He slept really good, at least the first couple hours.

Our healthy little boy.

Jason and Andres at the hospital (both look really tired).

Addie is very excited to be a big sister.

SUCCESS!!

Not only was there a successful VBAC, but most importantly - we've got a baby!!

Andres Parker

8 lbs 4 oz

20.5 inches (same length as Addie)

He's a cute little guy and a very good baby and Addie is a wonderful and helpful big sister. We'll post some pictures soon.

How many days?

So, we're coming to the countdown. I have definitely had my fears and anxieties about what is about to happen. These thoughts can be broken down into two categories: the actual birth, and dealing with everything that happens afterward.

The Actual Birth

For those that don't know, Adelaide was born by emergency C-section. The situation was such that it was a combination of her health and mine in jeopardy and I never even went into labor on my own. At the time I knew it was necessary, but as soon as it was over I knew I didn't want to do it that way again. I began studying and preparing almost immediately about VBAC (Vaginal Birth After C-Section) so that I would be able to prepare myself even before getting pregnant. I soon found that natural was the way to go if I wanted to be successful, and my sister happened to be pregnant at the time and was preparing herself for a natural birth as well (since we've matured enough to admit that we're similar in a lot of ways, we find more and more ways that we think the same). With her guidance and my own study, I feel much more prepared than last time. I chose to work with midwives and have been rather pleased with the difference between their approach and that of an OB (I've never liked or trusted doctors much). Even with all of the support and new knowledge, I'm not very good with the unknown. . .

What Comes After

A brand new baby. A 19 month old. A husband in his second semester (one of the busiest, according to other students) of Dental School. Closest immediate family is 17 hours by car or 4 hours by plane. Middle of Iowa winter. Need I say more?

And yet, the last week has brought a lot of clarity and peace. I realize that this baby is coming, no matter what and I'm really excited to meet him and for him to join our little family. I also realized that people have gone through much worse and I know that it will be alright because that's just what's going to happen. So, basically, this big long rambling finally ends with this conclusion: no matter how it happens or what has to take place to get us through it, our family is about to be blessed immensely and I couldn't be happier or more excited.

Here's a few random pictures for enduring the ramblings of a pregnant lady:

Emmulation. Notice the legs are even crossed. These two are so funny together. I love to watch Addie interact with her Dad.

38 Weeks. Not a very good picture, it's hard to get a good shot of something so big.

The first real ponytail. It didn't stay in very long, but it sure was cute.

Christmas Eve

We had a bunch of friends over and some really good food to celebrate Christmas Eve. The kids had fun with each other and we all pigged out - it was all good fun.

The food! Thanks to everyone we had quite a selection of really good food, most of which was fried or generally unhealthy (that's the way we roll).

Of course we all ended up gathering around the food and didn't leave until we were stuffed.

We even had a special visitor! Even with his busy schedule, Santa was able to stop by for a few minutes and visit with each of the kids. Thanks Santa!

After Santa left, all the kids were trying to figure out where he went and watched out the window for a few minutes to see if they could spot his sleigh.

All the kids (plus Deanna, minus Kenley) totally engrossed in the candy Santa had just given them.

Totally unplanned Opposite-Mother-Daughter Coordination. Not a very good picture for anybody, but you get the point.

Our Christmas pajamas. I made them this year (except the t-shirts, obviously) and I was pleasantly surprised that everything fit as well as they did. I had fun and learned a lot in the process.

I also made this robe to go with Addie's pajamas. If is definitely a little big, but that just means she can wear it longer, right?

35 weeks

This was on our anniversary at 35 weeks. I was trying to smile and look really happy but I had just put Addie down for a nap which meant it was time for my nap.

Gingerbread House

Sorry to play catch up, but . . . yeah, that's all you're going to get. So, here's our fabulous gingerbread house. Addie and I put it together with some friends that know how to do that sort of thing and then we brought it home to decorate with Jason. We had a lot of fun and Addie had more sugar than she's ever had in her life (as you can tell from the pictures). Jason's favorite part was the snowman he made for the front yard (he was quite proud).