Sorry to disappoint you, Jay

April 12 has come and gone... still no Miss Clara. :-(
Oh, sure she's wiggled a lot, caused "contractions," and misled us about her intentions a few times, but she still hasn't come to meet us. So we'll continue to wait...

Quick update

Just a quick update on our status.
Beth was fairly certain Saturday night that we would be going to the hospital somewhere between Saturday and Sunday.
Sunday morning, she expressed some mildly disappointed awe at the fact that she no longer had such expectations. We watched a movie, took a walk, she took her nap, and went to work - all without any of the obvious discomfort she experienced Saturday.
So, we wait. On pins and needles. And we (realistically, i think) expect to be meeting Clara pretty much any minute, or day, now. Anyone wanna take any bets as to whether or not we make it to Thursday's 38 week appointment?


I hope all is well with you and yours. We'll keep you posted!

37 Weeks...

Thursday is Dr.'s appointment day. This past Thursday was no exception. All is well - thank the deity of your choice! Beth is doing really well throughout all of this. I would be a whining, whimpering, gelatinous blob of poorly strained previously frozen spinach - like material if I had to go through the whole pregnancy thing. She's such a trooper!
All this past week she's been making some noises about Clara coming virtually any minute. I probably don't have to tell any of you how... anxious that's making me. :-)
Today, less than 2 hours ago, in fact, she has informed me that she's having contractions. They're not regular yet, but she's fairly certain they're contractions. Talk about suspense! Carly Simon's got nothin' on me! I/we will keep you all posted...


Again I hope this finds you all in good health and spirits.

36 Week Appointment

Another week, another weekly appointment.
Again, everything is going swimmingly. We are so fortunate, in so many ways.
Beth is measuring at 37 still/again - likely due to the fact that Miss Clara has dropped so far in the last week.
Several of our friends were certain we would have an April Fool's baby. Are they trying to tell us something? Anyway, all those that had 4/1/2011 in the birthday pool... You lost! LOL
I still say April 14 or 15. Dr. says she'll never make it to 4/28, "as scheduled."
We are both doing quite well.
Today we are having what I affectionately refer to as "Smoked Meat Fest." The grill-cum- smoker has been hard at work for nearly 7 hours, and performing quite well. For those who know, low-and-slow is the way to go! Smoked brats, especially the pineapple brats from Hy-Vee, are just about my favorite. We also are serving a pork sirloin roast from the smoker; it's been on for about 5.5 hours. And for the vegetarian, we are serving a veggie burger from Trader Joe's. We should have plenty of left overs, which is kind of the plan. We don't want to have to cook too awful much when Miss Clara greets us. :-)
I hope this again finds everyone in good health and spirits.
I'll keep you posted!

35 Week Appointment

Thursday morning was Beth's (now weekly) appointment. We're really getting down to the wire now!
So far, still all good news. Everything looks good, no complications, and Beth has a bit of a waddle going on now. She's so cute!
Now might be a good time to get a pool going for an actual birth day...
A couple people we know are certain it'll be on April 1. I've had the notion, for several weeks now, that it'll be @ week 38, or April 14. Can't say why, exactly. I just seem to know it. I guess we'll all know in a couple weeks.
So, last week, week 34, she measured 35 cm. This week, she measured 37. If this keeps up...

For those who may not know, the Dr. measures the uterus, in centimeters. The resulting number is supposed to correlate with the number of weeks pregnant. So, we're measuring a little early.
We're still trying to get all our reading done, the apartment shaped up, thank you's written and mailed, and our minds prepared. Beth is still working, hoping to work right up till the labor begins, in an effort to secure as much time off as she can. She gets 6 weeks of maternity leave, and she's shooting for 4 more weeks of PTO. So, we'll see...
We can hardly wait to meet our little girl.
I hope this finds you all in good health and spirits.

34 week appointment

We had our check up today. Dr was pleased with my blood pressure and the fact that Miss Clara seems to think that she can wiggle around in there all she wants. Her heartbeat sounds steady and strong. Dr asked how I was feeling and I told her tired most of time but with little bursts of energy here and there. Dr feels certain that if things were to progress quickly now that Clara would be just fine and no need for steroids (big weight off my mind) but not quite ready for her to make her appearance just yet.
Tod finished the room and it looks very nice. Koral made a picture that I need to get a frame for that will match the decor perfectly. All the clothes are washed and put away, crib made and ready, and diapers waiting. Few more things I would like to get done around the house before bringing her home but the room was my biggest worry. Now I don't have too. He has been so wonderful and patient with me and my little "quirks".
We received some wonderful news, Tod's family will be coming to visit in June (Father and step mother) and hopefully August (sister and brother). I can not wait to met them. They have been so nice at accepting me and our situation and I feel so very blessed in so many ways.
I will try to keep this updated each week, time to go change over the laundry and Clara is getting up set that the laptop is "resting" on her. LOL
Take care all my wonderful family and friends

Beth's Birthday!

Also Clara's baby shower. :-)
Yesterday, March 5th, we were given a shower for Clara Hope.
As Beth just said to me, "Our baby girl has so many clothes, it isn't even freakin' funny!"
We are so thankful to have such loving, caring, and generous friends and family.
I was there, and learned that I'm a weirdo because most daddies-to-be are not as enthusiastic as I am about this baby thing. I'm coming out of my skin with breathless anticipation at the notion of finally meeting my baby girl. Nope. No excitement here!
After the shower, the birthday celebration began commencing. Actually, it involved some card and gift exchange, and mass exodus shortly thereafter.
Thank you so much, Terri and Michelle, for such an awesome party. We had a great time, and rolled out of there with seriously full bellies. :-)
Ok. Enough jibba-jabba. here's the pics:

The Guest of Honor.

The Birthday cake.

Tinkerbell, Beth's favorite Disney character, as she sits atop the cake.

The Diaper Cake.

The shower cake.

Thanks, Terri and Michelle, for such awesome decorations!

Shower game.

Thanks again, everyone. And, Beth's birthday is tomorrow, March 7. So feel free to holler at her.
We wish the best to you all.