Adventure

Wednesday afternoon I was still feeling dizzy, so I left a message for my doctor's nurse (he's out of town). She called me back and advised I should go check in at Labor and Delivery and have them check my blood pressure and make sure everything was alright. I packed snacks and toys into the diaper bag and we headed to the hospital. They hooked me up to the baby monitors and contraction monitor and the blood pressure machine which took my blood pressure four times. My blood pressure was fine and everything was looking good when all of a sudden Cora's heart rate dropped for a minute then came back up. Because of that they ordered a Biophysical profile (which is a sonogram for 1/2 an hour that checks different movements, breathing, etc. of the baby). We'd already been there two hours at this point, so we decided it would be best for Brandon to take Eli out to eat and to the park and wait and see what was going to happen. Eli was a trooper in the hospital. He played with his toys, flipped through the TV stations, and loved playing up on the bed with me. He kept asking for Nana and Bum because we'd been telling him that when I was in the hospital he was going to stay with them. So cute! They pumped me full of IV fluids in case that's what was causing my dizziness and did the BPP. Cora passed the test and her heart rate was great the rest of the time. By the time they finally released me I'd been there five hours. My friend Courtney came and sat with me because Brandon had taken Eli home to bed. I was practically begging them to let me have my c-section then (but legally they couldn't because I wasn't 39 weeks yet and there was nothing wrong with me or the baby). It was frustrating, but I'm glad that everything is fine with both me and the baby. They did lab work which showed that I'm no longer anemic, so I'm thrilled my supplement is finally working.

This is Brandon's last day of work for two weeks. I'm looking forward to our last weekend as a family of three. I'm feeling a lot better today than the past couple of days. I guess I can wait three more days to meet this little girl!

Waiting game

Well, we're just waiting around. Eli's keeping us as busy as ever wanting to play outside nonstop and do art projects. He loves coloring with markers and painting. I even broke out some glitter glue yesterday for some projects. He's so proud of himself because he figured out how to make circles and swirls when coloring now. We had our first strawberry ready in the garden (we just have 4 little plants for Eli). Eli was thrilled...he's been trying to pick it for days. They are huge strawberries, the same size as store bought, which is different than I've ever had before. He scarfed it down and was ready for more! Eli wants to work on his alphabet a million times a day. I never thought I'd be SO sick of the ABC's :-) He loves this certain set of flash cards and always brings them to us to look at. He likes to say words that he knows go with the letters such as: M-Mama, Moo; N-Nana; etc. He points out letters like crazy when we're out and about and even on signs as we're driving. I'm glad he loves them!

I had my last doctor's appointment on Monday. Nothing new to report. Everything was still good. Now we wait! I've been feeling really good and still able to be just as active as usual in the garden, outside, etc. until today. I'm not feeling good so Brandon came home from work to take care of Eli so I could rest and take a break. It's been really nice having his help. He took Eli out all morning to the mall, church to play drums, and picked up some food. At the mall, he let Eli play at the play area and then let him run around and choose what stores he wanted to go in. He chose Victoria's Secret and Spencers. I should be worried right?

Nesting

We have rejoined the world....aka...we got a new computer! Our computer sort of died on Thursday morning. We've been lucky that it's lasted longer than five years. I went insane not having internet for three days. Crisis! We don't have TV, so it's my only connection to the outside world. I was lost :-) It felt great to get everything set up yesterday. Brandon is nesting like crazy. It is cracking me up! Yesterday, he rearranged our entire bedroom (we had just done this a couple months ago). In his credit, I like it a lot better now. I have kind of a nursery for Cora on one side and our stuff on the other. It will be nice to have a little nook for nursing etc. This morning on a whim he took down all the curtains and washed them. I'm crazy for making fun of him, but I can't help it. It's hilarious! My mom stopped by on Friday on her way to meet my sister's new kids. Eli had a blast with his Nana. She kind of explained to him that in a week her and Bum were going to take care of him while I was in the hospital having the baby. He seemed okay with it. Today I mentioned that I was going to have to stay in the hospital soon and he immediately said, "Bum, Nana!" Hopefully he's had a little preparation! I'm excited for Cora's arrival, but kind of preoccupied with the cold that is still plaguing me. I feel fine, but now have almost lost my voice and am coughing a bit. It's frustrating! I have my last doctor's appointment tomorrow. I have to somehow manage without Brandon's help (he has to work a conference all day and evening). Wish me luck!

12 days and counting....

Haven't written in a while because we're just in a holding pattern around here. We've tried to keep busy doing last minute shopping and garden work etc. but I'm running out of things to do! I had my second to last doctor's appt. this afternoon. Nothing new to report. Cora's heartbeat was 132 and I'm measuring exactly 37 weeks and my blood pressure is still low and good. My last appt. is next Monday. Two weeks feels SO far away when just yesterday it felt so close. We're all almost over our colds, which is a great feeling. This morning Eli and I went to an annual flower sale and I let him pick out which flowers we would buy (with a little guidance). He picked out purple and red salvia, some wave petunias that he proudly carried to the check out, and some red zinnias. It feels good to have those all potted and on the front steps.

My sister and her husband are adopting a sibling group of 5 out of foster care. They both have worked with foster children in their jobs and have felt their calling to adopt instead of having their own kids. They never intended to fall in love with a sibling group this large (they were looking for a pair of siblings), but are on the road to having a large family quickly! They have started weekend visitations and by the end of May will have the kids full time. I so desperately wish I could go down to Tulsa and meet the kids, but I'll have to wait until they have full custody of them at the end of May and can bring them up to see us and meet Cora! Their names and ages are: Jacklyn-8, Destin and Destiny (twins) 7, Precious-6, and Corey-3. It is going to be overwhelming dealing with all the additions to our family in such a short time, but it is going to be an exciting adventure! My mom is going down this weekend to meet and play with the kids. Nothing like gaining 6 grandchildren in the same month!

Full TERM!

I am officially considered full term this weekend! That means I'll be having my baby any time between now and May 4th at the latest. At my appointment yesterday, I was dilated a tiny bit and her head is locked down low at a -2 position (0 is birth), so she's getting ready to go. I'm hoping she doesn't drop any more or I'm going to be REALLY uncomfortable. I'm already having quite a bit of pain every evening when she starts moving around. Not enough room, Cora, for aerobics! I usually feel wonderful during the day and in the evening start having pain in my feet/back/stomach. I'm so glad to feel so good when I'm wrangling Eli on my own! When I feel my worst is usually after Eli's asleep, so it's perfect.

We took Eli swimming at Cessna this week and to Oak Park last night to explore. Oak Park is at the end of our block across the river and is a forest with paths throughout it. You can always see tons of birds, Coopers Hawks, owls, and last night we saw a snake (Eli was thrilled). Eli refers to it as Wolf Park. There's an old log that he thinks wolves live in and a hole that he's determined houses an owl. He loves choosing which paths to take and looking for creatures.

I'm super excited today because my cousin Megan (who had brain surgery and still has tumors) had her baby this morning via c-section. They didn't find out the gender, so we were all excited to find out it's a GIRL! They named her Natalie McKay. They now have two little miracle children (Luke is 17 months old). So excited for our little girls to play together at family functions. Everyone is having girls.

Here's a picture of the three out of the six of us from church having girls. Stephanie on the right just had her little girl yesterday and Amy is due a week after me. I'm NEXT in line out of the 6! Yikes!

Sharks and Minnows

Last weekend we went over to a friend's house for dinner (Glennens, who have 4 kids). Racchini's were there as well, so there was a lot of kids for Eli to play with. He had a blast playing outside the whole time with the other kids. They started up a game of "Sharks and Minnows" where all the kids would run across the yard and the sharks would try to catch them. Eli loved it! It was fun to watch him play an organized game like that. He's growing up! He never wanted to stop running and kept on running even after the game was over. So cute!

I am vowing to not overdo it in the next 3 weeks before Cora's born. I'm full term in a few days and could have her at any time, so I feel pressure to have everything clean all the time. It's silly...who really cares! I did too much yesterday and was having sharp pains and a few contractions. I think it's her head pushing on my cervix, so I'm curious to see if there's been any change at my appt. Thursday. I'm making myself rest during Eli's naps from now on, and I think that should help.

Eli's haircut!

T-rex

Yesterday, I had a doctor's appointment. Cora is still doing great, as far as we can tell! I'm measuring exactly 35 1/2 weeks and I've gained almost the same exact weight I did with Eli. They took a blood test, so I hopefully will get some results back soon. I'm curious to see how my iron levels are. After the appointment we did our traditional meal at Panera (the broccoli soup is Eli's favorite) and then decided on a whim to go see the baby T-Rex at the mall (I stole this picture from Lacy Hansen because I didn't have my camera). It's a promotion for the huge robotic dinosaur show that's coming to our arena. I have to admit it was really cool. It kept snapping at people and roaring. You should have seen Eli's face. His eyes got huge as he tried to figure it out. All the kids loved it. Eli clapped and kept saying "More!" It ran past us at the end and Eli wanted to follow it.

We got Eli's hair cut really short for summer. It was getting so long and he had a mullet :-). We can spike it up with gel or leave it down. He sat like a perfect gentleman for the haircut and giggled when she used the buzzers (he's very ticklish around his neck). Pictures to come soon!

We are seeing traces of the terrible two's, and I am dreading it. Eli has this ear piercing scream he likes to break out at the most inopportune times. It's just this sudden short scream. It is absolutely ANNOYING! He did it the second we walked into the doctor's office yesterday and this lady was like, "Let me guess, he's 2?" When I responded positively she said, "My 2 year old does the exact same thing." It did make me feel better. It is embarrassing in public but I know that most people have gone through the same thing with their kids at some point so I try not to let it bother me. His tantrum of choice is running in circles while yelling or hitting the wall over and over again while yelling. Oh, the fun of toddlerhood.

Even with all the craziness, Eli is the most affectionate little guy. He wants me to snuggle him ALL the time and gives me tons of hugs and kisses. It's wonderful! He wants his "extra special attention", which is me holding him and snuggling. It's precious!

Easter Weekend!

What a wonderful Easter! We had a big Corman family party on Saturday night at our house, which was a blast. Eli got to play with his cousin Jadyn for the first time in months and had a great time. We Cormans like to TALK TALK and TALK some more, so it's always a fun time. We enjoyed a wonderful church service and Eli got to partake in all the Easter festivities and traditions. He got his Easter basket in the morning with a book and some new sand box toys (that he loved). He also got to dye Easter eggs for the first time and do an egg hunt in the back yard. He loved everything! He sort of threw the eggs into the dye, which was hilarious and ended up throwing all the eggs up against the fence at the end of the egg hunts. What a kid!

He is RISEN!

I am really feeling the Easter spirit right now and humbled and thankful for what Jesus did for us. I've been talking to Eli about it, so if I ask him, "What did Jesus do on Easter?" he responds by putting his arms up in the sky waiting for me to say, "He ROSE from the DEAD!" I'm looking forward to all things Easter this weekend. Unfortunately, my sister is really sick with the flu so they aren't going to be able to make it but the rest of my family is coming for the weekend. I baked a raspberry cream cheese cake today and am going to make Amish potato salad tonight in preparation for tomorrow's barbecue. We're going to dye eggs and do an Easter egg hunt in the yard with Eli. Of course, we'll also do the traditional baskets on Sunday, as well as church and brunch. We should all take bets as to whether Eli will let me put a dress shirt on him Sunday. He's getting more picky about shirts with buttons. Little stinker!

With the weather being nice and doing more time outside we are having a lot more injuries! In one day, he got a fat lip/bloody gums, goose egg on his forehead, rug burns on his arms, skinned knee, and more. Yesterday, he cut his toe. I told Brandon I'm just praying for ONE day without an injury. What do I expect having a rugged little boy? We went kite flying last night at Sim Park (right next to our house). Eli loved it! He ran around in that open field just full of joy! He's been making sure to smell each and every flower that opens up. I love all the bulbs I planted last Fall!