A few to share.

Exactly one week old...With big sis, who loves him very much and doesn't seem to mind that he turned out to be a boy after all. But I thought he was a girl! is something she said only once. Now, he's my baby brother.Thanks to a visit from Susan and Eric and Evan yesterday, we got lots of great stuff, like thisAnd this. Of course it will take me months to edit all the ones she took, but I forced myself to do at least two so I can see my new family of four. Well you can't exactly SEE Fisher here, but you can see how much we love him. Especially Alla.

Don't worry, though, cause the little guy is not missing out on photo ops. Here's what he did for the camera today, my 11-day-old, during our afternoon siesta. And before you say, he and Alla have the same dimple, let me tell you, he's got two.

Ten on Tuesday.

1. I may never edit another photo. That would take time. Time is not something I have a lot of. Unless I can start editing remotely from my upstairs nursing station.
2. Blogging may or may not include photos. Those posts that do include photos may just be shots from Ron's camera, cause those can be uploaded upstairs and mine have to be uploaded downstairs. I've been downstairs once in three days. Oh, this is twice, sorry.
3. Some posts may only consist of photos, cause we all know you'd rather see those than read what I have to say.

4. Fisher is amazing.


5. I can remember life without him, because a week ago I was still pregnant, but I this new life is much better. So full.

6. Fisher has hairy shoulders.


7. Alla gets to take Daddy to school tomorrow. She is beside herself.


8. I realize it's not Tuesday. Trust me, if I don't put this up right now, it won't happen.


9. Hoping for a first photo shoot tomorrow for Fisher. While Alla is in school.

10. Daddy stays home tomorrow. Ahhhh, Daddy. Love him.

This one.

Likes to have his hands out. Unlike his big sis, who was swaddled like a straight-jacket til she was one.

Was awake for over an hour today just-a-gazin' out the window and sucking on his hands.

Smells sooooooo yummy.

I know you're wondering what I'm doing blogging from my rocking chair here in the hospital. But truth is, my butt is falling asleep in the bed. My incision hurts, so it's not like I can just make the rounds, and there's not a lot else to do in a hospital. If you have any good ideas, I'm all ears. Cause I'm a little b-o-r-e-d. Smitten, though.

Finally.

Our son is here

Fisher Ronald Killins

was born tonight

at 5:46pm

10 pounds 2 ounces

23 inches long


and beautiful.

It's a beautiful day...

...to have a baby!

I even washed my hair!

Check back soon for news...

Ten on Tuesday.

Like I said, no blog entry does not mean baby.

1. Got spaghetti sauce in the crockpot for dinner. Keep wondering if this will be the last meal I cook for awhile. And then I end up having to go to the store for groceries to make another meal.

2. Got MOM coming in today! She's on the airplane right now! Surely if Nana's coming, then Pondegore must be ready to come out?

3. We got several inches of snow last night, so when Ron went out to shovel this morning, he made Alla a mini snowman to sit on our front step. You'd have thought he brought her a real live penguin or something. She said, "Oh my goodness!" Unfortunately she's still sad about how Frosty melted.

4. We just finished watching Diego show, now we're heading up for lunch. Sandwiches. Know what makes a sandwich so much yuumier? Full-fat mayo. Yum.

5. Know what makes my whole day yummier? A whole box of Cadbury eggs. Consumed yesterday. Should have bought a box for each day of the week. It IS Easter week, right? Shouldn't we be celebrating with Cadbury eggs all week?

6. I mentioned my friend Adriana's makeup organizers in a previous post. I am so excited that I now own one. Here's the before shot of my makeup disaster area, all overflowing out of the little bag I think it once fit in. God help you if you have to pack up and go somewhere (like, say, to the hospital).

7. And here's the after picture, all organized in there. The little pots of foundation, blush, etc., all now have velcro on the back to hold them in place. There's room for everything!

8. And it all zips up and I can put it away. A clean counter. Adriana, you're a genius. Even Ron is impressed design-wise.

9. You're all out of the baby pool now, but that's ok because at this point I think I should start getting some prizes.

10. Here's to another Tuesday not in labor, which means I'm looking forward to American Idol!

Thoughts at 41 weeks.

Didn't think I'd be here at 41 weeks.

Had another NST this morning. Pondegore isn't stressed. I'm still 50% effaced.

This week's plan: acupuncture round three tomorrow morning, then a Tuesday appointment with the midwife to make a game plan. Perhaps some bells [finally] went off when, today, at 41 weeks, I'm not in labor yet, and perhaps the midwives might be realizing, this baby's only getting bigger in there.

There were no babies in the nursery this morning but we did see one swaddled bundle of joy hanging out at the nurse's station, and oh how I wanted my own bundle of joy upon seeing that one.

Good news: I can only be pregnant for one more week!

May I recommend?

Go see Horton Hears a Who, not just for those who have some time to kill, but because it's a truly wonderful movie. Enjoyed by the grown-ups and toddler alike. Alla asked questions all the way home. Not too scary. No one died, for heaven's sakes. Gorgeous colors. Funny. Horton is very lovable. Highly recommended. A movie success.

Flashback Friday.

Yawn, we're all getting tired of waiting to see another itty baby yawn like this...

Surprise visitor.

Alla got a big surprise today when I picked her up from school. Pappi came to visit! This is one happy, happy little girl. Now if only Pondegore would come out so Nana could come, too.

To top it off, we had lovely weather today, almost fifty again and blue skies, so she wanted to drag out the tee ball and have Pappi catch all her fly balls.

And, in case you're wondering, this is what a forty weeks and four days pregnant mama looks like. Yikes that baby's getting big in there!

Today.

Me and Pondegore had a stress test. Pondegore is not stressed out. Heartrate was mostly in the 120s.

I cleaned again. Our bathroom this morning, vacuum and sliding glass door yesterday.

I have a nice new carpet stain thanks to the stupid cat who can't manage to puke on the TILE. Ugh.

We're watching Word World.

There is a Trader Joe's Pesto Pizza in the oven right now. I need a whole freezer full of Trader Joe's or Whole Foods ready-to-eat stuff. I'm tired of cooking, or even wondering what to eat for lunch.

I'm going to see an acupuncturist. Tonight. 6:15. With high hopes.

It's gray. Unlike yesterday when we spent two hours outside after nap with just coats and all the neighborhood kids were out, so happy to see each other again and have playmates to ride bikes and scooters with. You really notice how they've grown over the winter when bikes are getting too small.

I'm planning on a nice long afternoon nap. Cause, you know, the baby might come tonight and then I wouldn't get a lot of sleep, so better stock up.

I'm noticing that there are very few of you left in the baby pool.

Ten on Tuesday.

1. Yup, still pregnant.

2. Would you believe it's 49 degrees here? That means, no hats, no gloves, and you're almost too hot unless you unzip your coat. We're going outside for scooter time and splashing in puddles in rainboots after nap.

3. I'm kind of sick of walking. It's not working anyway. Better to just have fun with my daughter.

4. It's a perfect day to have a baby.

5. Next Monday, not so much. Supposed to be a big March storm. Well, let's rephrase. It just wouldn't be a good day to take the baby home, but if the baby wants to come out, say, tomorrow, or even Thursday, we'd have plenty of time to get home before the silly storm.

6. This is what we got in the way of Easter Bunny photos this year. Alla was super excited, even wanted to give the Easter Bunny an egg. But they situated the darn bunny in front of the playground, so she really just wanted to go play. He suddenly didn't seem so snuggly and cute after all. She was pretty concerned with where he went when we were on our way out and she wanted to wave good-bye. A carrot break, of course.

7. So looking forward to American Idol tonight. Who are your favorites? I like the Carly Simon chick, and the teenage boy who sings amazingly well.

8. It's pretty unnerving and exciting at the same time to feel a bit like a ticking time-bomb, like at any moment your life will change.

9. And yet to feel like your life won't be changing anytime soon.

10. Happy Birthday, Samantha!

Thoughts at 40 weeks.

I am truly dedicated to getting this baby out. Went out for a walk before lunch today in 22 degree weather. Even ran a little. Anyone looking out their window must have wondered what that crazy pregnant lady was doing. Um, trying to get this baby out, thankyouverymuch. Even though Alla tells me, We can't WALK babies out! Well I am at least going to try, little one.

And since the weather forecast for this week calls for mid 30s to mid 40s (and maybe even FIFTY-THREE by Saturday, heart be still), I think that walking is what we'll be doing every day after nap.

Perhaps Katie's theory is right, that Pondegore was waiting for warmer temperatures before making an appearance. Well, you are going to get them this week, baby, so any day is fine.

Seeing an acupuncturist on Wednesday evening (not-so-secretly hoping this will do the trick).

Ron and I finished season two of Weeds last night. Rent this show immediately. It is that good.

We go back to the midwife on Wednesday morning to check-in and see if anything is actually happening. Last pregnancy at that point, my water had broken. I'm hopeful.

It really sucks that I've been having contractions for months, and they don't seem to be doing anything.

A lot of you are out of the baby pool, now, huh? Guess it doesn't pay to be nice to the mama and say she's going to deliver early.

I think a lot of you also didn't pay attention to the original post about said baby pool. Or there wouldn't be any guesses under nine pounds!

That's all I got for today. Like I said, don't assume any blog absence means I'm in labor. It doesn't. Apparently Pondegore likes being in my belly where it's nice and warm, and has no plans to come out anytime soon.

Flashback Friday.

I titled this one "Sleeping on the job," so I'm assuming little Alla, 12 days old, was supposed to be eating. Such a sleepy one she was.

Officially jealous.

But over the moon happy for my friend, Mel, holding her newborn baby girl.
And, seeing how she was born three days shy of two weeks overdue, I guess I can wait a little longer here. Perhaps it isn't my time just yet.

Congrats, my friend!

Happiness is...

Having bacon and avocado to add to my salad for lunch yesterday.

Sleeping a full eight hours in a row last night. That's right, no getting up to pee. No cat chewing on furniture waking me up, no daughter calling out for a hug and kiss, no spending an hour getting back to sleep after rolling over. Just eight hours of glorious sleep. Don't think I didn't understand this morning that that was probably the last time for a loooooong time, and give many thanks to the sleep gods.



Alla's thrill and pride over her somersaulting.

Feeling this baby moving around wildly in my belly. It's amazing that you can ever forget exactly what this feels like, but you do.



Parent-Teacher conferences this morning at Alla's preschool where her teacher, Kelli, had nothing but adoring praise for how our daughter is progressing. I felt like my own mother sitting there, kind of surreal to be the parent sitting in a conference, rather than the kid being talked about.



A clean house.



Putting every single CD I own on my new iPod. This is a monumental feat. We have four big cases full of at least 100 CDs each, and I'm only just getting through the first one. Currently uploading: The Best of Sade.



Leftover chicken-couscous salad for lunch.



Alla eating her first s'more for an after-lunch treat. I should add, she always gets bites of mine, but today finally asked for her own. This took her a full fifteen minutes to eat, you have just never seen someone enjoy a s'more like this. Which was great cause I got to enjoy my cup of ginger-peach tea and Girl Scout Trefoils. What she had to say about her very own s'more: It has marshmallow! AND chocolate! AND big cracker! I didn't know you could stack it like that!

Ten on Tuesday.

1. I'm officially five days away from my due date.

2. No one should assume that a blog absence automatically means I'm in labor. It most definitely does not.

3. The good thing about making it this far is I got to my hair appointment last night.

4. And I can watch American Idol tonight.

5. We finally packed our hospital bags. And I managed to get it all into one this time, meaning one bag for the whole time. Not a separate labor bag, postpartum bag, baby bag, etc. Plus a ball, a stereo, a snack bag. Just.one.bag. Well, and multiple cameras, of course.

6. Ron, sweet husband that he is, gave me this yesterday. I happened to mention that having all our music downstairs on the computer was a pain and I'd like to listen to music upstairs, like for breakfast and other meals, without having to run downstairs first to turn it on. And this showed up yesterday. Current project: making a playlist for while I'm in labor.

7. Speaking of my lovely husband, his sisters have set up a profile to vote for their mama as America's Favorite Mom. You can go here to vote for her!

8. The plan is to take Alla and Evan to see the Easter Bunny on Friday. Surely having a plan means I won't make it that far, right?

9. Have I linked to these before? My high school friend Adriana designed these amazing makeup bags and I keep saying I need to order one already! I have two little bags, plus my two big pots of foundation and powder sitting out with no room for them in either bag. I thought of my need for her bag again as we were packing for the hospital and I had visions of Ron packing only one of them, like the bag of brushes or something that would probably make a mama of a newborn absolutely lose it.

10. Yes, it's true, I wash my hair once a week. And I can wear it down for at least 5 days without a grease effect. Then I prolong the wash process as many more days as possible by doing ponies, buns, etc., especially with a flower or other pretty clip. I'm thinking an almost new mama needs a new one, just to make herself feel pretty, something like this since it's my favorite red.

Happy Tuesday! Hope you voted in the baby pool!

39 Weeks.

And surely there's only one more week of pregnancy, right? Right? Well plenty of you have guessed that the end is actually nearer than a week, so I love all of YOU. The ones that guessed past my due date, not so much.

At least we're all pretty much healthy now!

We might need to pack our bags.
Set up the co-sleeper.
Get out the bouncy seat (or something, you know, just to make it look like a baby is welcome here).
Wrap Alla's gift to Pondegore and Pondegore's gift to Alla.

Finished my last photo shoot yesterday and those shots are ready for the family.

Did a giant Target run this morning, after which we drove another 45 minutes round-trip to get some Panera for the grown-ups and McDonald's for the little one as a reward (all three of us needed rewards).


Think that's about it. I keep wondering, is this the last time I'll wash my hair (remember I'm a once a week gal), is this the last time I'll clean the house, is this the last time I'll put Alla to bed as an only child. Sigh. Her life is about to change, but for the better, I hope. I thought I'd be more emotional about it, but instead I'm so miserably uncomfortable that I can focus on nothing but getting the baby OUT.