Ready for Baby

In just four days we will be Mom and Dad! I have begun my maternity leave a couple of days early due to my swollen hands and feet and the general discomfort that comes from being 9 months pregnant and chasing elementary school children around all day. I am glad to have the next few days to enjoy some quiet time and get ready for our new arrival! The nursery is just about ready. It is so cozy and cute!

The biggest thing on our "To Do" list is to choose a name! We are down to Andrew Phillip Shenk and Tucker Phillip Shenk. We each like both of these names, but neither of us want to make the final decision! I think we may just have to see which suits him best when we finally meet him on Monday! Click on "Comments" at the end of this post to cast your vote! Hope you enjoy these pics of the nursery!

Clueless

Here is our first "baby", Shelby. She is blissfully unaware of what is about the happen to her peaceful domain. Little does she know that a small bundle of bouncing baby joy is about to invade her world - and she will no longer be the center of attention! Of course, it won't be long before she will be enjoying bits of food dropped on the floor and a string of toys on the floor to adopt as her own.

In fact, it looks like it will happen sooner than we thought! An ultrasound today showed our healthy baby boy in a breech position! The doctor doesn't think there is much chance that he will turn himself around in the next week or two, so he decided the best thing for us to do was to schedule a c-section. Our baby will be delivered on Monday, April 30 at 10:00 a.m. That means I have one more week of work and less than two weeks left of pregnancy! Hooray!! My swollen feet are rejoicing! Of course, things could still change - he might decide to come before that, but as of now we have exactly 10 days to decide on a name for our little guy! Keep us in your thoughts and prayers!

Showers of Love

Here are some pictures of the baby shower my Mom and my sisters threw for me at the end of March. About thirty aunts, cousins, nieces, and nephews came from out of town to help us welcome our baby - and what a welcome he received! It sounds like a cliche, I guess, but really - how can one little person need so much STUFF? We have clothes and diapers and shampoos and lotions and blankets and bottles...well, I don't need to go on. All of this in addition to the shower the girls at work had for us AND the shower my friend Danielle threw for us at church, you would think we will never need another diaper or wipe...but alas, I know that won't be true!

I have been laughing at myself lately as a I catch myself performing trivial tasks in an effort to be ready for the arrival of this little one. Must sterilize bottles! Must wash ALL clothes! Must pack a bag and sit it with the car seat RIGHT next to the door...Okay, go ahead and laugh at me, you seasoned mothers. Then scroll right down to the bottom of this post and click on "Add Comment" so you can tell me how to really be ready! Actually, I really am aware that no matter how organized the closet is, or how cute the nursery looks, or how many diapers I have stocked up; I will never truly be ready for this bundle of joy to arrive into our lives. But it is lots of fun trying!