Happy Birthday Ella

Last night i kissed my 4 year old baby girl good night and woke up to find my baby girl is now 5. It will never matter how old she is she will always be my first baby. She is so special in so many ways. I feel so lucky that God gave her to me. I only had a brief moment to think about all that we have done in the last 5 years and how she had grown before we were off to open presents and celebrate. She started with her favorite breakfast that she requested Grandpa cook. He was more than happy to prepare her pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon. She was in heaven. Grandma and Grandpa headed off to Mississippi. For peace and quiet i am sure. :) It wasn't long before Uncle Wes and Aunt Kim arrived. After playing with her streamer and dress up clothes we were off to the birthday lunch at McDonalds. The girls split and headed to the nail salon for a little time without the boys. Kim, Ella and I all got manicures and Ella and I even indulged in a pedicure. She was excited about picking out her polish. I, however, wasn't keen on the HOT pink on the nails but she loves it. She put purple on her toes. :) I went a little more conservative, okay, a lot more. We came home to find her Hello Kitty cake waiting. We all enjoyed a piece of cake, played with Ella's new Barbie scooter, and then formed our own rock band. Eric rocked the guitar and Wes, Ella and Jack all took turns on the drums. Kim and Wes did the singing. It was so fun to watch. Kim and Wes headed home and the kids settled into bed to get some much needed rest. As i reflect on the day i think we didn't do that much but somehow i feel like i have been at Disney World all day. My first baby is growing up and i couldn't be prouder. Now i am headed to rest. 

We're moving!

I am sure you all knew that we were moving but now it is official. We are moving to.....drum roll please.......Statesville, NC. Where is that? It is about 45 minutes north of Charlotte. Only about a 2 hour drive from Raleigh. That makes me very happy. I can still sneak over for a girls night every now and then. :) We will be about 12 miles north of Mooresville and my dad thinks we may even run into a few NASCAR drivers since they all live in that area. I might just have to drive by Dale Jr's house to take a look. :) Eric is not as excited as me but it will all work out. He will be working with a guy named Paul. We worked with him in Naples and Eric thinks a lot of him. He taught Ella how to shoot the paper off of her straw and he also helped me convince Eric to buy a silky terrier. He has one himself. Eric always looks forward to working with different guys. He feels it gives him more experience and he can see how different people work. Hopefully this job will be easier than the last. We are still looking at houses. Eric is leaving on Monday to go back to Raleigh. They are packing and moving on Tuesday and Wednesday. Storage for a few weeks and then to our new house. We are thinking the baby will be here in the next week and a half or so. We find this all very exciting.

36 weeks

The countdown has begun. Contractions have started and they are a mix of Braxton-Hicks and the real deal. I don't notice most of them. They are starting to wrap around my belly so it is a sign we are moving in the right direction. Monday's doctors appointment confirmed that. I am 2cm dilated and will go back for another check on Tuesday morning at 9. The baby's heartbeat sounded strong and belly size was right on track. Eric was able to go and meet Dr. Head and was also very pleased with him. Dr. Head has talked about an induction if i continue to dilate in order to avoid the 40 minute drive if i go into labor. I think we are both afraid I would have the baby on the interstate. :) I will post another baby update next week. 

Our Weekend

Eric got in Wednesday night and we were off to Dothan for Eric's "yearly" visit. That is about how frequently he gets to visit anywhere these days. He attempted to get his license and the tags for our trucks. He was only successful in getting the tag for his truck. Eric's parents kept the kids so Eric an i got to enjoy time together. Quiet time. :) Eric and i were able to enjoy a nice dinner together Friday night while the kids partied it up with Nana and Papa. Saturday, the kids played at the park and then we had dinner at Eric's grandmother's. We got to visit with most of his family that evening. It was a wonderful meal and the kids had blast. Sunday, we attended the church that Eric grew up in and had lunch then back home to pack up. It was a busy weekend but i have to say Eric's parents watched the kids most of the time so i got lots of rest and time with Eric. A trip to the beach would have been really good since the weather was beautiful but I had to be in Alabaster for a doctor appointment Monday morning.  Just my luck. Overall, we got to see everyone and Eric and i got lots of rest so it was a very enjoyable weekend.

Happy Birthday Eric

Today Eric turns 29. I love that i can tease him about being almost 30. I look forward to next year. He started the day in Raleigh fixing locks and then ran some errands before heading to Alabama. One of his best birthday gifts is knowing that this baby will definitely be our last. :) He brought all the baby stuff since i forgot to pack any and left about 12 central time. The kids and i got him a cake and decorated for his arrival. He got in at 8:30ish and ate his steak dinner. The kids were not to happy he chose to eat his real food. It only delayed them from being able to dig into the cake. Jack is talking Eric's ear off at the table as he eats. It is late but i am so glad that Eric is finally here. We are leaving in the morning to go to Dothan and then i have a doctors appointment on Monday morning. I will post everything as soon as i get a chance.

35 Weeks

I had my 35 week doctor appointment today. I was able to get into a highly recommended doctors office and he delivers at the hospital closest to Mom and Dad's. If everything works out we will be delivering at Shelby Baptist in Alabaster. This is the same hospital that told me there was no baby back in July so it is only fitting that i have the miracle baby there. :) I am also afraid i wouldn't make it to any other hospital. The kids and i had to drive to Calera but it wasn't bad. Mom's morning tours were cancelled because of the rain so she was able to come. Dr. Head was wonderful. I am very pleased that he will be there. Everything was good so i will go back to Alabaster next Monday morning for my next check-up. We should have a better idea about progress then. He used the term "rapid labor" when speaking so i am a little nervous about Eric or i  getting too far away. Eric is supposed to be here late tonight. The kids look forward to seeing him. I will keep you posted.

Correction: Eric will not be leaving Raleigh until Wednesday.

New haircuts for the circus

Okay, so the haircuts weren't really for the circus. It was time for a real haircut for all the kids and myself. Mom had an appointment on Friday so she call to see if we could get squeezed in. At the moment she said we had a block of appointments from 3:15 until 4:15 i realized haircuts would be something i would continue to do at home. Regardless of how jacked up they look. An hours worth of appointments just to get our haircut....still amazes me. Anyway, the kids loved it. This was John's first official haircut. He did really well. The clippers tickled him. It was too cute. Now that we all have fresh haircuts where can we show them off? No better place than the circus. Saturday morning we were off. Everyone was super excited. Wes, Cile and Emma Kate met us there. We had to sit in the upper deck but once we got up there the kids settled in for the show. Ella says her favorite part was the magic tricks and Jack's favorite part was the elephants. I feel pretty lucky that we got out of there with no souvenirs. The kids had a bag of cotton candy and two lollipops courtesy of Uncle Wes. The prices were outrageous so i was glad the kids never asked for anything. We picked up Uncle Wes's clothes and he came home with us for the night. He also brought his Wii Rock Band set up. The kids put on their own show that night. All in all it was a wonderful day. Sunday morning we were off to church. The kids had a wonderful time in children's church. After naps we headed to the park for some well deserved play time. Ella and Jack loved the swings. I was slightly concerned that Grandpa was pushing them so high on their first solo swing with no straps. No one fell out. :) John is a climber so anything he could climb on was good with him.  The kids have settled in nicely. They are really enjoying the bunk beds. The last two nights Ella and Jack have slept up top and John sleeps on the bottom. We have all our clothes put away so it really feels settled for the kids. We are still unclear about the move. Eric is leaving our stuff in Raleigh for another few weeks and will go back after his vacation and get it moved. Hopefully he will find out something soon.  Here are some pics from the weekend.