Easton Thomas Hemmah: The countdown is on

Well, we’re still having some bedtime troubles. It got worse for a while and now I’m hoping we’re on our way towards improvement. We've resorted to having him stand in the corner when he refuses to go to bed and comes up with every excuse in the book why he needs us in his room or to delay bedtime. My favorite so far is that he wanted to sing the ABC’s (which is fine because we usually always sing a song of his choice before bedtime) but this time was different. He would start, “A B C D __ F G H” etc…. etc.. then he would get to about “T” and say, “oops I forgot the “E” and so he’d start over. So funny and I think it’s brilliant but when the bedtime routine is going on 1.5 hours we have to put an end to the craziness at some point. So, he can choose 1) let us tuck him in and he goes right to bed or 2) he can stand in the corner until he tells us, “I’m ready now.” Then he will walk back in his room and usually go right to bed (although sometimes he’ll take off running for the living room or something). It’s actually pretty cute/funny when he stands in the corner. It’s the longest he’s stuck with one thing for a long time. Sometimes he can drag out the standing in the corner for what seems like 20 minutes (although I’m sure it’s more like 5) and other times it’s just a few seconds.

Easton’s favorite baby name seems to be Avery but my all-time favorite suggestion of his came last night. I asked him what we should name his sister and he said, “Avery Cutie-Butt” haha! I think Jake and I have finally decided on a name. I think. Everything is going fine with the pregnancy. I’m definitely feeling ready to have the baby – my short stature doesn't do well growing an 8 lb human – lots and lots of pain. I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready mentally though. Trust me I’m all prepared with the hospital bags, lists, baby supplies etc… etc… but I just can’t wrap my head around Easton not being the “baby” anymore. I feel guilty and sad about it but I know he’ll adjust quickly and love being a big brother and I’m sure he will love, love, love, to help and teach his sister lots of new things. I also know he will have his tough moments of sharing attention. I've heard many moms say they experienced these same emotions before their 2^nd child – so I know it’s normal and I know that they made it through so everything will be OK. I also ‘worry’ for lack of better terms about the 3 nights away when I’m in the hospital. Not that he won’t be taken care of but it’ll just be weird to be stuck in the hospital for 3 days and only see him briefly every day when he visits. It’ll go fast though and looking back I’m sure I’ll think I am being irrational and ridiculous.

I had a doctor appointment today and I asked the doctor how big she thinks the baby is and she said she thinks she’s on the bigger side… maybe 7 lbs. wowza! That’s a pound bigger than the average baby at this time in pregnancy. At least I’ll be having a c-section but the next 19 days (not that I’m counting) are going to be a doozy on my back and the rest of my body! I’m predicting that I have the baby sometime in the next week. I just feel it for some reason. We’ll see though. In a lot of ways it would be best to wait until my planned date since I’m a huge “planner” and have everything planned around that date. Also, Jake is gone for a couple days for work and it scares me to go into labor when he's not home and Mandy and my nieces are gone next week.

OK, back to Easton… He is LOVING the warmer weather. Although as I write this it’s gloom-and-doom outside. He plays outside all the time at school and then again when we get home. We bought him a bigger 4-wheeler last summer with intentions of giving it to him this summer because he was too little for it last year and he absolutely loves it. He cruises all over on that thing and is such a good driver! Definitely better than his Dad ;) He's also acquiring quite the vocabulary. I was giving him ice cream the other day and asked what kind he wanted and he said, "chocolate." Then about a minute later he goes, "Mom actually I want white." Actually? Well, Ok then smarty-pants. Then last night I told him that he can play with one more thing and then we need to go take a bath and he says, "I want Dad to fly me around, that's my option." It's so funny when these bigger words come out! School has been going good for him too(knock on wood). We're still not sure what we'll do about daycare this summer while I'm home or even after that ( I might stay home for a year, go back part-time, or full-time...) We'll just have to wait and see how things play out.

In other news: Auntie Mary got engaged on Easter! Woohoo! We are so happy and excited for her and for Eddie to be part of the family. Easton can't wait for many more birthday serenades as well. :)

Well, that is all for now. Maybe the next time I update it will be to say that Baby Sister has arrived!