4 More Weeks Until New Baby Comes!

I guess the title is a bit presumptuous to think that my second child will be right on schedule (August 28th) but you never know right?!

While Tony and I had our weekend get-away to the Oregon Coast this past weekend, we borrowed a super-duper nice camera (Brad-you are SOOOO lucky we chose to give it back to you!) and Tony took a bunch of really great maternity shots of me on the beach. I'll post a couple of them.

I know that many women don't really like being pregnant and even though it is very painful for me (stupid back!) I do like it because I feel like it's such a miracle! It doesn't mean that I don't complain (what pregnant lady doesn't?!) but I will miss being pregnant and having my little girl with me constantly. I like to be working at my desk and feel her moving and dancing in my tummy. However, that being said, I am really excited and anxious to meet her in person and hold her in my arms. I'm excited to see what she looks like and feel her soft skin. I'm excited to introduce Emmy to her little sister. So many wonderful things to look forward to. I just hope we are ready!

Family Jewels

Well, as you can only imagine (and based on the title of this entry), I've got a pretty funny story to share...

Yesterday I took my mom to her Oncologist's office so that she could get a shot. For those of you that don't know, my mom has a rare form of lung cancer (non-smoker!) that has spread. She just finished what we hope will be her last round of Chemo for a LONG while. So anyhow, her and I have gotten to know the receptionist and many of the nurses at this point and while we were waiting to get called to the back, we just sat and visited with the receptionist. My mom's favorite nurse opens the door to the lobby to call back the only other couple in the room and when she sees my mom she teasingly said that she was coming for her next. Mom laughed and said "not if I run away"! Once the door closed again mom hopped up (yep, it was one of her "good" days) and she told me that she wanted to hide behind the door so that when the nurse came back, she would think that mom really did leave. Well, being so very pregnant and frankly lazy at this point, I just sat back to watch the show. Mom is standing behind the door and then she motions to me that she is going to reach around the door and grab her. I just laughed and shook my head. Not long after, the door opened and I immediately saw that it was NOT my mom's favorite nurse so I started shaking my head at mom and making "cut-it-out" motions with my hand across my throat but unfortuantly, she wasn't watching me. She reached around the door and grabbed a male doctor right in the "area". Her aim was dead on! She grabbed him good and he leaped back and saw me sitting there mortified and in an amazed voice said "what's going on here?!" Keep in mind, mom knew by this point that she had clearly grabbed the wrong person and she continued hiding behind the door. I just started stammering (I think I blacked out from embarrassment) and then mom peeks around and says "I'm so sorry! I thought you were my girlfriend!". The doctor responded "Obviously not! I'm never coming through this door again!". At this point my embarrassment had turned into all out laughter and by the time the doctor left the office, I was laughing so hard I was crying and mom was too. The receptionist who didn't have the greatest view of all the activity just looked at us and said "she didn't just grab his croch did she? Mom and I were in absolute hysterics and both of us just started nodding our heads yes. When mom finally went to the back to get her shot, EVERY nurse gathered around her chair to hear what happened. It didn't take long to have the entire staff of oncology nurses busting up (some bent over laughing) and they LOVED the fact that she grabbed their least favorite doctor's family jewels. I guess he is the only one that they can't joke with because he is always so serious and stern. THAT'LL TEACH HIM! I told mom that she probably gave the poor guy a complex and won't be able to walk through a door now without looking around it first. Or maybe he'll just wear a cup from now on...

Mom just told me that it was the most action she's had in a long time... I told her that is a helluva way to meet men!

So a couple lessons here for you all...
1) Before grabbing someones hoo-hoo, be sure that it's the right someone! (By the way, she was trying to grab her TALL nurse's leg, but instead she got a SHORT doctor...BAD COMBO!)
2) Just because you have cancer and your time is shorter than most, HAVE SOME FUN AND CAUSE SOME TROUBLE!
3) Laughing truly is the best medicine! We take that "perscription" VERY seriously in my family!
4) Use your wing man! If they are signaling to stop, it's best to listen! =)

Love you mom!

As The Years Go By...

Emerson turned 2 on Sunday! It's hard to believe but our first baby is no longer a baby! It has been so much fun watching her learn and grow. To see life through her eyes has been an amazing gift. I think it's easy as an adult to get caught up in pointless things, so to look at a bug crawling on a rock, or listen to the "birdies" in the trees has been quite a gift.

When we asked Emmy what she wanted for her birthday she gave it some thought and then told us "birt-day cake" and "birt-day presents". She got exactly what she wanted!

What an incredible party she had on Saturday. We had so many dear friends and family come from all over to help us celebrate her special day. I got to the park at 7:30 am to reserve the park's ONLY covered pavilion and I'm so glad that I did because by 7:50 I had competition! Luckily, it is first come first served so WE WON. Keep in mind the party didn't start until 2:30 pm so it was a long wait! But, between Tony and I (we took shifts), it wasn't too bad and I would do it all over again! Ahh, the things that parents do for their children! Am I allowed to bring this back up when she is a feisty 16 year old?

So on Sunday, July 18th (which was Emerson's actual birthday) we opened all her new toys and she played all morning. Tony and I felt like Santa had come! We had toys everywhere! Em was in heaven and played with everything. Then, we met our good friends, Brad and Pam Maas and their two girls at Chuck-E-Cheese's for lunch. Emerson can't get enough of Paige (6 1/2) and Jamie (4) and I think the three of them have adopted each other as sisters. Overall, I think she had a great weekend and even though Tony and I wanted to give her the moon and stars for her birthday, Emmy knows how loved she is and there is no greater gift than that.

I'm really looking forward to this upcoming weekend because it's our 5th wedding anniversary and we have decided to sneak away one last time before new baby arrives at the end of August. We are leaving Em with his parents and we are driving to stay at the same bed and breakfast Tony proposed to me at on the Oregon coast. We have massages scheduled and we plan on doing a lot of relaxing (which rarely happens for either of us!). Even though I'm apprehensive about leaving Emerson for the whole weekend, we need to get her (and me!) used to it since she will be staying with grandma and grandpa when I head to the hospital. Tony and I have agreed that our anniversary two years ago was the most memorable so far because we went out to a nice dinner and when the waitress asked us if we were celebrating anything special, we told her that it was our anniversary, and after our dinner and a movie, we were headed to the hospital to have our baby! The look of astonishment on her face was priceless. We had a planned induction so I needed to check into the hospital at 11:45 pm! With new baby, we will have the element of surprise that we didn't have before so that will be interesting!

Now, for a bit of mush... I met my handsome husband almost 9 years ago when my mom set us up on a blind date to go to the Clark County Fair in 2001. In all that time I have felt like the luckiest woman on the planet for ending up with a man that takes such good care of me and our family and always thinks of us before himself. He is an amazing dad to Emmy and my best friend. Frankly, I don't know how he puts up with me sometimes, but he does, and I thank him for that! I love how determined he is to give a good life to our daughter(s) and I. He motivates me to work hard and fulfill any dreams that I may have. I'm not sure that I would've finished college or gone into the Architectural profession without his unwavering support and encouragement. He knew I could do it, when I myself didn't. I just want to wish him a very happy anniversary and I'm so glad that he is my partner in this crazy life.