Almost There

Janet called last week and asked if we could come by the office because they had a gift for the baby, so we went to visit today. In addition to a very generous gift card, we got these monogrammed burp cloths...they're almost too pretty to use. I blacked out the name on the photo since it's not public knowledge yet, but you can see "S" is the initial.



They gave Savy a gift too...a monogrammed pillowcase that matches her room perfectly. She couldn't wait to put her pillow in it. I have a fluffier pillow upstairs that I'll put it in after I iron it.



They are really pretty. Kim, a Trinity nurse, did the monogramming.

After the office, we went to the playground again. This time Savy wanted to check out the historic house there. She thought someone lives there and was determined to visit with them.


She knocked on all the doors. When no one answered, she sat down to wait for them to come home. It took some time to convince her that no one actually lives there.



She thought this was a wishing well. It must have been a well at one time, but it's been filled in with dirt up to ground level.



We also went through the automatic car wash on the way home....Savy LOVES the car wash. Car's clean, house is clean, all baby stuff is assembled. All I have to do is install the car seat.

Holy Cow! We're having a baby in 2 days!

A Ripe Tomato!

I actually managed to keep Savy away from the tomato plant long enough for one to ripen. She's been so excited and asking for 2 or 3 days if she could pick it, and yesterday I finally let her.




Granny Ruth left early this morning, and it didn't take Savy long to start asking "where's Granny Ruth?" after she woke up. She sure did miss her today. We went to town to run some errands and had lunch at Red Robin. I took Savy to the playground. She was very happy there were some kids there to play with today.



This little girl was so nice to Savy. She played with her and coached her how to get down without falling. She even pushed her in the swing for a while.




The blond girl (her best friend) apparently got jealous of the attention she was giving Savy. I only heard part of what she said later, but she apologized to Savy for not playing with them.

Check-up Today

I have another checkup this afternoon...it'll be the last one before I go into the hospital for the c-section. I had quite a few contractions last night, so I wonder if my doc will see any progress. My mom has her emergency bag packed and is ready to high-tail it up here as soon as she gets the call.


I caught Granny Ruth and Savy on the patio yesterday...Savy was lying in her lap and was almost asleep. I took this pic through the window so I wouldn't disturb them.


This day is dragging already. It's only 9:30, but it seems like it should be later. I can't wait until this week is over and I get to start my maternity leave! I'm going to try to do as many fun things with Savy as possible next week, including the sprinkler park and another picnic.

No Baby Yet

I'll try not to go too long without posting...don't want anyone thinking I went into labor early. I'm still hanging in there.

Granny Ruth is visiting, and Savy is loving having her here. They spent the whole day together. She helped me make dinner tonight. We had dinner for breakfast...hash brown casserole, eggs, and biscuits. Savy ate very well tonight. Here she is telling me she ate so much that her tummy hurts.



She's so dramatic.


With Savy distracted today, I finally had a chance to put the crib together.



We're using the same crib bedding that Savy used. I just love the sage green and coral-pink flowers....not too baby-ish.


My doc is back in town, so it's safe for me to exercise again. I went for a long walk yesterday and today. I'm getting extremely uncomfortable now, and I'm beginning to wonder if I will really make it to the 31st. I'm ready anytime, and we FINALLY have agreed on a name...even Savy likes it.

I had another checkup today. My doc is still out of town, so I saw the nurse practitioner instead. She said everything looks good, no sign of an early baby, no dilation, etc. I'm at a total of 26 pounds for the entire pregnancy with only 2 weeks to go! I've taken care of all the paperwork for maternity leave, got my fill-in person trained...I'm ready!

Savy had her last swimming class yesterday, and she has graduated to the next level. We'll probably start classes again sometime late this fall. She wanted to take one more stroll down the boardwalk on her last day.



Savy was fascinated with this bike that's suspended by a wire in the trees. It's a tribute to a former faculty member at the school.




After my appointment this morning, we went to our favorite playground. There was no one else there when we arrived, so Savy had it all to herself. She kept asking "Where is everybody?" She's so social...her personality is so different than mine was when I was her age. I didn't like playing with other kids (with just a few exceptions) and would've loved having an entire playground to myself. She loves having other kids around.





She decided to try to catch another squirrel today. Look at this pout when he got away!


She collected some mushrooms growing in the shade



And pretended to push "baby sister" in the swing.


Finally, some other kids showed up...she was so happy to have someone to play with!

Yesterday I had to go to the office to train the person who'll cover for me while I'm on maternity leave. Next week will be my last week of work before I'm off....I can't believe she's almost here! Since I had to be in office, Savy got to go to Ms Robin's house for the day. Robin was Savy's preschool teacher, and she does in-home daycare. Savy was so excited to see Robin and her friend Audrey (Robin keeps her too). She couldn't stop talking about how much fun she had when I picked her up.

I'm still cleaning and getting baby stuff ready. I hope to get the floors mopped, bathrooms cleaned, all the bed linens washed, and bottles, pacifiers, and pump sterilized this week. The freezer is full of food. We still have to put the crib together, but I think that's the only major thing left. I've got my emergency suitcase packed for the hospital. Now, if my doctor will just finish up her vacation and get back into town, I'll be ready to go!

I know I said I was going to cut down on the exercise, but I went for my morning walk today anyway. I just feel so much better when I'm active early in the day. I cannot wait to wear something other than maternity clothes!

Pool Party

Our neighbors Buz and Kathy had a pool party today. Savy was so excited and couldn't wait to go...she kept asking all morning "is it time to go yet?" Two o'clock finally got here, and we headed to their place just a few steps away from our house. Here's Savy in all her gear as we were leaving.



Their back yard is awesome! The pool is a salt water pool, which I hear requires very little maintenance. I love all the stone-work, and their gazebo is great.



Luckily, it was overcast today, so it wasn't too miserably hot...I sweated to death anyway though. Jon was such a good sport! He stayed in the pool with Savy until she was ready to get out...and those of you who have ever been swimming with Savy know that is a LONG time. They stayed in the pool for hours while I relaxed (or as close as I could get to relaxed) in a lounge chair. She climbed up on the waterfall and jumped in the pool over and over and over again. This first pic is a great action shot...I caught her in mid-air.






Here's a video of Savy jumping off the waterfall. She is absolutely fearless. Jon kept scolding her because she was actually trying to climb up to the very top to jump off...he had to make her stop on the lower steps.



She finally got tired and agreed to get out of the pool for a snack. Then she was right back in the pool for a while longer. I think she would have stayed all night if we let her, but we convinced her to come home a little after 7 tonight. I don't know who is more tired...her or Jon.

I had another checkup yesterday, and my doc said everything is going fine. I didn't gain any weight since my last visit...surprising, because my appetite has certainly increased. She's going to be on vacation next week, so I have to be very careful not to do anything that might hurry things along. I really don't want to wind up with another doc doing my c-section. I should probably decrease my exercise a little bit just to be on the safe side.

I took these pics of Savy yesterday morning. She had stuffed her blankie under her shirt so her tummy would look big like mine...she thought that was sooo funny.




Pool school went well yesterday. We only have one more week of lessons left before the big day, but we'll probably put her back in this fall.

Pool School: Level 3/4

Savy is doing so good in swim class! I took these two short videos of her today. She's swimming on her own...the instructor isn't helping her at all, except when she turned around to go back.





I did a little decorating today. When Jon and I last went to New Orleans, we found the artist who had done Savannah's name for us at the French Market and had him do our last name. Mom had it framed and matted for us, and she brought it when she visited last weekend. I think it looks perfect over the bed.

Fireworks

Savy graduated from level 3 swim class last week. She's doing great, and she starts level 3/4 on Monday. Here's a pic of her swimming on her own.



So far, she can't keep her head up while she swims. In the next level, she'll learn to turn her head from side to side to breath while she's swimming.

I worked at rehab on Saturday to fulfill my holiday requirement for the year. I worked the day shift (7a-3p), and I was exhausted by the end. Mimi came to stay Saturday night and treated us to dinner at Corky's. She also brought lots of fireworks from Pappi. Savy loves fireworks...she associates them with our disneyworld trip, so she insisted on wearing her Tinkerbell costume.





Mimi took us shopping and to lunch today before she left for home. She bought Savy "Elefun" while we were out. Savy loves this game and wants to play it over and over again.

What I've Been Doing

Here are some of the areas I've been organizing. The laundry room was the first thing I did...it had become a catch-all for everything that we didn't have a place for. I cleaned out and put away all the junk, and now I have my nice, organized laundry room again.


The layout is exactly the opposite of what I intended when we were building; the mudroom area was supposed to be closest to the door, and there were supposed to be two "lockers" instead of one and a shelving unit. But there was a problem with wiring or venting or something like that, so it wound up this way...I'm pretty happy with it anyway.

I organized the pantry.



And organized the closet.



I love our closet. Most of the changes made to our house plan were Jon's ideas, but the closet design was mine. There's plenty of room, but it had gotten kind of messy in there. I even took all the shoes and folded items off the shelves and dusted them. Jon's side



My side


I reorganized our linen closet to make room for baby towels and washcloths.


Tonight we wound up making a late night visit to Baskin Robbins for ice cream and a trip to Wal-Mart to buy Savy a toy. Although Savy's been using the potty without accidents for #1, we've been having a hard time getting her to use the potty for #2. She did it a couple of times, then suddenly just refused. She finally did it again tonight (with much encouragement from us), so the ice cream and toy was her reward. She picked a play-dough set for herself. Jon got a couple of nerf swords....here are the two of them having a swordfight in the toy isle...no, we didn't buy the cowboy hats.



Here they are at home, fighting again...now you guys know why Savy is so rowdy.



That's the bumbo seat Jon is using as a helmet. Here's Savy playing dead...Jon won this match.



I'm exhausted, and I've been starving all day. I hope the increase in appetite is temporary, or I might go over my goal. I think I'm going to have to skip my morning walk tomorrow.