Says Who?

According to babycenter.com, the following is not an acceptable message for a birth announcement:

"This is our baby. We're so freaking tired."

I think it just about hits the nail on the head, especially if there are older children around. I'm not going to send paper announcements, though, because the informal emails I sent were a lot easier, and postage-free.

So we've just been hanging out trying to adjust to having another kid. Three is a lot different than two. It seems like someone is always left out. I feel bad for Drew and Owen; they like Samantha, but I think it's hard for them not having as much Mom Time. They do like to hold Samantha, so that gives us a chance at some nice together time.

And the boys have been getting a lot more Dad Time. When David's home he takes care of the boys so I can feed Samantha undisturbed or rest or take a shower or whatever.

Watching videos on the computer with David.

Introducing:

Samantha Mikelle!

She was born Monday the 17th of September at 8:24 a.m. weighing in at 7 pounds, 10 ounces and measuring 20 inches long. The c-section was a bigger ordeal than I remember going through with the boys. I guess I thought they'd just cut me open and yank her out; boy, was I wrong. The docs had to really push on the top of my uterus to get her out. For a moment, I wondered if it was really the docs pushing, or if they brought in some elephants to jump on me. All I know is, I loved whatever it was they put in my IV after that.

Samantha came out screaming, and I was glad, because she'll need to be a bit feisty with those two older brothers of hers. So far, Drew and Owen have been pretty good with her. They were really excited when they came to see me in the hospital. I could hear Drew as soon as he got off the elevator. He was saying hi to all the nurses, telling them all about "Baby Dabanta." Owen wasn't as interested in Samantha, but was really glad to see me.

Today Drew and Owen have been "taking care" of Samantha; I have her hanging out in her car seat to nap. The boys have been keeping her entertained. Drew gave her a truck, and Owen gave her a doll--just stuck it right in the car seat with her. They've also been really vigilant about making sure she doesn't lose her pacifier (except when they deem it necessary to take it from her: "She wasn't using it!"). It's cute.

Here's my favorite picture, so far:

T-Minus 13 Hours

I'm getting antsy. I think I need to go do something productive, like clean my kitchen or something. I think what I'll end up doing is watching football with David.

Speaking of David, he must be the most thoughtful husband ever. A gal at church asked David if she could do anything for us and he told her, "You could probably bring some dinner to the hospital on Monday. But Heather probably won't be able to eat it... My favorite restaurant is Skippers." Nice, huh! When she relayed the conversation to me, I told her not to bring David anything. Ever. We all had a good laugh over it.

So here are the comparison pictures I promised. I wasn't even standing completely sideways in the twins-y one, and I still look gargantuan. My face got a lot puffier that time, too...

Here are some shots from a front angle (in the group shot are my friend Becky, her daughter Kayla, me, David, Becky's hubby Cory and their son Colter, and Ty the dog):

The Final Countdown

Two and a half days to go! I got a couple calls from the hospital, to pre-register and all that jazz. This past Wednesday, I went to my last check-up, which was also exciting. I started to loathe the check-ups 'cause they always want a urine sample to test for protein levels and such, and I could never do it, no matter how full my bladder was; call it stage fright or whatever... I think the nurse got a little fed up with me. She acted like I wasn't trying. But now she doesn't have to deal with me anymore!

I have to be at the hospital at 6:00 a.m. on Monday. I think that's horribly early for someone who doesn't usually get up until about 9-ish. In my defense, I'm not lazy, I'm just a night owl who doesn't sleep well. This morning, for example, I woke up at 4:30, after about four hours of sleep, and couldn't get back to sleep until after 7. I had some contractions that kept me awake, and also my brain just wouldn't shut off. I kept going over in my mind all the junk I have to get done before the baby comes, and I'm pretty sure most of it isn't going to happen. But I did do some laundry today, so at least David will have clean clothes while I'm recovering.

I bought a few more outfits, and some little hair things so people will know Baby is a girl while she's wearing some of her brothers' old outfits. I feel like a tight wad, but it seems like baby clothes cost more than they did when the boys were at that stage, and the babies grow out of them so fast, I hate spending all that money. So she's going to wear hand-me-downs. Luckily, a girl can wear boys' clothes a lot easier than a boy can wear girls' clothes. But she will need dresses for church, and I saw the cutest little purple one at the store. I was thinking I'll have to go get it, but just now, as I was searching for it online to link to a picture, I found the dress for half price. So I bought it. Along with this cute denim number. See, my frugality has it's benefits!

Well, I need to go finish folding laundry. On Sunday, I'll post a couple pictures so everyone can enjoy comparing my twin-bearing belly from two years ago to my current singleton-bearing belly. There's a huge difference; I can tell by the way I can fit into a booth at a restaurant this time around!

Boogie Woogie

So, when I was in the fifth grade, we had the kind of desk with a lid that flips up and you just stick all your stuff inside. They're great desks because they can get really full and messy and all your stuff doesn't fall out. Apparently, they are also great, in some fifth grade kids' minds, for hiding oneself while one picks one's nose. Really. There was a boy that sat not far from me who would lift up the lid of his desk under the guise of looking for a pencil or something and while he was down there, would go a-digging.

You may now be grossed out and wondering why I tell this story. Well, I was just reminded of this today while I was in the nursery watching the little kiddies play. Here's why: Owen likes to take the bucket of blocks, lift it clear above his head, and dump all the blocks onto himself. Today, after dumping out all the blocks, he did something new with the bucket. He played peek-a-boo. Then, he stealthily put his hand under the bucket (while it was still on his head) and started picking his nose! It was so yucky! And I caught him at it twice!

At the same time, it made me laugh, because I didn't realize he was old enough or aware enough to know that he couldn't just pick out in the open. He had to be sneaky. I mean, he knows I don't like him to put his finger in his nose, and sometimes while he's doing it, he'll say, "No, no!" But he's not even two years old yet. Is he really old enough to be sneaky?

Maybe so; Drew tries to be sneaky, too. He seems to be magnetized when it comes to the computer--he's just drawn to it. And he knows it's off limits for him. So when he moves toward it, he'll actually tip-toe, all the while looking over his shoulder with little smirk on his face as if to say, "Well, are you going to stop me?" Oi. My crazy, crazy kids.

Since I'm Down Here...

I was upstairs doing my housewife-y duties; folding laundry and watching TV ;) when David called and asked me to check some things on the computer (some things being college football scores). I figured since I'm already down here, and Owen isn't here bugging me to watch the video of him jumping on the trampoline, I'd try to do a little updating on the ol' blog. This is probably the billionth time I've sat down this week, but I haven't gotten around to posting because I usually get just enough time to check my email and read friends' blogs before the boys come over and pester me. But it's nap time (yay!) so hopefully I can do some updates.

Drew's getting very chatty lately (well, more so than usual). He's been getting good at putting concepts together and putting them into words. A few weeks ago, when he woke up from his nap, he'd say "Go." Then he started saying, "Go car." Now, he says, "Go car ride." And when I ask him, "You'd like to go for a ride in the car?" he says, "I doooooo!" Don't know where he learned that, but it's funny.

Owen still doesn't talk as much, but every now-and-then, he'll say something to let me know the wheels are still turning. The other day, just out of the blue, he said, "Dad? Works!" He's figuring out that when Dad isn't around, he's somewhere else and not just not here. So now we're working on "Where does Dad work? On the train!" Maybe we'll have to take another tour of the train yard so they can put two and two together.

We went to visit my mom yesterday. She has a lot of stuff that kids find interesting, but are not allowed to play with. Every time I told Drew or Owen not to touch something, they would say, "Mama's!" (Mama = Grandma, Papa = Grandpa). I guess they're learning the concept of ownership a little. But they don't quite get it; when they sees something they want to play with, they say, "Mine!" even if it isn't really.

Day before yesterday, we went to the fair. It was lots of fun, except that Owen messed his diaper right before we got there, and I, mother-of-the-year that I am, had forgotten the diaper bag. We let Owen just sit in it for a while, and he didn't seem to care, but then it got too stinky and almost leaky, so David had to leave the fair and run to the nearest store for some diapers and wipes.

While we waited for David, we looked at the horses. The boys know that a horse says, "Neigh!" but they had never heard an actual whinny before. I don't think they realized how loud it could be, especially echoing off the stable walls. Their eyes got huge, and they got really excited. They each got to pet a pretty little mare that had her head through the fence. They loved that, too.

Other highlights of the fair included a hypnotist (the boys were more into the crowd than the hypnotist himself), a reptile exhibit (we got to pet a live alligator, and the boys loved looking at the snakes), a petting zoo (the boys didn't much appreciate the goats trying to climb into the stroller with them), cows, chickens (Drew had fun imitating the roosters--turns out he has a knack for it), and of course yummy food!

That's about all we've been up to lately; pretty uneventful. I feel like I'm in the waiting stage of my pregnancy, and it's getting kind of old. I have the date scheduled, so at least that takes the guess-work out of things (unless Baby comes early). But on the other hand, the weeks feel like they're crawling by!

I'm also into the Weird Dreams stage of pregnancy. Last night, I dreamt that I was at some kind of childbirth/mothering class, and they passed out cards that had different things we should do to take care of our baby, as well as what we should name the baby. My card had been filled out by David's grandma, who had decided I should name the baby Mozart after her favorite meerkat. My interpretation of the dream is that I've been watching too much Meerkat Manor. And also, I'm just a tiny bit worried 'cause we still haven't really settled on a name.

The other night, David and I played The Name Game. It goes like this: David suggests a name, I say "No." Or I might say "Ew! NO!" Or I might say, "Umm, that's not even a people-name. [Honestly. 'Mustard?!']" But there were actually a couple that we sort of agree on, so we'll see which one fits best when we actually meet the baby.

So I guess I'd better get back to my laundry and the Grand Slam championship on GSN. Happy Saturday!