Alina Carolyn Noyes

I am completely totally 100% in love with my new niece!~

Meredith and Roger are settling into newborn routine and I am getting a great crash course! Tuesday Alina had her first walk and her first bath!

Only 2 days to go for me. I am so swollen and uncomfortable and I am very anxious for this little one to come out!

What are the chances it will actually happen on our due date? probably zero.
We will keep you posted.
Much love to all and thanks so much for your good wishes!

Sweet Alina asleep on my chest...resting on the belly which holds her future cousin!

Final Week

So it is hard to believe that we are in the final week~ My due date is Saturday but who knows if this baby will be on time.

I think I had a contraction last night but only one and it didn't really amount to anything.

Still, today I am rechecking our bags and our lists to make sure we are ready to go. I have this feeling it will be a middle of the night affair. Jason just had the bag conversation with me- which was basically emphasizing that I have too many- so I am trying to consolidate. I only have 1! But then we need to have a few extra things- like the cooler with snacks for him etc. etc. No matter how I try to streamline, we will end up with a couple bags. I just want to be prepared and have everything we need. (ok, so mabye I do have a small overpacking problem)

My Mom and Dale arrived yesterday and were very excited to get their first glimpse of baby Alina. Jason made an awesome Italian dinner for everyone.

So now we settle into this week. Mom and Dale will be staying with Mere and Roger and helping them get settled with Alina and we will wait to see when this little one is ready to make his/her appearance in the world.

WOOOSAH

Suspense...

..is building. Just days away from our newest addition. The preperations continue. We have the hospital bags ready and stocked with all the things for a trip around the world. They don't call Carrie the bag lady for nothing. The baby clothes have all been washed. They are so little! And the car seat is going in today. I'll be using a technique I learned by watching Roger. He was standing on it. Have you ever seen a 6'5" man stand in the back seat? The biggest suspense is not knowing what we are getting? Is it a boy or a girl?

Labor and Golf

Our family sky just got brighter with the addition of a new star - our beautiful niece Alina Carolyn Noyes. Carrie added wonderful support to Meredith throughout the labor. However, at the end Carrie seemed a little scared. Typical male, I responded, think of it like Golf, You are on the 18th green, and your partner is away so he has to go first. This is great because you get to watch his putt and his read. Is the green fast or slow? Does it slope left or right? Carrie got to watch the whole labor process and learn from her partner. Same thing right? Ok, Meredith will probably agree, labor and golf are nothing alike. But its a good crack eh?

Blessed

Anyone who knows kids knows that little boys and little girls plan their lives when they are little. Boys plan on being neighbors with their BF's and racing bikes together or getting life size monster trucks and going 4 wheeling together. We maybe even talk about playing on the same football team together. Little girls (BFF's) talk about big weddings and having babies and watching their kids play together. What is about to happen to our families right now is partly a blessing from God but is was also planned. Our lives are turning out to just what we planned. We 'pretend' play football together....

We race bikes together....

and we are having babies together.



Soon our kids will all be playing together. We are blessed and we are thankful for this.

Final Countdown- 36 weeks!

It has been awhile since we have updated- my apologies! Things have been a bit hectic with our move to San Mateo. Not something I recommend to those that are 7 months pregnant! I am so lucky to have such a great husband and we are so lucky to have such great friends- all of which made a huge difference in making the move easier. We love our new spot and I finally get to start setting up some assemblance of a baby room!




My last day of work is Friday and so I have been very busy trying to establish a smooth transition for my departure. It is going to be an interesting time for me over the next few weeks while we are waiting for the baby and I am not working. I have never NOT worked... but the time has come. My feet are so swollen that I can't wear anything but flip flops. Sleep has become a major challenge so I am exhausted during the day- all of this will be good prep for the baby. My coworkers threw me a lovely surprise shower- I feel so lucky to work with such a great group of people!






Jason is tremendously supportive. He rubs my feet at night and tells me I am beautiful. I am so huge that I am starting to get scared about how big the baby will be and what this will mean for the labor! Think good thoughts for us!


Our wedding photographer just found a roll of film from our wedding that we hadn't seen and she sent the pictures- looking at these and realizing that it was only 8 months ago is amazing! I will include one. I am laughing at the difference between December 29th and August 29th!

This picture is sitting in our new backyard. Can you notice my belly?

30 weeks

Carrie has been talking to the baby much more these days. It's as if the baby is sitting with us in the room. We can see the movement. Crazy. I have been mentally preparing for what is about to happen. Life is changing. I don't know exactly how but it feels good. Here we go....