting

There is a song I made up for Colin that we sing when we're waiting in a long line for something to distract him and also teach him patience. When he's getting impatient it helps distract him and makes the waiting go by much faster. Lately I've been singing it a lot to myself as we wait for this baby to make his appearance. Just about everything is ready and now we just wait. And wait. And wait. Its a lot different than waiting for Colin. With Colin I couldn't wait for him to come and for at least 2 weeks I was dilated at 3cm so any minute he could've come. We also had no clue what it would be like so most of my waiting was spent worried about labor and what to do with a newborn. Now labor doesn't scare me as much - although with every day this baby gets bigger and bigger which does worry me a little :) But its also getting harder and harder to move and play with Colin so anytime this baby wants to come would be fine with me! But its mainly what to do with Colin when I go into labor. Brent is also working most days an hour away so I worry when I start to get a few contractions in a row if I should call Brent to come home or will they go away or how late is too late to call people to come watch Colin in the middle of the night. No one likes to be waken at 3am but should I call or just see if it passes. I've been getting more and more contractions every day but they aren't consistent and end up going away after a while. I do not want to have this baby in the car. But we know that God knows exactly when this baby is going to come and he will come when he's ready. Thats part of the exciting part - and also for planners like me the hard part. So we're hoping he comes today but if not the pool is now open every day and its been fun going with our little swimmer. I know once the baby comes I wont be able to take Colin every day so it would be nice to have a few extra days at the pool. But even nicer to have our little baby here. We have also picked a name. I dont think we've put his name on here yet but we've had it since we found out he was a boy. Joel Christian will be his name. (and yes we do watch jon and kate and they have a colin and a joel but we didnt pick the name for that - it seems to be the common question now) Right after Colin was born we said we liked the name joel and if we ever had another boy that would be in the running for his name. After we found out he was a boy, I was running names by Colin one day and he liked Joel and started calling him baby joel since then. Even when we tried to name him other names Colin insisted his name was Joel. So it stuck. Good thing we liked it :) Christian is a family name and also my brothers middle name. Colin's middle name is Wayne (not Big Boy like he thinks) after my grandfather. So there are our boys names and Baby Joel we'd love for you to come out soon.Colin is going to be our little swimmer. He found my swim cap and loves to wear it around the house. We signed him up for swim lessons which will be fun. Its mainly to get to know the other preschoolers in our neighborhood but his mommy is excited he loves to swim so much!

A friend of mine told me about this great deal one of the movie theaters is having where they show kids movies tues and wed for free. (perfect esp for a little boy who might not sit through the whole thing) So Wednesday Colin and I attempted to go "watch the real big tv" as I told him. Two hours in an air conditioned theater, comfy seat and colin entertained sounded perfect to me. Unfortunately I didn't look at exactly which theater we were going to and went to the one in the mall - not the correct one across from the mall. So we missed it but colin wanted to stay and play on the arcade games at the mall. He had a great time playing on them until a little boy came up and put money in them. Then it wasn't as fun and mommy only had enough quarters for 1 ride. Even though he had more fun playing on it when it wasn't moving. since we've been home he's been taking all the change in the house and putting it in his cash register for next time. Smart kid! here he is talking to "puma" the dog he named on top of the hot dog truck
Last night Colin and I went to his big brother class at the hospital. (still couldn't register then - i have to fax the info in apparently) But Colin learned all about babies, diapered a baby doll and then we took a tour of the hospital. There was a baby in the nursery that all the kids oooed and ahhhed over from the window. It was really cute. At the end while all the pregnant moms are in the restroom taking their toddlers to the bathroom, Colin entertained EVERYONE with "mommy you're hinney is big! why you hinney so big mommy?" As if I don't feel big enough already. Good thing I laughed all the way to the car instead of cry.

Since the class Colin has taken his big brother role very serious. By feeding me (really for the baby) and making sure the baby shares his milk. He also wanted to protect his friend RJ at the playground today by making sure he didn't fall off the slide and helped him in the tunnel. Only he went too fast down the slide and made RJ do a face plant on the slide. Poor RJ. He was a good sport about it. Here are the boys playing on the playground together.

Colin and I are getting ready to do some projects at what he calls his project table but notice the blue bug box on the table. he got it for his birthday since his other bug house is currently now the 'worm house' Well he filled it with anything but bugs in the beginning until the other day when he came up to me, lifted his shirt, and showed me a SLUG squirming on his tummy! See my new friend mommy? he said and then went and put it in his bug house. I looked more closely and there were a few slugs and a snail in there as well. I need to keep a better eye on this thing. They are gone for now but who knows whats in it next. He refuses to keep it outside but if another bug gets in it its going in the garage!

getting ready (**Updated)

We are ready now for the baby to come. We have his room all set up, the car seat cleaned, and now just have to wait for him to come. We still haven't registered at the hospital (hopefully tomorrow at Colin's big brother class we can do that) and haven't packed for the hospital but those things we've realized can wait a little bit. We have finished some projects around the house finally that we've been wanting to do since we moved in. The first and what took the longest was installing hooks in the hallway bathroom. It only had one towel bar and we needed one for both boys and guests so we took it off only to discover huge holes in the walls. The previous owners cut out the drywall, shoved in the holder, and then plastered around it. They did the same in our master bath too. So what was going to be an easy fix turned into a DIY project that is finally done in both bathrooms and I'm very proud of myself. Its so much better and Colin has already claimed his hook :) And what everyone keeps asking for, here are some pictures of the baby's room. My sister mary came and painted it for me and my mom made the bumpers. I'll have to get a better picture of those. I love them! I'm still trying to organize a few things but figured I'd better take some pictures now while I'm thinking about it. Its a fun room to be in now and Colin and I play in there a lot lately. The room is more of a softer yellow than it looks in this picture


When Colin and I walked into Bead Retreat Friday they surprised us with a bunch of really cute baby things and gave Colin big brother gifts. It was really sweet of them and a huge surprise - and so many cute things! Colin has not stopped playing with his toys. On his card was a sticker that said "awesome big brother" (As seen in the picture below) He had to wear that sticker on his back all the time, even on his PJ's and when it wouldn't stick anymore we put it on a sign on his door to his room. He is so proud of it.

Well we are all off to the doctors to have an ultrasound to see how big this baby is and to find out whether they are going to induce early or not. I'm excited to see what he looks like now that he has some fat on his cheeks! Colin thinks they are going to "make the hole" today so he will be disappointed we don't come home with the baby but at least he'll get to see the ultrasound.

No baby today :( He is about 7lbs right now and measuring in the 63% for weight. And head down but they aren't going to induce right now. We couldn't get a good look at his face because he was head down and towards the back but he has the chubbiest little hands. So we're praying he comes sooner than later. Especially since he could gain half a pound a week! The doctor said it could be any day now or any week - we're hoping for sooner than later.

Take me out to the ball game

Monday afternoon I got a call from Brent saying that they were giving away free Tides tickets the next hour at a 7-11 near our house. So after we finished eating lunch we rushed over there only to find out it was at a different 7-11 (on the same street just a little ways down) but by the time we get over there the ticket woman had just left. Colin was so disappointed and in a small quivering voice said "me want to go to baseball game tonight" and his lower lip started to tremble and tears welled up. A man who works for ESPN radio was there and saw Colin's disappointment, gave me his card and said to call him later to see if he could get us some tickets. Well he came through and got us free tickets so we all went on a beautiful Monday night to watch some baseball. Colin kept giving the players a thumbs up. Now when we pass a 7-11 (which is about every 5 minutes in virginia beach) Colin keeps asking if the ticket man is there to give us baseball tickets.

Gardening

Picking snow peas.I love how colin looks like he stepped on a plant in this picture! He really is very careful about the plants and can even use his garden tools and not hurt the plants.

Our garden is starting to really take off. As of right now we have picked 147 snowpeas with more to come. We also have corn, tons of tomatoes, peppers, cantalope, pumpkins (although something keeps eating them), romaine lettuce, iceburg lettuce, two huge sunflowers, cucumbers, and basil. Colin's watermelon didn't make it but he has forgotten about it which is good. Everything but the snowpeas still have a ways to go before we can start harvesting them. But it shouldn't be too long. Every night after dinner Colin and Brent go out and work in the garden. Colin loves it and shows me all the weeds they took out the next day. I know it makes it slower for Brent to have Colin "help" but Colin is so proud of what they do and waits all day for daddy to come home and work in the garden. The week after Brent put his garden in our neighbor decided to put one in as well. We love this couple - they are our age and its been fun to get to know them. They have a huge dog that Colin loves to play with. Its so funny for me to watch Jim go outside the minute he gets home and check his garden. And then an hour later Brent comes walking in the backyard as soon as he gets home to see his garden. (And i'm not a neighborhood stalker - I just happen to be outside a lot with Colin) We had a huge thunderstorm the other day and both Brent and Jim were out inspecting the damage right after the rain stopped. Bonding over gardening.Here is a picture of Colin and RJ at the zoo this week. RJ and his family just moved here from NJ and are friends with some of our friends in NJ. The boys are a year apart and play so great together and they are having a baby this summer as well - a girl - so our kids will have lots of fun together in the future. We have really enjoyed getting to know them and are so glad they were transfered here! (notice colin's hat - he cried for days because he couldnt find his hokie hat and then we found it and he wore it for at least two days straight)

Strong Sticks

The past week we have been eating fresh green beans and for Colin to eat them we have named them "strong sticks" telling him that if he eats them they make him really strong. He will eat 15-20 at a time and then show us his muscles right after each one. Now we just have to come up with other names for the foods he doesn't eat to make them more appealing. But tonight Brent asked him "what happens when you eat so many strong sticks that you get stronger than daddy?" To which Colin replied "then me be strong like mommy!" haha poor Brent but very funny.
Our friend Destiny came down last week and spent a few days with us. It was so nice. Colin couldn't get enough of Destiny. She always had to sit next to him and be right there with him. Colin loved having someone to play with and keeps asking when she will come back. But such a help for me to have someone else to entertain Colin and to talk to during the day :) We went down to the beach Friday morning and had a great time relaxing and watching Colin play. Colin's favorite part was when we cooked hotdogs and smores on our firepit. He got to be the fireman and put out the fire. Then on Sunday my wonderful family and friends threw me a baby shower. It was a lot of fun and made having this baby seem more real. Not that I can't feel it every minute of the day but now we're really ready for the baby. Colin thought it was fun and helped open presents and all the toys he claimed as his saying "baby's not here yet" and then today was helping me put them all way and claimed another stuffed giraffe saying "but this one's me buddy" so we'll see. He still has a few weeks until he has to start sharing. The sweetest thing was a book of letters people wrote to the baby and Brent and I have had fun reading through them as I tear up at every one. During the party I think my sister asked Colin what her last name was - he is very interested in people's last names and first names. What mommy's other name is (abigail) and someone asked him what daddy's other name was and at first he said last name but then they said what does mommy call daddy? To which Colin proudly said "pooper scooper or stinkweed!" Which is sadly true...Brent and I have a puppet show for Colin and my puppet has to call brents puppet pooper scooper or stinkweed and my puppet always smells like petunias. I made the same game sort of for my little sister when she was this age and she loved it. Stinkweed is a funny word for toddlers. And poop is always a funny word for kids. Poor Brent. He really should eat more strong sticks. haha but Colin has been going around saying "daddy you're a genius!" Which Brent loves of course.