Tomorrow is the big day!

Noelle has already decided that she calls the shots. The c-section was scheduled for Sunday (7/27) but she has decided that she's not waiting for the day that Mommy picked. The 27th is Mommy's birth day (October), Aunt Jen's birth day (November) and one of Mommy's dearest friend's, Kate's, birth day (June) so it was picked with purpose! Noah shares his birth day with Mommy's Daddy (the 17th) :)

All looks good based on the non-stress test that was performed this morning. Her heartbeat is nice and strong - she just wants out! We can't really blame her as there is NO room left in the inn!

All we have left to do is pick a middle name. That is proving to be quite the challenge! Maybe God will speak to us in a dream tonight ;)

We'll post pictures of her soon! Please say a prayer for us tomorrow morning!

Noah Earns His Keep

Noah gets a $3 allowance every week. He knows the drill: $1 for God, $1 for savings and $1 for spending. It's precious to watch him "tithe" (He'll catch on soon enough that the Bible doesn't say to tithe 1/3 but it works for now!). He's very meticulous about unfolding his dollar when we get to church and putting it in the wooden box for tithes and offerings. Funny aside - the first time he put it in the box, he asked for the key to get it out ;)

Anyway, we never talk to him about the allowance and don't tie it to chores or anything like that...given that he's not even three! It's just something that Mommy wanted to start doing and has done since he was about a year. The other morning, he was asked to set the table for breakfast. The boy is capable of doing chores! The allowance now has a purpose!

We thought this picture was funny and were impressed with the job that he did:

Swimming Lessons

Noah just finished his first week of swimming lessons! Friday's lesson was actually cancelled due to a nasty thunderstorm but we'll make it up at some point. Overall, the lessons have gone well. He goes every day for about 10 minutes. His teacher, Ms. Shannon, is an absolute sweetheart and he responds very well to her teaching. He is not a huge fan of the lessons and keeps saying "I don't want to sink" but swims like a little fish and does everything he's asked to do. Ms. Shannon gets quite a kick out of his running commentary. As everyone knows, Noah has a lot to say and he is no different during the lessons. There is one exercise that she does with him floating on his back and lets him go while she counts to three. He does not particulary care for this part of the lesson. Well, she was talking to him and he knew she had to count to three before he could move on to the next exercise so he says to her "Stop talking and start counting!". It was precious! He did an awesome job on Thursday when Daddy was able to go in the pool with him and he swam between Daddy and Ms. Shannon. He is definitely more comfortable when Daddy is actually in the water and not just on the side of the pool. Yesterday, he was actually excited about going to his lesson so I think we've turned the corner! We shall see on Monday! We'll spend lots of time in the pool this weekend to reinforce what he learned during the week :)

Mommy was too busy watching to take pictures but did manage a few right at the beginning:

Happy Birthday, Uncle Kyle!

So, it was really on Sunday (7/13) but we're running a few days late and I have had a terrible time uploading any pictures on this site until now. We were able to meet up with Uncle Kyle and Aunt Erin on his birthday and enjoy a nice meal at Bella Luna in Ocala. Noah always enjoys spending time with Uncle Kyle so it was well worth the drive, even in the miserable weather! Grams did a great job navigating through a torrential rainstorm :) At one point we were almost underwater when a guy hauling a trailer decided to send buckets of water out way. Good times!

Some pictures from our dinner:

Tags...

Noah is not a fan of tags on any piece of clothing. This morning he saw Daddy's tag sticking out of his shirt and immediately ran over to the drawer and pulled out his scissors. The look of sheer joy on his face says it all!!

Baby update

We had a routine appointment yesterday with Dr. Peppy to see if there are any signs of labor. No dice! Not that we really wanted there to be but she'll be full-term this weekend so anytime after that would work for Mommy! He looked at the ultrasound results from last week since he was on vacation when we went and said everything looks wonderful. The sonographer told us that she has really long legs that are making her measure way ahead and Dr. Peppy agreed that she looks like she'll be one big baby. Thank God for c-sections!

We're still sticking with July 27th for the big day and that is only 2 1/2 weeks away so it's not too much longer either way. We'll go for weekly appointments now and if there are any signs of labor then Dr. Peppy will "meet us at the hospital at 5 p.m. that day" if there are. He also told us yesterday that he'll do the surgery, regardless of what day it happens (if labor comes on its own). It is such a relief to us because we have the utmost trust in him and really didn't want anyone else doing such a major surgery!

That's all of the update for now. Looks like we'll get to enjoy 17 more days of uninterrupted sleep :)

THE Bassinet

Here it is in all its glory! Mommy has obsessed over this bassinet for months but couldn't justify the expense for just one child who will only be able to use it for a few months. Noelle will now sleep in style for this first few months - thanks to a very generous Grams and Aunt Jen! The bedding is chamois and it is so incredibly soft. Mommy isn't a big fan of the skirt that is supposed to go around it but may change her mind once Grams irons it - haha! It is gorgeous and matches most furniture in the house perfectly which works well with Mommy's OCD personality. Mommy promised to pass it down to Uncle Kyle and Aunt Erin when they have children so at least it will be used by more than just Noelle :)

Very first post :)

Today was a typical Sunday for us! We started the day with an early church service at Northland. Pastor Joel was preaching and it was a fantastic sermon (as usual) on the role of a husband. You can visit Northland and hear the sermon at http://www.northlandchurch.net/. Pastor Joel is a favorite in our household...so much so that he was the inspiration for Noah's middle name (Hunter)! Honestly, it was a really awesome sermon and we definitely recommend listening to it when you get the chance.

We came home and cooked breakfast with Grams. Of course, Grams had to bring most of the ingredients because Mommy hasn't felt like grocery shopping in a long time ;) We were lazy for most of the rest of the afternoon, although Mommy finally finished Noelle's wall letters. These have taken forever but she is quite happy with the finished product. Noah's will be store-bought if Pottery Barn Kids will ever get the letter "H" in!

In keeping with tradition this pregnancy, we had to eat at Olive Garden this afternoon. Mommy can't get enough Peach Iced Tea from there! Thank goodness for free refills or we'd be out a good clip at $2.90 per glass! Most people go for the food...Mommy goes for the tea and Noah for the Andes mints (and usually eats everyone's!) and to do the maze on the kid's menu with Daddy. We should probably invest in Darden seeing how much we eat there now that Marco Anthony changed ownership and stopped making our favorite pizza. We know our dining out days are going to be put on hold shortly, though! Taking an infant out to dinner is just not our idea of fun!

That wraps up our typical Sunday. Another work week starts tomorrow and the countdown to Mommy's maternity leave is in full swing. Just 15 more business days (12 if you don't count Fridays since those aren't really workdays for Mommy!)...