Samantha: 35 Months, Week 1 {Special Samantha Time, Fun Family Time, and Easter}

Last Sunday night was a long, worrisome, sleepless night for both Ben and me, as he was in the hospital until 4:00 am.  Once we got back home, I was so glad when he fell asleep quickly.  He was not able to sleep at all at the hospital, so he was obviously exhausted.  Luckily, he drifted off quickly, and once he was fast asleep, I let myself fall back asleep, too.  Samantha woke up at her normal 7:00 am, so I was very tired that morning.  Ben slept and rested most of the day while I put together a menu and grocery list, went shopping for the week, and picked up the pain medicine that Ben was prescribed.  I was very concerned for how he was feeling because he was not interested in eating or drinking much, and really was pretty out of it for most of the day.  Like I ended my last blog post, I hate when he is not feeling well and all we can do is just wait for his medicine to kick in and take full effect, easing up the inflammation, pain, and discomfort that he is feeling.

Luckily, Samantha took a good nap for me that day because I needed one myself.  We went through our normal routine, and I left her room to get a few things done around the house.  By the time I headed to bed for a nap myself, all was quiet in her room.  I was much more tired than I realized, sleeping all the way until 3:35 when I set the alarm.  I had one piano lesson at 4:15, so I wanted to make sure I was up and ready before that time.  Samantha woke up a little after 3:45, so I was able to get her up and dressed, and she got to watch some Peter Pan and eat her fruit snack before Kinsey arrived.  Since Daddy was still resting, I gave Samantha the option of sitting quietly on the couch downstairs or playing up in her room while I gave my piano lesson.  She chose to play in her room, and she did such a good job.  I was so proud of her.  I figured playing in her room would last about five minutes before she came downstairs to see what I was doing.  However, she did not do that at all.  She stayed in her room the entire time, hardly making a peep.  It was really sweet of Kinsey and her mom, Heather, because they brought presents for both Samantha and Aedan.  At the end of the lesson, I had Samantha come downstairs so that she could open the present from Kinsey while she was still there.  Kinsey got her a little baby doll with a small high chair seat with tray, food, bottles, and sippy cups to feed her, as well as a diaper bag with a diaper, a changing pad, a toy turtle, and a pretend cell phone.  Samantha just beamed when she opened the package.  She couldn't wait to get it out of the package so she could play with it.  She also got a little Micky Mouse Easter book and a sippy cup with a straw that looks like an apple on top.  Samantha was pretty excited about using that as well.

After my lesson was over, Daddy decided to try and get up, since he had been in bed most of the day.  I made spaghetti for dinner, but Daddy didn't feel much like eating quite yet.  Then, after dinner, our doula, Kate, and our back-up doula, Claire, came over for our final meeting before Aedan arrives.  Having a back-up is pretty much a formality, just in case Kate or someone in her family is sick, so that way I will definitely have a support person when I need it.  It's strange to have all these "last time before Aedan's born" experiences.  I am done watching Sadie now, and quite often Ben and I will look at each other and say, "This may be the last time we...before we are a family of four."

On Tuesday, Daddy was feeling somewhat better and decided to try going to campus.  However, Samantha and I dropped him off before going to the library so that way he wouldn't have to worry about parking far away from his building and having to walk.  Samantha and I made our weekly trip to the library for story time, although it was rather strange going there without Sadie with us as well.  Story time really is a highlight of Samantha's week.  She always goes to sit down on the rug by herself first, but then after a few minutes she will look around for me and will come sit on my lap for the remainder of the stories.  Without Sadie, Samantha had my lap all to herself (whatever there is left of my lap when you take into account my protruding belly).  And I have to admit, those 25 minutes where she sat on my lap, laid her head back on my shoulder, and sat contentedly listening to the librarian's stories were such a treasure to me.  I enjoyed cuddling with her, holding her close, rubbing her back, and playing with her soft, silky curls while she intently listened to the stories told.  I am truly trying to soak up these precious moments with my little girl this week, as soon Aedan will arrive and never again will we have just one child, never again will we have just Samantha.  I am so glad that I've been able to stay home this year and spend all this time with Samantha one on one.

I won't focus too much on the one negative of the day because in the grand scheme of things, it's really not a big deal.  But, Samantha and I just had too much fun at the library that morning, I did not budget our time well, Samantha wasn't exactly being cooperative, and then the security alarm went off because the security was not completely deactivated on some of the books on CD and DVDs that we checked out.  All of those events culminated in us getting out to our car late, past when the meter expired, resulting in us getting a parking ticket.  It was the first time we had ever gotten a parking ticket, even though there were plenty of other times we were a little over our time and never got a ticket for it.  The parking attendants must have really been on top of things that day.  I felt frustrated more at myself for not planning our time more wisely, as this is not a strong suit of mine to begin with.  Time always seems to get away from me or things always take longer than I think they will.  Anyways, our parking ticket was for $20, and I decided to go to the parking enforcement office and file an appeal, just to see what would happen.  I explained our situation, told them what made us delayed, and basically just asked for a little grace since this was our first parking offense.  They said it takes five to seven weeks for them to decide on an appeal, so we'll see what happens.

All of that commotion resulted in us getting home later than usual, eating lunch later than usual, and for whatever reason, Samantha was really revved up that afternoon.  I could tell as soon as I was putting her down for her nap that she wasn't going to be taking a nap that day.  I went up there once to tell her to lay down quietly and after that I just turned the monitor off and went about my business of things I wanted to get done around the house.  After I went upstairs to get Samantha from her room, it was time to go pick up Daddy from campus, make and have dinner, and play for a little while before bath time and bed time.  Daddy seemed to be feeling a little better than he did in the morning and was able to rough house more with Samantha, like he usually does in the evenings.  We got Samantha to bed earlier since she didn't nap, but she still was rather energized for a little girl who hadn't napped that day.  She sang in bed for a little while, and one time we could hear her walking around in her room, so Daddy went up to tell her to get back in bed.  She cried for a little while after that, I think just because of the shock of getting caught, but within a few minutes she had quieted down and fell asleep.  She was probably asleep by around 8:10.

Lately, especially since I don't have to be up for Sadie to arrive at our house, we have just been letting Samantha be our alarm clock.  Since she wakes up around 7:00 pretty much every morning, that always gives us enough time to get ready for the day before we have to be anywhere.

Samantha and I dropped Daddy off on campus again on Wednesday so that he wouldn't have to walk as far, giving his stomach a rest for one more day, and then her and I went to BSF.  I have so enjoyed this Bible study of Matthew, and even though I have not stayed consistent with doing my lesson every day, it has put reading God's Word in the forefront of my mind, a place where it hasn't been for quite some time.  I know Samantha really enjoys her class and loves her teachers as well.  We only have two more weeks of classes before the end, Sharing Day, and I know Samantha will miss going there every week.  I think there was only one week we missed all year, and that was because Ben and I were in New Orleans for the conference in January, and Samantha was staying in Upland with Grandpa and Grandma.

Samantha and I just had a wonderful morning together, playing, listening to books on CD while cuddling on the couch, and a great lunch of mac and cheese, silly stories, and lots of laughs.  I have been going through so many mixed emotions lately with thinking of moving from one to two children.  Now that I am 39 weeks, my due date being a week away, we are so close, and I am SO excited to finally meet Aedan.  I love feeling him wiggling around in my tummy, even when he keeps me awake at night or when I'm trying to finally squeeze a nap in.  I can't wait to see what he looks like, how much he'll weigh, whether he'll look like Samantha or not.  It will be a joy to discover his personality, to see how he likes to be held, and to nurse him, holding him close and looking at his perfectly created body.  I am honored that God chose Ben and me to be his parents.  It is definitely a blessing I do not take lightly.  However, at the same time, I am filled with this conflict in my heart.  Our family is so full right now.  I love Samantha so much.  We have settled into a pretty good routine with her over the last almost three years.  Sometimes when I think of not ever having "just Samantha" any more, I am overcome with a feeling of sadness, almost like looking back on a lost era or something like that.  I think that's a fairly normal way of feeling, just because it's true, things will never be the same again, our family will never be the same again.  And that's not a bad thing, it's just different, it's just a change, a new transition into a new way of life.  It's strange to wrap my mind around sometimes.  I know Aedan will fit right into our family.  I know that there will be challenges and adjustments that need to be made.  And, I know that he will come, sometime in the next couple weeks, our family will grow and we will welcome our new little one.  Until then, I will embrace each day to the fullest as a family of three.

Samantha says so many funny things each day, it's hard to even keep track of them all.  However, she said something particularly hilarious at dinner on Wednesday night, making both Ben and me crack up so hard.  I think we were discussing when baby Aedan will arrive, and we asked Samantha, "When you think Aedan will be born?"  She then replied in the most serious of voices, "You already asked me that question, honey.  Stop asking me questions and eat your dinner."  Where does she get these things?  I think it's hilarious when she calls us "honey" because we obviously use that term when we talk to her, and she replicating what we say.  Man, she is such a sponge.  Not much gets by her, that's for sure.  :)

On Thursday, I decided to take Samantha to an open gym play time at a local gymnastics center.  We had gone one time awhile ago, and she really enjoyed it, so I thought it would be a good activity for the morning.  It's only $4 to go and play, with lots of equipment to climb on and ways to get some good exercise.  Samantha's favorite thing that morning was hanging on the rings.  She would climb up on the mat, hang on the rings, and lift her feet up to touch the rings, doing a spider hang, just like she learned in her gymnastics class.  I was pretty proud of her strength and coordination in doing that all by herself.

Samantha took another good nap for me on Thursday, which I was surprised about.  She fell asleep right away, within ten minutes of me leaving her room.  (Except for Tuesday, she took a nap every day this week.)  I was glad because the afternoon was going to be beautiful and Daddy wanted to take her to a park to play while I gave my piano lessons.  Plus, we have our small group on Thursday nights, and it would be really hard to be out late at night if she didn't nap during the day.  We usually have a babysitter for our small group, but for some reason she didn't make it this week, so the lady that hosts our group in her home volunteered to hang out with Samantha so that both Ben and I could be a part of the small group meeting.  That was so very kind of her, and Samantha really enjoyed the one one one attention from Ms. Patty.  They read lots of books together, played with a little Easter village, and Samantha told her all about her little brother Aedan. :)

Normally, I have had my doctor appointments on Friday morning, but Dr. Crooke was out of the office this Friday and my appointment was scheduled for the following Monday instead.  So, since Samantha and I didn't have anywhere to be that day, and we had been out every other morning that week, we decided to just stay home and play so that I could clean the house, hopefully for the last time before Aedan is born.

The weather was just beautiful for all of Easter weekend, and we were so excited to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus through activities together as a family.  On Friday, Samantha took a good nap in the afternoon, allowing us the chance to spend some time outside as a family.  We played at a local park for awhile, went out to eat at Noodles and Company, and then walked around the IU campus, looking at all the pretty flowers blooming and watching the clock tower ring.  We also had a little impromptu family photo session.

After our time on campus, we went to church for the Good Friday service.  Samantha did a good job in the two year old room, even though the service started at 7:30 and went past her bedtime.  It's nice that she is at an age where we can do things like that and not worry about her, especially if she takes a nap.  It was a good service, a good way to start the celebration of our Easter weekend with a remembrance of the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf.

Then, on Saturday morning, we decided to make our first trip to our local farmer's market.  We didn't really have anything in particular that we needed, but it's great to just experience the life of Bloomington, see what special events are going on, and spend more time outside in the beautiful spring weather.

Samantha enjoys checking out more than just books at the library, and right now we have an assortment of CDs in the car to listen to as we drive around town.  Some of them we listen to so much that the songs are constantly stuck in my head.  For example, when I wake up in the middle of the night and can't sleep, Veggie Tales songs run through my head.  Like this one that Samantha affectionately calls, "The Sleepy Song."  She LOVES this song and can't wait for the CD to come back around every time so she can sing along.  We finally caught her singing on video.  Usually she sings more of the words and is a little more expressive, but this is a good example of our little girl and how much she sings on a regular basis.  I think she'll be one of those kids that can learn anything as long as it's put to music.

We had a full weekend of family Easter activities.  It's weekends like this and the wonderful memories that are made, that I live for, and in some ways I was glad that Aedan decided not to show up yet so that I could enjoy this time with my wonderful family.

On Saturday afternoon we dyed Easter eggs, and Samantha had a good time coloring on the eggs with the "magic" crayon and placing them in the colored water.  The hardest part was waiting for them to dry so that she could decorate them with stickers.

While we were waiting for the eggs to dry, we took a break to draw pictures on her white board.  It is so interesting to see the progression of her artistic skills.  Her coloring and drawing used to be more scribbles than anything recognizable; however, she is now drawing objects with faces and I may be biased, but I think they look pretty good.  This is Samantha's drawing of a grumpy face.  You can see the big circle with two eyes, a nose, and a frowny face.  As she was drawing she said it looked like a whale, a grumpy whale.  I think I would agree with that assessment. :)

After eating lunch, the eggs were dry and ready to be filled with stickers.  She was having fun picking stickers out, but she was getting pretty tired, was having a hard time concentrating, and kept dropping the eggs on the table, cracking a couple of them.  It was at that point we decided to take a break with egg decorating and get ready for nap time instead.

Even though Samantha was acting extremely tired on Saturday afternoon, nap time was not happening.  She preferred to just talk and play in her bed instead.  But really, I'm not going to complain because she naps more often than not these days, and it's easier to get her to sleep now since we aren't having to sit in her room or try to coerce her into napping.  I'm glad we decided not to completely give up the idea of nap time back a couple months ago.  Maybe it was just a stage where she was refusing to nap for awhile, because now it seems to be less of an issue, which I am very grateful for.

After we got her from her room, we decided it was time for our little Easter egg hunt.  Daddy hid the eggs in the patio and grass area behind our apartment.  Samantha, of course, was very interested in what was inside each one of them, so it took some convincing to get her not to open each one up, even though they all had the same candy inside.  Also, they were outside just long enough that the chocolate had started to melt and was pretty mushy.  We don't have a lot of candy or sweets around our home very often, so this chocolate was really a special treat for Samantha.

After finding all twelve eggs, we decided to go inside, eat some chocolate that wasn't melted inside the plastic eggs, and try a hard boiled egg for a snack.  Last year when we made Easter eggs, we had Samantha try one and she was not a fan.  This year, however, she really liked them, especially the fact that she could shake salt on it by herself.  She actually ended up eating two hard boiled eggs!

We then took a few belly shot pictures.  It's always good to remember how big you are towards the end of your pregnancy.  Sometimes it's hard to know really how big you get when you live with it every day, and it grows gradually over time.  Everyone says that I look good, that I'm all baby, and I appreciate those comments, even though sometimes it doesn't feel that way.  I am getting pretty uncomfortable in my body lately.  It's harder for me to do normal, daily activities.  It's harder for me to sit or lay down comfortably, and my stretching skin seems impossible to stretch any further.  But, I guess that's what happens when you are 39 1/2 weeks pregnant. :)

That night, before dinner, Samantha and I went outside to play while Daddy got some work done.  We went down by the swings and jungle gym in our apartment complex.  We wandered around in the grass, and Samantha rolled down the hill a couple times.  Ahh, the joys of springtime!  There's just no reason to stay inside when the weather is this gorgeous.  We're going to take advantage of it as much as we can!

Each day comes and goes with no further symptoms of labor starting, and I was excited to celebrate Easter on Sunday.  I put together a very simple Easter basket for Samantha that contained a chocolate bunny, a bag of chocolate eggs, and a Cadbury egg, along with the movie Frozen and a cross necklace of mine from when I was a little girl.  Here are some pictures and a video of Samantha's reaction when she saw her Easter basket, particularly when she saw that the movie Frozen was in her basket.  Like most girls her age, she LOVES this movie and the music, even though she has only seen it once.

She was so excited, she almost didn't want to touch it.  And, we had to explain to her that it was her very own movie, that she could keep it forever, and we didn't have to return it to the library, like all the other movies she's watched in her lifetime.  We told her that we were going to our friends' house for lunch and that if she was respectful while we were eating, she could watch the movie at their house.

Here is Samantha with her very favorite present.  She didn't want to put it down!

Our next activity for the morning was making Resurrection Rolls.  I found the recipe that someone posted on Facebook and thought that would be a really great way to tell the Easter story in a meaningful way that Samantha would understand.  After all, that's what Easter is all about, right?  Jesus' resurrection from the dead, not silly Easter egg hunts and Easter baskets.  Samantha really enjoyed participating with us in this.  Here's the recipe/instructions we used:

Ingredients needed:
Crescent rolls
Melted butter
Large Marshmallows
Cinnamon
Sugar
Preheat Oven to 350 degrees
Give each child one triangle of crescent rolls.
Explain that he crescent roll represents the cloth that Jesus was wrapped in.
Read Matthew 27: 57-61

1. Give each child a marshmallow.
This represents Jesus.

2. Have him/her dip the marshmallow in melted butter.
This represents the oils of embalming.

3. Now dip the buttered marshmallow in the cinnamon and sugar.
This represents the spices used to anoint the body.

4. Then wrap up the coated marshmallow tightly in the crescent roll (not like a typical crescent roll up, but bring the sides up and seal the marshmallow inside.)
This represents the wrapping of Jesus' body after death.

5. Place all in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.
The oven represents the tomb--while you are waiting for the rolls to bake, read Matthew 27:62-66.

6. Remove rolls from oven and let them cool slightly.
Now the children can then open their rolls (cloths) and discover that Jesus is no longer there! HE IS RISEN!!!!
(The marshmallow melts and the crescent roll is puffed up, but empty.)

~ Now read Matthew 28:1-10

Samantha enjoyed dipping the marshmallows in the butter and then rolling them in the sugar and cinnamon mixtures.  Then, she would place it on the crescent roll, and Daddy would wrap it up and seal the dough.

And here was our finished result.  Samantha was amazed when she looked inside the roll and did not see the marshmallow anymore.  She exclaimed, "Where did it go?"  It was the perfect segue way to explain the miracle of Jesus, that He died and was buried, but then He was no longer in the tomb, He had come back to life and offers that eternal life to all who believe and trust in Him. It is such an honor to be able to teach these Bible truths to our little girl.

After our fun morning together, it was time to head to church for the Easter service.  ECC always does a wonderful job with their Christmas and Easter services.  It is one of the two times a year that they all out decorate, and the church looks just beautiful.  We have a special worship service with jubilant singing, instruments playing loud, joyful music, and bright, blooming Easter lilies adorning the stage.  This year, we gave money for one of these lilies to be dedicated in memory of our miscarried baby, who we lost at Easter time last year.  Easter was earlier in March rather than April, but the celebration of Easter will always bring to our minds that loss of life, the pain and the sorrow, but also the joyous remembrance that our baby's little body is resurrected with God, just as Jesus was resurrected, so that all who believe in Him may have the assurance of eternal life.  What a reason to celebrate!

Here is our family Easter picture that a church member graciously took for us on Easter Sunday.  Who knows, this could be our very last picture as a family of three!

Easter 2014

And here's a flashback of Samantha's previous two Easters:

Easter 2013

Easter 2012

After the Easter service, since Ben didn't have his ACG that day, we just headed back home.  We were invited over to our friends' house, the Helds, for Easter lunch at 1:00, and Samantha was pretty tired, so we decided to try and get Samantha to take a nap before we went over to their house.  This was not very typical, especially since we never put her down for a nap before we eat lunch, but we figured it was worth a try.  She played and talked for a little while, but then fell asleep a little before noon.  We were so glad that she allowed herself to calm down and go to sleep.  Even napping for an hour would give her enough of an energy boost to get her through the afternoon.  We actually ended up having to go in and wake her up around 1:00 so that we could get to the Helds' house at a decent time.  Here she is all curled up and cozy in her bed:

Lunch went really well, and Samantha did a good job being respectful while we were eating.  Daddy and Josh took Samantha outside to play on the playground for a little while after lunch while Meagan, James, and I stayed inside to talk.  After playing for a little while, Samantha, Daddy, and Josh came back inside, and Samantha was ready to watch the Frozen movie.  We got Daddy's computer set up in the dining room area, and got Samantha situated on a pillow so she could watch her special Easter present.  Samantha thought it was pretty great, and it worked out well for us, too, because it kept her occupied and engaged in something so that the adults could sit and have a conversation.  Samantha was allowed to watch the WHOLE movie, which we rarely let her do in one sitting, but this was a special occasion.  Soon after the movie was over, Samantha started getting a little bored and fidgety, so we took that as our cue to leave.  We had a great afternoon and were so thankful to be invited over for Easter.  When they first invited us a couple weeks back, I wasn't sure if we would be able to make it, depending on when Aedan would arrive, so it was nice to be able to get to know new friends and have a delicious meal that I didn't have to make.  It was truly a blessing to our family.

Samantha: 34 Months, Week 4 {Sickness in the Family, Planting a Garden, Another ER Visit}

After a busy weekend of having my parents visiting from Chicago and Ben being out of town for a few days, I certainly felt the effects of that once Monday morning rolled around.  I woke up feeling very sick with diarrhea and nausea.  As soon as I got out of bed, I felt like I had to just climb right back in.  So, I went back to sleep, and luckily Ben was able to stay home to take care of Samantha, taking her to gymnastics so that I could rest.  I got up around 10:30, took a bath, and tried to eat some food, but nothing sounded or tasted good.  When Ben got back with Samantha from gymnastics, we discussed how we thought my symptoms might be early labor symptoms.  A lot of those things can happen at the beginning of labor, at least according to everything we looked up on the internet, so we were bracing ourselves for the possible birth of Aedan sometime soon.  However, I just continued to feel crummy the rest of the day.  I cancelled my piano lessons for the afternoon so that I could sleep and rest.  Ben went to campus just for class, so I put Samantha to bed for her nap, and that was about all I could handle.  I had no energy and felt really cold, like I had the chills.  Luckily, Samantha was equally exhausted from our weekend and actually fell asleep with me in the room, so then I was able to go right back to bed and nap myself.  Daddy got back a little after Samantha woke up at 3:25, and he lovingly made a grocery list and took Samantha shopping while I went back upstairs to sleep.  Then, he even took her out to Chipotle for dinner to give me more time to myself, especially because I still wasn't interested in eating much of anything.  I have a wonderful, caring, sensitive husband, and I am so lucky that his schedule is flexible enough to allow him to stay home with our daughter for the day.

We had a meeting scheduled with our doula, Kate, that night, and it was great to get together with her again.  We discussed comfort measures to use during labor, as well as the possibility that I could be experiencing early labor symptoms.  Kate encouraged me to make sure I am packed just in case this is the beginning, and we have to head to the hospital soon.  So, even though I still didn't feel well, I stayed up finishing up my typed directions for people that help take care of Samantha while we are in the hospital, finished up my hospital paper work, and packed my hospital bag, just in case.

I went to bed Monday night not sure what I thought.  I had developed a fever throughout the night and wasn't sure if I was up for watching Sadie on Tuesday.  I felt a little bit ready for Aedan's arrival, but still had some things on my to do list that hadn't been checked off.  I have to admit, if he had decided to arrive that early, it would have caught me off guard a bit.

I woke up feeling a little better in the morning.  I did not feel nauseous anymore, just pretty lethargic and tired still, but I decided that I was still up for watching Sadie, especially because I only had two days left with her.  However, Ben woke up not feeling well, so we were then wondering if it was a virus that I had passed on to him, especially since I had developed a fever.  Samantha, Sadie, and I followed our normal routine of going to the library while Ben slept in that morning.  He went to campus for a little while to get some work done, but came home early, not feeling well himself.  

Samantha did not take a nap that afternoon, but I didn't care too much and ended up just turning off the monitor so that I could take a nap myself.  It's been kind of freeing lately because Ben and I talked about these nap time issues, making a couple decisions to help with how we deal with Samantha's nap time.  Our first decision was that we are not going to take blankie away at nap time anymore.  We decided to save blankie just for use at nighttime, so that it is special then, and not linking it to whether or not she takes a nap.  She was playing with it too much at nap time, but we were tired of playing the game with her of taking it away when she played.  Our other decision was about whether or not nap time should be replaced with quiet time and an earlier bedtime because it had been taking a lot longer for her to fall asleep at night lately.  We decided we would continue to put her down for a nap like normal, not telling her that it's quiet time because then she instantly would get out of bed and play.  We will still sit in her room for about five minutes after reading to her, singing and praying with her, but then we will leave and what happens, happens.  If she's being abnormally loud or disrespectful, we will go back up and remind her to lay down and take a nap, but after that we will just let it go.  The reason I say this is freeing is because I'm no longer worried about trying to force her to nap.  I no longer feel like I have to go up there and threaten to take her blankie away or get upset about her not napping.  If she doesn't nap, I just know that she will go to bed earlier that night, and that's okay with me.  I feel a lot less pressure on me, and that's good.  I think we are coming to a good place with Samantha and nap time before Aedan arrives, and I'm pleased.

Here's another funny story from Tuesday.  Samantha was going to the restroom, and we started talking about how Aedan would arrive soon.  Samantha asked, "How will he get out, like through a tunnel or something?"  It's funny to hear the way she is thinking about Aedan's birth and the way her mind is attempting to understand the process.

Tuesday night, since she took a long time to fall asleep on Monday night and didn't take a nap on Tuesday, she was pretty cranky.  Daddy still wasn't feeling well, so he laid down in bed while I gave Samantha a bath and tried to get her in bed early.  She was very tired and went to sleep much better than normal, falling asleep by 8:15, 10 minutes after I left her room.  That's the one benefit of her not taking an afternoon nap, she goes to sleep much faster at night.

Wednesday I was feeling pretty much back to normal, and it was my last day watching Sadie.  Samantha was being really cute with Sadie, helped me feed her snacks, played with her, made her laugh, and wanted me to show her how to change her doll's diaper just like I change Sadie's diaper.  It was kind of surreal that this was our last day with Sadie.  She has just been such a natural part of our routine, a highlight of Samantha's week, and she will be missed.

Again, Samantha did not take a nap that afternoon, but she was really quiet in her room for two hours, making me think even more about this being the actual transition to no napping.  She wasn't cranky at all and did a much better job going to sleep for us that night, especially since she had been taking a long time to fall asleep lately, like sometimes after 9 or close to 10, which is much too late for a little girl that wakes up like clockwork at 7:00 every morning.

After Daddy got home Wednesday night and had dinner with us, he decided he really wasn't feeling well, and that it wasn't really a virus like what I had, but rather pain in his lower abdomen, like another diverticulitis attack again.  So, he headed out quickly to the walk-in clinic where a doctor checked him and ran blood work, prescribing antibiotics and sending him on his way.  We were really hoping to avoid any more attacks because he has been doing so well for such a long time.  He had the small flare up after our trip to New Orleans for the conference, but the antibiotics nipped it in the bud fairly quickly, and he hasn't had any trouble or pain since then.  We were hoping this episode would be similar, that we had caught it quickly enough that Ben could recover quickly. 

As soon as Ben was done at the doctor's, he was put in charge of Samantha so that I could go out with my friends, Andrea and Michelle, to get pedicures.  It was a nice, relaxing evening with friends, and it was especially nice to have my feet pampered when I have reached the stage where I can't see my feet, let alone reach them.

Thursday we had a pretty fun day.  We had REST Stop in the morning, and Samantha got a real treat, she got a big bag of dress up clothes from a fellow mom with two little girls that outgrew all their clothes.  Samantha was SO excited and couldn't wait to get home, look through the bag, and try them all on.  Her favorites were a Snow White dress and a purple dress that looked like it would be fit for Rapunzel.  As you can tell from this picture and the mess she made in her play area, she was having quite the fun morning of play!

In fact, at nap time Samantha fell asleep around 2:00 with me sitting in the room with her.  I guess that's what you get when she goes two days in a row with no nap.  I'll take that, even if she naps on again, off again.  We were particularly excited about her napping because the weather was beautiful, and Daddy wanted to take Samantha to play outside while I gave my piano lessons.

Friday was the beginning of a couple really fun days of family activities.  Ben seemed to be feeling much better.  I had my doctor's appointment in the morning, which went well.  I am now at 38 weeks, Aedan's heartbeat is strong, and he is still head down in the correct position.  We talked a little bit with my doctor about wanting to avoid having my water broken, to avoid being induced, and anything else of that sort that is not medically necessary.  He seemed open to whatever I wanted to do, which I appreciated.

The rest of Friday we spent hanging out together as a family.  We walked around campus, enjoying the beautiful weather.  Samantha wanted her picture taken by the "doughnut" as we call it.  She even found a toad asleep in the mud underneath it!

The fountain was turned back on again, she found a daffodil on the ground, the sun was shining, and the weather was warm.  What could be better?

When we got back home, Samantha helped me clean some toys for Aedan.  She was a wonderful helper, carefully swishing around the water, wiping each one clean, and then laying them on the towel to dry.  I thought about just doing this job on my own after she was asleep because I wasn't sure how helpful she would actually be, but I'm glad I gave her a chance.  She really enjoys cleaning things and she really enjoys doing helpful jobs as well, especially when they involve getting to play in soapy water. :)

Samantha took another good nap that afternoon, which made me laugh because just when I was assuming nap time was a thing of the past, she took two days in a row of good naps, without fighting or much work on our part.  When she woke up from her nap, we made the most of our day of gorgeous weather, hitting up a local park before coming home for dinner.

Reading has always been a favorite activity for Samantha and lately, there are some books, particularly this Rapunzel book, that she knows by heart.  She knows every word in the whole book and can read it pretty much all by herself.  Here is a video of Samantha reading her book.  It's pretty cute and is one step closer to her actually reading on her own some day.

On Saturday we had another fun day planned.  Upland Grandpa and Grandma came down to Bloomington a little after 10:00 so that they could hang out with Samantha for the day while Ben and I went out for an early birthday celebration.  We decided to drive up to Greenwood, since it's in my one hour cone of traveling distance, and go out to eat at the Cheesecake Factory.  Who knows the next time we will be able to go out to a nice restaurant together without children, and who knows what will be going on on Ben's actual birthday, so it was a nice excuse to get away for awhile for a date together.

While we were gone, Grandpa and Grandma took Samantha to a couple stores to get the supplies to build her/us a little garden back behind our apartment.  They even let her pick out her own shovel and watering can.  She chose ones that were pink Minnie Mouse.  Ben and I got home mid-afternoon while Samantha was still napping.  Grandpa had already built the wooden frame for the garden, and Grandma was digging out the grass so that the frame could be filled with dirt and ready for Samantha to plant her seeds when she woke up.

It was a beautiful day outside, with weather in the upper 70s.  After a light dinner of Samantha's favorite salad, pecan crusted chicken salad with mandarin oranges and Craisins, Samantha went outside to see her garden and dig in the dirt.  I thought it was hilarious that she was digging in the dirt with a pink frilly skirt, a pink princess shirt, pink Crocs, and her pink Minnie Mouse shovel.  I think that's about the girliest you can get while digging in the dirt. :)

She loved playing in the dirt though, getting dirty did not bother her one bit.  In fact, we had to keep reminding her not to fling the dirt up into the air and to try to keep it in the garden.

Once Grandma had the dirt prepared and dug out a row for planting the seeds, Samantha was able to choose which seeds to plant.  We had radish seeds, carrot seeds, lettuce seeds, and one other kind that I can't remember at the moment.  Like most little kids, the idea of spreading seeds out along the entire row is difficult, so most of Samantha's seeds got plopped in one place, but then we would help her spread them out down the row.

She also enjoyed picking out the popsicle sticks to mark where the seeds were that we planted and which seed was what kind.  We started off with just this one row, and then come the middle of May, Grandma said that we can plant more plants once we know for sure that the cold weather and possible frost is over.  Samantha was so excited and so proud of her little garden.  She can't wait to help water it with her little Minnie Mouse watering can, and she will be ecstatic once the first plants start to grow up from beneath the dirt.  Now, if I can just do a good job of helping her take care of the plants.  I am not the best at keeping plants alive.  I never seem to know how much to water things and am always overwatering or underwatering, leading to their ultimate demise.  This can be a learning process for both Samantha and me!

Grandpa and Grandma left on Saturday night, and Sunday was another day with wonderful weather.  Monday was forecasted to be rainy and temperatures were going to fall throughout the day, so we knew we had to take advantage of the beautiful weather.  We had church and our ACG in the morning, went out to lunch at Fazoli's, and then Ben went out to an IU baseball game with some friends from the political science department.  Samantha and I came back home, and I put her down for a nap.  She fell asleep shortly after I left the room, without me having to go back in and say anything to her, thus being four days in a row that she has taken a nap.  

When Daddy got back home, he started to not feel very well again, like his diverticulitis pain was flaring back up again.  He tried to rest, but didn't feel much like eating.  Samantha and I just had a quick dinner, and then we decided to go play at a park for the remainder of the evening, until it was bath time and bed time.  Daddy decided to come with us to the park, even though he wasn't feeling very well.  We went to the Lower Cascades Park, which I think is Samantha's favorite park in Bloomington.  She enjoyed climbing up and going down the tall, twisty slides.  She enjoyed the smaller playground that is designed more for kids her age.  They also have plenty of smaller swings that she can get on by herself, as well as a little pretend house.  Here are some cute pictures and a video of our time at the park:

After returning home from the park, Daddy really was not feeling well, so he went to lay down while I gave Samantha a bath and put her to bed.  I was getting very concerned about him, especially since he had been on antibiotics since Wednesday night, and if anything, he felt worse than he did on Wednesday.  He came downstairs shortly after I got Samantha into bed, but he could hardly sit, let alone walk around without being in severe pain, so he decided that he should probably go to the ER to get things checked out.  We are very cautious about this severe pain because we don't want something to rupture and cause him to have emergency surgery.  Obviously, we'd like to avoid that whole process.  Ben was just going to drive himself, but he was in so much pain, that I didn't think he could/should do it.  However, Samantha was asleep, and we weren't about to wake her up, to drag her in the car to the hospital.  So, I decided that I would just take Ben to the ER really quick and come right back.  The hospital is literally five minutes down the road, so I was only gone for about ten minutes total, and Samantha was quietly tucked into her bed.  I didn't really want to leave Ben at the hospital alone, but I had to get back home to be with Samantha.  I told him to text me with any updates about how he was feeling or what the doctor said to him.  At about 10:00, he was back in a room, but he said they were really busy so it would probably be awhile before a doctor would see him.  Around 11:10 they ordered a CT scan, so we knew it would be a late night.  I let Ben's parents know what was going on with him, and they offered to come down to be with me and help us out, but I told them it was probably okay, that I was fine, unless for some reason they found perforation that they would have to deal with or if they had to do emergency surgery or something like that.  I have to admit though, it was a bit worrisome to have my husband in the ER, my daughter sleeping, and to be home alone while I was 38 1/2 weeks pregnant.

I finally went to sleep around midnight, with my phone by my bed for when I heard anything from Ben.  Around 1:00 they finally gave him some pain medicine, and he said he would be going to the scan soon.  Sometimes it seems like the ER takes forever, going three hours from when they order a scan to when it was actually completed.  Then, at 3:50 am he called me saying he was discharged and I could come pick him up.  The CT scan basically confirmed this inflammation of the diverticulum, but as far as they could tell, they weren't perforated at all, which is good, because that is what we were afraid happened due to the severe pain he was experiencing.  They basically said it's just one of those things that he is always going to have to deal with, and when something irritates his colon, it's going to be way worse for him due to his previous experience with diverticulitis.  They prescribed him some pain medication, but really couldn't do anything else for him except for encourage him to continue taking his antibiotics and to try contacting his doctor to see if they want to see him at all due to the severity of this attack.  I will write more on this as we continue into the next week's post, but I just want him to feel better soon.  I hate seeing Ben in pain, and I hate seeing how much diverticulitis wipes him out for several days a time.  Especially with Aedan arriving soon, we all need to be in as good of health as possible.  I pray for a quick recovery for Ben, and that he will be able to avoid another diverticulitis attack for a long time.