Anticipation

Waiting for a baby to come is a crazy adventure! We've been dreaming of this little person since Thanksgiving (when we found out we were pregnant), and now 9+ months later the time has nearly come. It's so bizarre that one day I will be pregnant and the next day I won't - and even more bizarre that I have no idea what day that will be! The hospital bag is packed, the babysitter is on-call to watch Link, the baby clothes are washed, the baby seat is in the car - now we just have to wait...

I'm pretty much past the scared/nervous part and am just excited to meet my little girl. Ryan is definitely excited and is on constant "contraction watch" and is sure that any little change means she's coming - NOW. He even announced that I was having contractions on Facebook and I ended up with crazed emails from my mom asking if I was in labor. :) Lincoln is aware that a baby sister is coming because he always asks me to "Draw baby" for him, uses earbuds to "listen" to my tummy (like a stethoscope or ultrasound machine), and Ryan tells him stories about Lincoln and Daddy flying in jets to see the baby in the hospital. Other than that, I think he's in for a big surprise.

Here's my 39 week shot. I never made it to 39 weeks with Link, so this is a first for me!


Link wanted to get in on the photo-shoot - looking handsome in his church clothes.


The boys hard at work cutting the grass this weekend. Link is a great helper!

38 Weeks

Due to popular demand (mostly my mom) here is a recent pic of my pregnant belly. 38 weeks down, 2 to go... or if she decides to come as early as Lincoln, just a few days to go! (Link was 9 days early) Unfortunately I don't have any real gauge of when she'll be born because in the UK they don't check dilation/effacement at all until you are in active labor! I even asked my doctor at my last appointment to check and she looked shocked and appalled. Just one of the many differences between healthcare in the UK vs. the US - more of which I'm sure to share after the delivery.

Now for some cuter pictures! Here is Link in the foam pit at a little gym we go to. They have trampolines, bars, climbing things, etc. Link calls it the "Jumping Place", appropriately. We go with a friend from Church, Ashy - who Link just adores. It's so cute for him to have his first real "friend".


We have also been transitioning Lincoln from taking a bottle at bedtime, with really good success thus far. He was seamless with going to a big bed and taking away the binky, so I really shouldn't be surprised. This little guy is just too good! Here is a typical "Lincoln face" - being the little joker that he is. He would pretend to take a "big sip" out of his cup, only to take the tiniest little sip and make a milk moustache and start laughing. Ryan and I inevitably start laughing too. How can we resist?!

Our Techno-Saavy 2 year-old

Lincoln has an iPod Touch - well, I actually have an iPod Touch, but from the day I got it he has pretty much claimed it for himself. I know, letting a 2 year-old play with an expensive electronic device is probably not the wisest idea. We get some pretty interesting looks from people watching him use it on the bus or in the doctor's office that seem to say "Spoiled American kid"...well, that may be so, but it keeps him entertained, and he knows how to use it really well!! He can play the bowling game - changing the ball color and lanes with ease and then bowl a strike. He scrolls through our family pictures. He watches downloaded videos of "Little Einsteins" and "Super Why". He does all of these independently without any help or prompting from us.

But the most impressive of all, is that he loves YouTube. If we type in a search for him (ie: Jets, Trains, Bowling [yeah, he loves bowling]) he will go through the video clips and choose the ones he wants to watch. He even has his favorites that he can recognize from the thumbnail pictures. Here are Lincoln's YouTube picks of the week:






I'm just waiting for him to send an email to someone! I don't think it's too far off!

More Beach Fun...no nudity this time

For a Friday family date night we took a picnic to the beach. The nice thing is that we literally live 5 minutes from the beach - it's so easy to get to and Link LOVES it. The unfortunate thing was that it was COLD and windy! (England in July!) We braved it in the name of family fun and Link still managed to enjoy himself.






Lincoln playing "Rock slide" down the groynes (pronounced 'groins' - we have a few laughs with all the signs that say "Keep off the groynes" haha)


On Saturday we went to the Brighton Sea Life Centre. It's the "oldest seaside aquarium in Britain"; and while maybe not as flashy as Sea World, it had its own charm. Lincoln liked to see the "Dory" fish (he loves Finding Nemo right now) and they had the biggest sea turtles I have ever seen!


But Lincoln's favorite exhibit did not feature any fish. It was a model of Brighton - complete with little cars and people that just fascinated him. Go figure!

"Tire, nose"

We were eating lunch and Link was playing with one of his toy cars. He has this weird thing where he likes to take off any tires that can be removed from his toys - I have a bag full of tiny tires that I have collected from him! We were preoccupied with the dishwasher repairman and then we hear "Tire, nose".

Oh, please NO!! I see a car with no tires and search frantically around his high chair for the loose tires. Nothing. I ask the dishwasher guy if he has a flashlight, but he doesn't. Luckily, I decided to ship our 72 hour kits with us over here - which happen to include flashlights and batteries. Also, luckily Ryan was at home today in honor of celebrating the Fourth tomorrow (it's our patriotic right as Americans, right?!) so he was able to put Link in a headlock so I could look up his nose. Yep, a nice little tire shoved up into his right nostril. After some unsuccessful blows we determine it's definitely stuck.

Okay, now what?? We don't even have a pediatrician here yet. Do we go to the ER? Try to find a doctor? Could I possibly pull it out myself?? I reluctantly chose the latter and ran to my huge first aid kit in hopes that there were some nice long tweezers. No luck, just regular ones. Praying for the nurse in me to come forth, Ryan held Lincoln's head while I held the flashlight in one hand and the tweezers in another and went in for the tire. After a couple attempts...I had it!! No damage, no blood, no crying (from me or Link - he was very brave), and no day waiting in the lovely National Healthcare ER.

I will always be grateful for my education and experience as a Registered Nurse...I just hope I won't have too many chances to put my skills to work at home!


PS: Our baby girl is due one month from today!!! (Maybe she'll be better about keeping things out of her nose)