4:28am

So I rolled over this morning and looked at the alarm clock - it read 4:28am - I haven't slept since then. Weird that today is 4/28 as well - I'll take that as a "good luck sign" that everything is going to go just great today! It is also weird that today will be the last time I ever feel a baby moving in my stomach - this baby making factory is officially closed. This will be our last ever trip to the hospital to deliver a baby, my last pregnancy belly, my last few hours of all the "joys" (everyone who has ever been pregnant knows what I'm talking about here) of pregnancy - so much to think about, no wonder I can't sleep. Trav and the kids should be getting up soon. Once that happens the day will just fly by - no more time to sit and think about everything, time to "just do it." Roughly 3 and 1/2 hours until we meet our new baby girl!! (She is moving around a lot right now, must be trying to help me pass the time - what a little sweetie).

Ready

Ready to be a big brother times two and a first time big sister - can't believe the big day is tomorrow!

Two more sleeps

Whenever Ryan's preschool class has a big event they are waiting for, they count down by using the number of "sleeps" before the big day. With that in mind, we've kept up the trend and have been counting down the days until Baby Quast's arrival - I can hardly believe it is just 2 more sleeps! I had my final doctor appointment this morning and the babe still sounds great. She is however losing her space to move around. She keeps growing while I seemed to have stopped. I am measuring at 37 weeks instead of the 39 I should be. But, have no fear, this is just the way it works with me. The babe (like Ryan and Lauren in the past) will probably still come out a good sized baby, but my body (height is a bonus when preggers) doesn't seem to expand as much as it is supposed to - not a bad problem to have as long as it doesn't hurt the babe (luckily she has a lot of room height wise to makeup for the loss of width).

Everyday since last Wednesday has been a countdown of our "finals." We had our final Wednesday night as a family of four, our final swimming lesson as a family of four, our final meal in a restaurant as a family of four (actually, this will probably our last meal out for a long time period) - pretty much anything you can think of, I've said it is our "last" or "final" - that will all come to an end soon. With the big day inching ever so close, I have been on a mission to get things done around the house. As of tonight pretty much all the big stuff is done, but amazingly I still have a rather long to do list for tomorrow . . . wash the bedding, do final load of laundry, grocery shopping, vacuum and wash floors, pack bag for hospital - some people call this "nesting", to me it just has to be done or I'll go crazy. On top of that, I want to spend more quality time with the kids before their world as they know it is turned upside down. Luckily I've been pretty relaxed (relaxed by my standards at least) and have been able to enjoy these "final" few days. Having had had a previous c-section, I am no where near as nervous as I was with Lauren's birth. I know I'm in good hands with my doctor and am comforted knowing that the kids will be in good hands as well (thanks Mom for watching them) while Trav and I are taking care of business. I'm so excited for Ryan and Lauren to meet their new baby sister and to see how they adjust to having her around (hoping for the best on this). I'm also excited to see what this new little lady will look like. Some part of me thinks she'll come out looking like Ryan while the other part thinks she'll take after her big sister - whatever she looks like, I'll just be thrilled to finally meet her!

Time to wrap up for the night and get some good sleep in before the sleepless nights begin!

Sleepover

So last night we getting the kids ready for bed when Ryan asked if we could have a "family read" in his room. Of course we agreed (a "family read" is where all of us read stories together in one bed before going to sleep versus taking each kid into their separate bedrooms to read). When the books were done, the kids started acting goofy (jumping, wrestling and so on) and pretty soon they were both laying under the covers in Ryan's bed. So Ryan turns to Lauren and says, "do you want to sleep in my bed with me?" She of course answered "YES" with a huge smile on her face. Being the nice big brother he is, he even offered two of his "peeps" (stuffed animals/characters) to his little sister for cuddling purposes (she got Spider Man and Henry, he kept Dalmatians and Boog). Once they were all settled, Trav and I tucked them in and waited for what I assumed would be Lauren's escape. To my surprise, an hour later, I heard no talking and no moving so I went in to check on them and this is what I saw . . .Looks like fun doesn't it! Seeing them sleeping like that reminded me of why I try to avoid sharing a bed with them at all costs. For starters, you can always guarantee some body part (usually a foot or leg) will end up in your chest or face region. And by the time you wake up, you'll be surrounded by stuffed things, or as evidenced in Lauren's case, covered up by one. And finally, you can bet that most of the covers will have been kicked to the side. After all, blankets are made for kicking aren't they? But who am I to complain? Apparently the two of them have no problems with this particular "sleeping style" so if it works, we'll just leave it alone.

MN Landscape Arboretum

Ash and I took the kids to the MN Landscape Arboretum today and it was an absolutely perfect day! The weather was great (in the 70's with lots of sun), and the kids really enjoyed seeing, smelling, and touching all the flowers. The kids and I have been there a few times in the past so we checked out some of our old favorites first then ventured off into some new areas. The highlights would definitely have to be the beautiful (and huge) tulips, the waterfall, and the pond with geese - all very fun (and pretty) things to see. Here are just some of the many pictures from the day. If you haven't been there and live in the area, it is definitely a place you'll want to check out - it's great for kids and adults as well (plus it is a great way to burn off some energy)! After 3 and a 1/2 hours at the arboretum, we were all ready to sit down for a while and relax. And everyone knows the best place to do that on a hot day is the Dairy Queen - so that is where we headed. With our tummies full of ice cream and our layers of sunblock wearing off, we were finally ready to call it a day. The kids and I packed up the van and Ash headed off in her car - another successful adventure in the books!

We love the "Y"

The kids and I went to the YMCA on Thursday (which we do pretty much every Thursday), and to our surprise, it was "Member Appreciation Day." Heading into the Y, I wasn't really sure what that meant, but by the time we left three hours later, we found out. First up, the kids were off to "Kids Stuff" play area while I went and did my one hour walk. When I finished up and got down to pick up the kids, Ryan was super excited to get out. He kept saying, "we have to find the "Y" guy, we have to find the "Y" guy." Not sure what that meant, one of the teachers stepped in and told me that the kids were able to go search around the Y trying to find a hidden picture of the "Y" guy. If they did find one of the pictures, they could take it to the front desk and claim their prize, a free t-shirt. So off we went to find some hidden pictures and within minutes, both kids had one and we were on our way to get their t-shirts. Ryan chose orange, Lauren opted for blue - check them out in their matching gear!After the free t-shirts, we were invited to stay for a free lunch of hot dogs, chips, fruit and lemonade. The kids thought this was great and I had to agree - why pass up a free meal. So we sat down and chatted with other members and their families while we had our lunch. To top off the event, Ryan was asked to pose for a couple pictures for the Y's website - he of course was more than willing to participate.

In other YMCA news, Ryan passed his first set of swimming lessons on Wednesday. This Wednesday he will start his new lessons as a Pike 2. It is pretty amazing how much more comfortable he has gotten over the past 7 weeks. Maybe he'll actually do some swimming on his own this summer - we'll see.

Old friends and exciting news

We've been busy lately catching up with old friends, hanging out with family, and getting ready for the babe! Let's start with this past weekend . . . I had a wedding shower for an old high school friend and Uncle Mike was back home from California so we all packed up and headed to St. Peter for some fun. The guys pretty much spent the weekend golfing while Mom, Ash and I kept the kids entertained. I also managed to sneak in some time to see an old friend who recently had twin boys - talk about cute! Two babies at once - it is hard to imagine until you actually see it. Luckily Kami (the mommy) seems to be handling it like an old pro. After visiting the babies, I got all gussied up (as much as possible at this point) and headed out to the shower. It was great to catch up with all the girls again and find out what's been going on lately. Here is a quick picture that Ash snapped of the kids and I. Do you see my belly button popping out - guess that means the turkey is ready - time to get that baby out!After a fun weekend in St. Peter, we headed back home and got right back into the swing of things. Bright and early on Monday morning I had my 37 week doctor appointment. After lots of questions and answers with my doctor, and more discussion with Travis, we decided it was best that I have a repeat c-section with this baby. It wasn't an easy decision, but when all things were considered, it was the best decision for us, the babe, and the kids. So, (here is the exciting part) we scheduled the c-section for April 28th - yay! That means two weeks form now we'll be welcoming our baby girl into the world - it is almost hard to believe the big day is almost here! We've told the kids that the baby will be here very soon - their (or Ryan's) response - "okay, do I still get to go to Brayden's birthday party?" Apparently having a baby doesn't compare to attending a "Super Hero" themed birthday party - at least not when you are a 4 year old boy.

We followed up our exciting day on Monday with a fun night Tuesday. Troy, Nicole, Baby Everett, Grandpa Doug, and Grandma Connie all came over for dinner and a visit. It was very exciting to see Baby Everett again because it has been almost two months since our last visit (which was when he only about a week old). The kids each took their turn holding the little guy then spent the rest of the night taking turns entertaining everyone. Here are some pictures, and no, Everett does not have white eyes, but that is what happened when I tried to do the "red eye correction." And now I'll play a little catch up. Here are some pictures from the night we dyed Easter eggs at Ash's place, and then one on the morning of the big hunt - the kids loved it!