Little Gracie

Misty and Grace are doing wonderfully this morning. Just wanted to put a short little video up of the cute little girl. She smiled a little bit afterward but I wasn't able to get a picture. Oh well, there will be plenty more, and its not like I (Ernie) don't take too many pictures as is. (We now have 6Gb worth of cards for pictures so its only going to get worse....)

Eva Grace-7 lbs. 1 oz. 18-3/4 inches Born @ 10:21am

Well everyone, Eva Grace finally came this morning at 10:21am Eastern time. She is absolutely beautiful and looks just like Abby did. We are now a family of four, and its about time. We are very thankful that she is finally here. Misty is doing great, we came in last night and they actually did something else instead of a slow Oxytocin drip. They started that at 6:30am, then the OB broke her water at 8:30. Things progressed quick and she only needed to push for about 12 minutes, which incidentally is about how long it took for Abby. Please leave comments, this is a special day and we'd love to hear from you share in our joy.

Baby tomorrow!

Just in case you read my blog only- and don't follow any other form of instant communication with me- I will be having the baby tomorrow- so it seems.

I go in to the hospital about 11:30 tonight and will be admitted at 12- that puts me at 39 weeks, ideal for insurance, they'll start me on a low dose of pitocin. My doctor seems to think it will take awhile and said- see you at 6am. We'll see...

Yesterday was a really off day. I hadn't felt the baby move and was trying to take a nap and couldn't. Every bad thing that is possible played in my mind over and over. So I went in for a non-stress test (NST), the baby was fine, but she really wasn't moving, they monitored me for over an hour and I felt 3 slight movements, but her heartbeat was beating away beautifully. He said he could induce or let me sit it out- hello induction, I'm dying over here.

So I never made it in for my regular appointment today- I guess we'll see if I have progressed any. Last week I was soft and effaced and almost 2 cm with the baby's head at station 0 (which means she's soo low). I've had tons and tons of contractions but no regularity with any of them. BTW- she's been moving like crazy today, and especially right now. I think she's getting anxious too!

Just over an hour and we head out!

Free meal at KFC!

Go to this website and print your coupons (I think you can print 4 per computer!) Limited time!

http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20090430-tows-kfc-coupon-download

2 pieces grilled chicken, 2 individual sides, and a biscuit- no purchase necessary

GREAT DEAL! And sounds yummy too!

Enjoy the Ride

So Huggies has introduced this new incentive program for parents called Enjoy the Ride. It's supposed to end of being like Pampers Points, or Coke rewards- right now it's still a work in progress- However this month they are giving away codes without purchasing products and then you can redeem the codes for an instant win game to win one (or more) of several prizes.

Today I won a $25 Gap Giftcard. It's really easy. And I even have all the codes saved so I can send them to you, and if you use me as a referal I get an extra 5 points- that's 2 1/2 more entries.

If you want a referral or the codes, or just more info please email me at abbysmomma@ hotmail.com- that's my coupon and junk email addy!

Sunday Stroll

So today was such a beautiful day and Misty wanted to go for a good walk (She must want to have a baby or something), so we went to Shaker Lake which is really close to the house and took the camera as usual and Abby actually had some binoculars which she loved using today. It was an amazing day and we had a really fun time enjoying the afternoon.

Abby and Misty being cute.

Abby's got a cute eye thing going on in this one.

Abby is going to be a great big sister soon.

Abby just being her cute self as usual.

This picture was actually taken on the way to the lake. I tried taking a picture the other day but bees are very hard to get if they're not sitting still like this one (wasn't long though).

The Three Amigo's.

Up until now during our visits to Shaker lake we have only caught fleeting glimpses of turtles but today was the hayday for sure because we saw three turtles on this fallen tree, two jumped off as we moved farther down the trail but we got a good picture of the closer one.
On the other side of the lake this guy almost went unnoticed, just a small turtle sunning himself, he jumped in the water after a bit and disappeared.

Last week we were able to spot a single gosling and it was really yellow, this week there were at least five and they are already getting so much bigger, very cute. The adults were very protective so we kept our distance from the Killer Geese.

Isn't this pretty?

Not exactly sure if this is an eagle, anyone know?

If you look at the very center you can see a yellow bird, a lady said it was a Finch but she didn't know what type.

I would say this was one of our cool finds of the day, it was hard to get this picture because it was far away and there were tons of branches in the way. What a beautiful Heron though.

Some turtles just sunning in the mud, these guys were at twice as big as the ones on the log.

And as always in Cleveland this time of year you can see many squirrels, this guy ran off when I got too close.

Happy 37 Weeks!

BABY UPDATE!!


Well officially I'm 37 weeks today. I went to the doctor yesterday- he checked me and he could feel the head- he said I was remarkably low for being this early. Then he had to move the head to check my cervix- he said I was almost 2 cm dilated. Based on my history with Abby (born 37 w 2 d) and my progress thus far, he's predicting a baby within the next week.

Which seems to be good news. I've been having tons of contractions for months, the last few weeks some of them have been pretty strong. I never really had contractions with Abby, but they are sort of painful. Yesterday was a busy day, I had been having contractions on and off all day, when I finally laid down for the night (at 12:00am) I was having dull contractions with sharp pains every 4-6 minutes for just over 30 minutes, and then they stopped.

And today is probably one of my hardest days of being pregnant, I just don't feel well, I'm grumpy, and so not motivated to do a thing around the house. Being pregnant is hard, but I managed to keep a cheery disposition and not complain- well today I complained.

Anyway to make me feel better (or worse for spending so much) I bought a very soft and comfy bathrobe. I had to look everywhere to find one that goes below my knees, you'd think longer robes were still around- but they are not. But I look cute in it, okay, not really, but I feel cute.



and my 32 week for easy comparison- I'm a huge house!

A great Target find...

Every January Target puts a lot of their baby stuff on clearance to make room for the new designs. It starts out slow, but if you (and everyone else) are patient enough you can find lots of great stuff for 75% off. These happen to be some of my great finds.

Right now, being 36 1/2 weeks pregnant, my very favorite find is my Boppy Total Support Body pillow for $12.48 (that's 75% off the $49.99 price). Knowing how wonderful it is now, I might just pay the $50 for one, but much happier that I got it for under $13.

My friend Melissa, has a giveaway on her bargain blog every month. Again, she is giving a Target Gift Card- but these happen to be my favorite. They are much harder to come across than CVS, Rite Aid or Walgreens, and can be used on much much more in Target. Let's hope I win this month.

If you are new to bargain shopping she does a great job breaking down the deals for beginners! So check out her blog!

Happy Birthday Fun!

A little late, but better than never...

Happy Birthday Abby!

I can't believe it's been SIX years since Abby was born, seems like just yesterday. We have a great weekend where I'm sure Abby did/got everything she wanted to, because it was her birthday. We went out Friday night for some yummy pizza and her free ice cream from Cold Stone- and she got to pick the movie rental.

Saturday was the big day. We only seemed to get pictures of her party. We had her party at Build a Bear and was able to invite 6 friends- that was a tough tough choice for this very friendly girl.

Here are some pictures from the party!

Sadly, the best group picture there is!

Abby and Virginia

Abby and Kennedy

Abby and Max

Abby and Nina

Abby and Nataya- these girls are so silly together!


Abby and Peter- this kid is her 'boyfriend'.
He's such a cutie and so nice, and I really like his parents, but my little girl was holding hands with him- and they write each other love notes. I forsee a troubled future.

Getting so close...

Let's see- I'm almost 36 weeks- WOW! Things are slowly coming together. And I mean slowly. I really want to work in the baby's room, get her crib set up, make curtains, put her clothes away- all that fun stuff- and I can't! Will it still be as fun after the baby is born?

Today I made some headbands to go with all my little clippies I have. Since I don't have a baby to test them on Abby's doll will have to do, although I'm sure the baby's head will be bigger.






And my cute swing we just put together. I told Ernie that this must mean we really are getting a baby. He just rubbed my tummy and said "yes, we are."

Abby is also starting to get really excited. I think it is because everything is BABY around here. And she can really see my belly. She has been so sweet, she'll come up and give the baby hugs and kisses, and talk to her. I still think she'll be in total shock when the baby arrives, heck everyone will. I do hope she handles it good!

And I don't think I posted here yet... But I'm pretty sure (99%) that we have settled on a name- EVA GRACE but we can't decide if we want to call her Grace (our #1 name) or Eva, after Ernie's Grandma Stevens. Ahh, decisions!

We went to the cool cemetery on Friday- Ern took lots of pics- I'll have to post some and tell you GHOST stories too!