Waiting for Our Angel Update

This week has been rough for Alicia. On Tuesday night, she experienced many symptoms of early labor and thought for sure that they would be headed to the hospital by Wednesday morning. She was so worried about things not being done at the house that she finally got out of bed and began to clean and organize parts of the house. Knowing that guests would be coming to the house to take care of Alex, she wanted to make sure that things were cleaned up and put away. So after an hour or so, she finally tried to go back to bed. Our little angel had other plans for her though since Alicia spent another hour awake with contractions, back aches, and many other uncomfortable symptoms. Finally, sleep found her around 4am (thank goodness) and before she knew it, it was 7am and time to start the day. She finally told Shawn what he had missed out on all night long. Why have another individual not get any sleep all night? On top of all the nesting she did throughout the night, she also had many worries: would they be ready for this little angel tonight/the next day (Shawn still hadn't packed his bag or any snacks for the hospital)? How would they get the van from the Honda dealership before coming home from the hospital (BTW the infant car seat was already in the van but it wasn't at home)? The van is equipped with many computerized wonders, including a Tire Pressure Monitoring System which lets you know when the tire pressure is low. Great invention until it continues to stay on when it's not supposed to. So the Honda dealership had ordered a new part & was going to install it on Wednesday. What a pain! Of course, it wasn't even ready or guaranteed to be fixed until after 5pm on Wednesday. Didn't Alicia have enough to worry about for the day?

To say the least, Wednesday was a very rough day for Alicia. Lack of sleep (only 3 hours), continued early labor symptoms (although fewer and less intense), and having to take Alex to and from preschool. Finally, Alex was picked up from preschool (one less worry if she went into labor while he was in school) and Alicia could relax more at home. Sleep finally found her during Alex's nap and finally some rest and relaxation had helped! Wednesday night found us finishing our Christmas letter/cards (one less thing for Alicia to worry about) and making sure Shawn had his bag packed. And of course, Alicia & Shawn thought going to the hospital during the night was a possibility. Fortunately, lots of sleep and less early labor symptoms found Alicia during the night and she finally FEELS more rested. Still exhausted and ready for this little one to join our family, but happy to have gotten some rest.

Now it's Thursday and it seems to be a normal day for Alex & Alicia at home and Shawn at work. Later, we'll join Shawn at BASF for a baby shower and then, some holiday shopping at the mall. (Maybe walking around will help this little one want to join us sooner.)

We'll keep you updated on any improvements! Until then, enjoy this holiday season and find the time to appreciate all the little blessings we have in our lives! Happy Holidays!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Our Thanksgiving Day...no family but the three of us. Nice & quiet except for our coughs and sniffling noses. Yes, Alex has graced us with his terrible cold this week and it has finally found Shawn & I. The poor kid can't stop coughing and sniffling. We're still trying to teach him how to cover his mouth when he coughs. It must have been a weak attempt since we ended up with the cold anyway.

Shawn made our wonderful Thanksgiving dinner (turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, broccoli, and biscuits). It was so delicious! One of my favorite meals all year, including Christmas dinner (which I better be able to enjoy this year & not be stuck in the hospital). And of course, Alex & I made a wonderful pumpkin pie last night! Can't wait to snack on all the delicious food again later! Here are a few pictures of us with Alex today. His last Thanksgiving by himself with only mommy and daddy.
(As you can see, my belly is about as big as the turkey we had today.)










Alex had a special Thanksgiving Feast at preschool on Monday. Alex was so surprised and excited to have his dad come to the Feast. It was so cute to hear the little ones say their "Johnny Appleseed Blessing" that we have been practicing every night for a week. And of course, it was adorable to see all of them eating their special Thanksgiving lunch (deli turkey, grapes, cheese cubes, apples, cookies, cornbread they made in their classroom, and juice). Just a little tidbit from the day: his Native American name was Brave Beaver. Here are a few pictures from his Thanksgiving Feast:We hope this message finds all of you enjoying a day of family and friends. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

November...A Busy Month

November has been a busy month for us so far. We went to the NC Zoo, visited with friends in Baltimore, cleaned and organized many parts of the house, and went to Alex's Thanksgiving Feast at school. To say the least, we've all been busy and lucky to be quite healthy this month. Of course, Alex now has a cold but will hopefully be getting over it soon.
Our trip to the NC Zoo was quite nice. The weather was great for the
day...in the low 60's and it was beginning to look like fall with the leaves changing colors. Alex loved the zoo since he REALLY loves animals! We saw alligators, snakes, seals, puffins, elephants, giraffes, and many more animals. And if you can't ride an animal for real, you might as well pretend that you can. Here's Alex on top of an elephant statue.

As for the rest of the trip, Alex spent his time with his friend, Trinity. Here are a few priceless pictures of the two having a great day together. Don't you wish we could be so carefree?
Our trip to Baltimore was alot of fun! We got to visit with friends that we haven't seen in a long time. Now you're probably thinking "why would they go so far away when Alicia was about 33 weeks pregnant?" Well, Johns Hopkins' Biochemistry department was having an 100 year celebration & Shawn's old boss had a lab reunion for all past graduate & post-graduate students. While Shawn attended some lectures & a fancy dinner in Baltimore, Alex & I got to spend the day with our friends Susan, Will, and their 2-year old, Christopher. The boys had alot of fun playing together and the moms had fun catching up. The next day was spent at the Baltimore Aquarium, another one of Alex's favorite places to visit. He would have stared at the fish all day if allowed. The last time we went to the Baltimore Aquarium was right before we moved to NC & Alex was only 9 months old. Take a look at the difference in Alex. He loved to look at the fish then, but can stay awake longer these days.Here's some quick pics at Shawn's old lab reunion:
Alex playing with Davis. Paul (Shawn's old boss), Shawn & Alex. Alex playing camera shy.

Well, that's about all I can post for now. Alex's Thanksgiving Feast at school & stories from our Thanksgiving are to come. Until then, we're sending all of you "Happy Thanksgiving" wishes. Have a great holiday and enjoy all of the blessings you have this Thanksgiving season!