Nap time at doggy daycare...

Mom & Dad are out of town for a couple of days, and today Dick & Betti were going to be gone for the day, so our house is kind of like doggy daycare.  Maggie is loving it and thankfully the weather is beautiful so all of the girls have spent lots of time outside. 

It sounds like crack out day will be sometime in the next week.  We're waiting on the cardiologist to decipher all the data from the heart monitor I wore this weekend and for the results of some blood work from yesterday and then final plans will be made.  I go back to the doctor on Thursday morning, and she said to have my bags packed when I come, but her goal is really to make it to next week.  I've been hoping for a St. Patty's Day baby for months, BUT this morning our banker called from Omaha to offer us tickets to see Lady Gaga on Thursday night...(I'm not really a huge concert fan, but I've thought for a long time that this would be a fun show and the people watching should be top notch!)...so while I'm still hoping for a little green baby, at least if we have to wait I'll have something to be excited about and a good story to tell Potato about what I was doing right before she was born.  Maybe when she's a teenager it will make her think I'm cool :)

Maggie had her last night of parent/child gymnastics last night.  She and Arnie have had such a good time, I think they both look forward to it.  The teacher said she's ready to move on, so off she goes to the first little girl class, all by herself.  Last night she told me, "Mommy, I'll be careful when I take your car to gymnastics." I told her that daddy or I would be driving her, and she told me I didn't need to because now she was big enough to go by herself.  I think maybe she misunderstood the teacher :) but I'm glad she's so independent.

Birthday Party, BASKETBALL and more doctors...

Wednesday night we went to JJ's 3rd Birthday party.  It was total chaos, but what else do you expect from a bunch of kids under the age of 5 (and a few silly grown-ups).  We had a great time and it was really nice to just relax for a little while with great friends.  Maggie adores JJ and his big sister Carly, I'm so glad that they will be able to grow up together... The move to Norfolk has been a huge adjustment for all of us, without this amazing family, I truly believe it would have been impossible. 


Happy 3rd Birthday JJ!!!



I wish I could blame this on the children :)

 

CHEESE!!!!!   Best buds!

 

















Yesterday was the 1st day of State Basketball, we all went to Lincoln (SHHHHHH....don't tell the doctor) to watch an amazing basketball game.  In the end, the Panther's won by 1 point in overtime.  If that game didn't send my blood pressure over the top, I don't think anything will.  This was Maggie's 3rd State Basketball tournament, and while she likes the Panthers she made it pretty clear that she was there for the popcorn :)   

Events like state basketball make me appreciate Norfolk.  It's fun to be a part of all the excitement and to be surrounded by your friends and neighbors (and all the town crazies).  It's fun to see the stream of 7 county cars in the parking lot and on the highway and it's exciting to feel the buzz around town.  Growing up in Omaha, we loved state basketball, when our high school was playing and we got to leave school for a trip to Lincoln. But it's a completely different for the towns where everyone is cheering for the same team.  I like it. 

Arnie's headed back to Lincoln to cheer them on this morning.  Potato and I get to go see yet another doctor.  This morning it's a cardiologist....(and just so it's recorded somewhere, Arnie wanted to go with me, but I insisted that we'd be fine and he should go to Lincoln for the game.)  My heart rate and potato's have both been very erratic, so they just want to do a few tests and make sure we're both in good shape for delivery.  I'm sure all will check out fine and they'll just tell me to continue to take it easy (I'm not sure they include attending basketball games in that description, but they never specifically addressed it.)  We'll see. 

Don't take yourself too seriously...

Yesterday we lost a friend, Arnie lost a colleague and Maggie lost a great role model.  Duane was an amazing man, he was an outstanding example of courage, love and hard work.  He handled his 2 year battle with cancer with a peace that can only come from truly loving God.

We will grieve his loss for a long time and will continue to pray for strength and peace for his beautiful family. 

One very important thing that I think he taught everyone who knew him, was not to take yourself too seriously.  He was an amazingly hard worker and he cared very deeply about lots of things, but he knew how to laugh and probably more importantly, how to make others laugh.  When he got sick, lots of people (myself included) were unsure of what to say, how to act, etc. But the minute you walked in the room he had a way of making that uneasiness disappear and bringing comfort to those around him, it was an amazing gift that he was able to give. 

Duane and Arnie had this habit of occasionally sending each other ridiculous pictures.  They usually included Maggie doing something ridiculous and then Duane mimicking whatever it was and sending the picture back.  I think most recently Duane sent the first picture, one of himself wearing a cheese head (the day of the Superbowl) and Arnie sent back a picture of Maggie in her Steelers t-shirt wearing cheese sticks on her head....

BUT my favorite are the 2 pictures that started it all....

St. Patrick's Day was Duane's birthday (a big part of the reason I've been hoping for a 3/17 delivery for Potato). 2 years ago Arnie sent this picture of Maggie with a Happy Birthday message, a few minute later we received the bottom picture...we all (Maggie included) looked at it a million times and laughed hysterically every time.  I'm so glad Arnie was able to find the picture for me!  I will treasure it forever.

"I thank God for you." - 2 Timothy 1:3

Seriously, where does this stuff come from??

Maggie had a couple of questions this morning.....
"What do snakes have for breakfast?"
"Grandpa, Do you think bunnies eat honey?"

Daddy & Maggie time...

This weekend Arnie and Maggie got to spend lots of time together...I didn't feel very good, so they kept each other busy and let me rest. 

A little gymastics practice in potato's room...everyone is anxious for her arrival.













Arnie reffed 6 games of youth basketball this weekend.  I mentioned that he might be a little sore and Maggie said "why?  He just watched basketball, he didn't play."  I thought it was a pretty funny observation for a 2 year old :)

Maggie's turn to fly......

Daddy's turn to fly...

Yesterday, Maggie and I decided to come to Omaha, so we'd be close for my doctor's appointment today.  When we got here Maggie helped Grandma sew the new quilt for Potato's bedroom. 

I went to see the doctor today, after feeling pretty cruddy all weekend.  For today everything checked out okay. I have to go back Thursday morning.  I hope she's still cooperating then, I'd hate for her to have to be delivered quickly enough for Arnie to make it to the State Basketball tip-off at 3:45 :)

I Pledge "of" Allegiance to the Flag :)

Maggie's been learning the Pledge of Allegiance, she adds a few extra words and has a little bit of a hard time remembering at the end.... but it's the effort that counts...

http://youtu.be/bSDGO3DPy54

 

got her beat...

Maggie is currently going through a phase where she really likes to make everything a contest...we race to see who can go up the steps faster, who can get their pajamas on faster, who can find their shoes first, etc., etc., etc.... Oh ya, and of course she thinks she ALWAYS has to win.  BUT as of today her baby sister has her beat at one contest...I have now been pregnant with Potato longer then I was with Maggie (or Ralf as we called her at the time).  Only a few hours longer at this point, but it was a milestone we were really eager to pass.  Now, no matter what happens, we feel like we know what to expect and that our baby girl will be just fine. 

It's funny, when I was pregnant with Maggie, while it wasn't an easy pregnancy, it was fairly routine....until one day I went to the doctor and she said, we need you to go to the hospital.  I still didn't understand the severity of what she was saying, I asked what I should pack and if I needed to bring anything for the baby or if I was just going to spend a couple of days there.  The doctor then told me that someone else would need to gather our things and that she expected me to drive across the street to the hospital immediately....being the fantastic direction follower that I am, I went home....I had Reagan in the car with me (we were just out running a few quick errands) and I wanted to get some pajamas (I wasn't going to wear one of those hospital gowns).  Arnie was in Colorado, so I called and told him what was going on.  I then proceeded to call my parents, who scolded me for not listening to the doctor and quickly met me at home and took me back to the hospital.  I was right, I didn't need to hurry....7 days later the doctor decided it was time for Maggie to be born...or "Crack Out" as we have taken to calling it at our house.  BUT with Potato it's been completely different, it seems like at every turn since we found out we were expecting with her the doctor has been bringing "issues" to our attention and warning us of possible complications.  I've spent this pregnancy much more nervous and feeling like I was constantly being told to prepare for a premature baby...and yet here we are, 34 weeks later, with a baby that likely weighs somewhere between 5 and 6 lbs and whose ultimately cooperated better then my last pregnancy and who is doing great.  It's just another reminder that all of these things need to be left in God's hands and it doesn't do me an ounce of good to try and control or worry about the situation.

Yesterday's doctors appointment went well, Potato is growing great.  Her head is still proportionally way ahead of her abdomen and her legs are somewhere in the middle, so basically when you put all the numbers together, she's about average....of course to us she's amazing, not average, but as a medical term we'll take it.  I'm doing okay too, my blood pressure is slowing rising, so it may still become an issue, but for now, we're holding steady. 
This ultrasound picture isn't great, but the lady really wanted Maggie to have a picture....and I think if I scan it and put it here there is a better chance I'll be able to find it in 10 years when potato wants to look at.  Her hand was in front of her face, so that's what all the fuzz is about, but the 2 things to really notice are how round her little check is and how prominent her HAIR is...again the ultrasound tech commented on how much she seemed to have, we'll see, I stuck a couple of barrettes in the hospital bag just in case :)

Maggie hasn't been feeling great for the last couple of days, lots of runny nose and coughing...and a little fever.  Preschool is like a breeding ground for germs.  Yesterday she seemed to kind of bounce back, her fever was gone and she wanted to go along to check in on Baby Potato...she thinks it's very funny when they squeeze the ultrasound jelly on my belly.  After the doctor the weather was nice enough that she and Grandma took a walk to the park and then "scooted" for a little while before we drove home. 

We had to be home in time for the Panther basketball game, they won their district last night and now we just wait to see the schedule for state basketball...I wonder if I'm in Omaha having a baby and the Panthers are in Lincoln playing for the state title, where Arnie will be?? :)