Editor's Note:

As I wrote my last post and discussed our most recent doctor visit, I neglected to mention the wonderful, fantastic, kind, and handsome babysitter who stayed with Davis while we had our ultrasound.  I don't know how in the world I could have forgotten to thank the man who played outside with my son, digging for worms and shooting basketball, so that we could have a peaceful and pleasant ultrasound experience.

Many thanks to the person who so graciously cared for our little boy last Friday morning.  We hope he knows how much we appreciated it...

Rach,
All that discussion about the doctor's visit, and not a single word about the baby sitter!
Love you,Dad 

Large and In Charge

I'm 35 weeks pregnant as of today.  Last week I had to have an additional ultrasound performed as I was said to be "measuring large".  Deja vu all over again.  I told the doctor, "This is exactly what happened with my first pregnancy."  Yet, he insisted that I have the ultrasound done anyway, "just to be sure everything was ok."  I stopped myself from pressing him further (because I guess I figured it was better to err on the side of caution), but I really didn't see the point in going to another doctor's appointment to see how big the baby was when I already had a c-section scheduled.  I mean, what difference does it make at this point?  I'm not going to have to push the baby out, and since we knew the heartbeat was good and strong, I just really didn't understand why this was necessary.  (My one major gripe about my OB practice is that I feel like everyone gets the same care, tests, procedures, etc. and it's not a very personalized/individualized experience.  IF we decide to have another baby, I think we will find somewhere else to go.  This practice did help me to have a healthy baby boy, though, so that is definitely the most important thing.)  We went and had the ultrasound last Friday and GUESS WHAT...we're having a big baby!  We were told that he is already 6 pounds, 6 ounces and is in the 89th percentile for size.  It looks like we're on track to have another Davis-sized boy come May 17.  Again, thank the Lord for another healthy boy on the way!  Oh, and the ultrasound technician seemed to think this baby has a ton of hair, so we will see in approximately four weeks...

On Sunday, we had a get-together with my oldest girlfriends and their husbands/boyfriends.  They came over to our house (from Charlotte, Thomasville, Greensboro, and Greenville--we have really spread out from Wilson!) and we ate and talked all afternoon.  It was wonderful, and I'm so glad we all still keep in touch and are a part of each other's lives.

I'm the only one who is actually pregnant; Davis' massive collection of balls came in handy for this photo :)

Easter

Davis' Easter Bunny loot

"Score!"

"Will you check out all these eggs?!?"

"Must.  Find.  Egg."

This is when Davis discovered there were treats inside the eggs.

"If I kiss you, can I eat some more candy?"

While the Cat's Away...

Derek left very early Thursday morning to be in a wedding in California, so Davis and I have been partyin' it up!  On Thursday we went to NC State's annual Farm Animal Days event, where we got to see farm animals and tractors up close and personal.  Davis loved it and now I think we are going to need to live on a farm one day.  Hey, if we hit the $500 million jackpot, we might just be able to make that happen!

Rabbits are AWESOME!

Davis kept saying, "See cow," all day after we came home.

He liked this one because it looked like the Chick-Fil-A cow, I think.

The only animal I could get him to touch, a baby goat.  I wish we had one of these at home!

Today, we picked up my friend Elizabeth ("Biz-a-beh") and went to the Life and Science Museum in Durham for the first time.  I've been wanting to take Davis for a long time, and he had such a good time.  After four hours, I had to convince him to leave because I was getting tired.  I didn't take nearly as many pictures as I wanted, as I'm dealing with a (quickly) moving target, but I think I caught a few highlights.

The butterfly area was definitely one of the best parts of the museum trip...for us, not for the butterflies.  Davis grabbed a butterfly by the wing before I could stop him.  I had to pry his little fingers open to get him to release the poor thing.  Fortunately the butterfly flew off (to live happily ever after, I'm sure).  Who would have thunk a 21-month-old could be so quick?

Checking out the duck 

Too cool for school

More farm animals!

Elizabeth couldn't resist touching the donkey.  Davis has been working on his "hee-haw" ever since we left.

The outdoor drum set was probably D's favorite part. 

"This is like mom's pots and pans, but WAY better!"

Pumping the well.  Gonna need this skill when we live on a farm one day.

We have had two busy and fun days so far, but we sure miss Daddy and are ready to have him back home!

30 Weeks!

I'm already 30 weeks along in this pregnancy!  On one hand, I can't believe how fast it's going by.  On the other hand, I can't believe I'm going to get two months bigger than this!

I'm just big-boned.

A little bit of Davis news...He has been putting words together to form phrases and sentences.  It's so neat to see him communicating more like us.  He has recently learned two phrases that will get used often throughout his life:  "Rub back" and "Mommy ate it all".

Outside

We are all enjoying this spring weather and all of the outside time we are getting...not to mention the extra hours of daylight we get each evening.  From day one, Davis has always been happiest when he's outside--what little boy isn't?--and we are happy to get him out there as much as possible.  We all benefit from the fresh air, exercise, and, let's be honest, the tiredness that comes along with a day spent outdoors.

Just this afternoon, Davis had a blast exploring and playing in the back yard while I pressure-washed the patio.  He really likes playing independently and will do so for quite some time, but he doesn't go more than a few minutes without "checking in" with mommy.  I love those afternoons when I have to take his shoes and all of his clothes off before we come back inside...that's a sign that we've had some f-u-n.

Helping Daddy mow the front yard...and yes, that is a toothbrush in his left hand

Listening intently as Grandaddy explains the next play

Birthday

We have a birthday for baby boy #2!  Unless he decides to come earlier, our second son will be born on May 17, 2012.  Funny, he has a set birthday before he has a set name!  We have gone around and around trying to figure out a name for this child; it's just not as easy as it was the first time.  Oh well, I'm sure we'll come up with something...

We strongly considered trying to do a normal delivery even though I ended up with an emergency c-section when I had Davis, but after hearing several doctors' opinions and doing our own research, we decided that scheduling a c-section this time would be our best option.  As one doctor put it, "More than likely you're still going to have the 'small pelvis/big baby' problem."  Another doctor said that trying to do a vaginal delivery after having a c-section was more of an option for moms whose baby was breech or moms who never had a good shot at labor with their first child.  I had a good go at labor, I dilated fully, and Davis (and his big head) just wouldn't come on down.  My mom had pretty much the exact same issues when having my brother, and she ended up with a cesarean, too.  Oh, and another thing...having one child already made me really think about what's safest for me and my body, as well as what will be safest for the baby, and I figure Davis and the new baby kinda need me to be around and to be as healthy as I can be...

So, we will be checking in at Hotel Rex on May 17 at 10:30am and will hopefully have the surgery at 12:30pm.  Until then, we'll start getting the baby clothes out of the attic, making lists of things to do, and getting excited about adding another precious boy to our family!