Cherishing my time

while it is just Kirby, CR and I.  I know that adding another darling (and maybe one day another and another) is going to bring even more joy to our lives.  At the same time, I know it will never just be us 3 again.  Just like before Kirby I knew it would never be just CR and I again.  I try everyday to enjoy the moment, not be too busy for a tickle fight or to listen to a story, but especially these last few weeks I have tried to really set anything else aside and make Kirby's little antics my priority.  This last week we just modified them a bit so that I could still participate but not over do it.

Saturday was Santa at John Deere day.  My mother-in-law said she could just take Kirby so she could see him, but I really wanted to be a part of it.  Last year Santa was a horrific, life threatening event for Kirby, so I wanted to see if that had changed.  We have been talking about Santa ever since the incident last year, so I was hoping she had warmed up ... I think it is safe to say that she loves Santa.

Caleb, Porter and Anna Kate met us over there to join in on the fun:

 Before we left for the store, we ventured out side while we waited for Granny and Daddy Ray to pick us up.  I knew I hadn't snapped any pictures of Kirby lately, so we had our own little photo shoot on the rocking chair.  This is my favorite.

 This day was worth every pain and contraction I felt later in the evening.  They came on hard around 12 ... I almost woke CR up to take me in, but after 30 minutes of them being about 4-6 minutes apart, I fell asleep so they must have stopped.

Baby #2 update:

Today we got to see our little one on the big screen!  Baby was head down, which I already knew ... I can literally see it's rump sticking out in my belly; funniest thing ... and I can feel knee pushing on me whenever I try to eat or drink anything ... not so funny.  The face was really clear on the screen - I know it isn't so much in this picture.  I soon as I saw the sweet face I could see resemblance of Kirby.  We never got to see Kirby this big.  They typically do these measurements around 36-37 weeks I guess, and our appointment was scheduled for a few days after Kirby actually came.  So it was kind of neat to see this large of a baby on the screen.  They estimated that it weighs 4 pounds, 10 ounces.  All measurements are right on for a 33 week old in utero.  Very encouraging.  :)  If you get a little grossed out by some terminology, you may want to stop reading here.  They did a swab/pap for a preterm labor test.  In this test they are looking fetal fibronectin.  Basically a form of protein that acts like glue and should not be present until after 37 weeks.  While swabbing he said he could tell I had been contracting often because there was quite a bit of discharge.  Said this could cause much of the cramping that I have been feeling.  Anyhow, the test results should be ready tomorrow, so I will post any update I get.  He did also increase the medicine intake - instead of every 6 hours he said to take it every 6 to try to help control the contractions better.  With that said, please be praying about that.  I hate taking the medicine because it makes me feel bad for the first hour or so after taking it.  The last 2 days I have gotten really flushed in the face and run a low grade fever after the second dose of the day.  My cervix looked the same (50% effaced) and he did not check for dilation since they did the other test.  He said we can save the pain of that since the other will tell us more of what we are looking for.  If test results come back positive, I will go in for a steroid shot to help boost any lung growth.  If negative, I just need to continue to take it easy and keep up with contractions.  

Still going back on forth on boy middle names, and now I have had second thoughts about our beloved girl name.  Did the same thing with Kirby, so I am hoping that once we see the baby, we will just say - boom.

"Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you."  Psalm 9:10