Diane, Declan and Mary came for a visit at the end of March and stayed for about a week. Since I was 8 months pregnant and Declan was only a few months old, we didn't go on many adventures together. Working around nap schedules alone makes it difficult to go see much.
But, on Saturday, March 25th, Daniel and I took them and the girls to Santa Monica for the afternoon. We walked up and down 3rd Street Promenade, watching the street performers and looking at the fun things to buy. Aunt Mary bought Brooke a little balloon animal (I think it was a bunny), which Brooke was thrilled about, and I thought that was so sweet of Mary. Then we walked out to the Pier, buying fun treats and enjoying the sun and the sea. We walked down to the beach and spent a little time out there. Brooke really wanted to get into her swimsuit and play in the water, even though it was fairly chilly and very breezy. We tried to convince her that it was too cold, but she wouldn't listen, and she ended up playing in the water for a while and having a great time. Camille just stayed up on the beach, sitting on the blanket and eating snacks the whole time. Silly girl! She had no interest in going into the water.
On Sunday, Steve and Inga had invited us all to drive out for their baby boy's blessing, which we did. We went to church at Steve and Inga's ward (even Mary!), and after Sacrament meeting, milled around in the foyers and outside, taking pictures and chatting with all the family that was there. We all skipped the last hour of church and just drove out to Aunt Liz and Uncle Bob's for a celebratory barbecue.
The following Monday, I took the girls and my sisters (and Ducky) on a little hike, up a local path. It was a beautiful day for a hike, pretty cool, but sunny. And it was still really green up in the hills at that time, so it was really very lovely. We didn't hike for too long. Like I said, ... 8 months pregnant... And also, the girls didn't have too much patience or stamina. Camille in particular was pretty slow. It took all of my energy trying to put a pep in that girl's step! Cuz there was no way I was going to carry her!! (Well, I did carry her a little bit, but, again, ... 8 months pregnant!)
Diane, Mary and I escaped that evening, leaving Daniel with all the kids, so that we could have dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. It was so much fun, and oh, so delicious! Definitely worth it to go! We had a good time.
They left the next day. I left the girls at Emily Thompson's house (Brooke had preschool there that morning anyway) so that I could take them to the airport. I had such a nice visit with them, it was a little hard to say goodbye.
However, that weekend was conference weekend, and it was nice to just hang out at home with our little family. We went to the Lungren's house after the last session on Sunday to have dinner and play games. It was so nice to see them. They've been living up here (in Castaic) for several months, now, but we'd never been up to see them. Brooke and Camille had a lot of fun playing with Eli, and we adults got through precisely half of a game of Dominion. Kids are distracting! And we had to leave before we could finish. Haha!
We did our last little family getaway before this baby comes, the following week, April 3rd and 4th. We went on our little Disneyland trip!
And the following weeks, after we got back, were spent getting ready for the baby. There was a little bit of baby drama, there, for a little while. We had an ultrasound while Diane and Mary were here visiting, and the doctor doing the ultrasound told us that the baby was breach. What?!? He's head-up? That sort of thing hadn't ever happened to me so late in a pregnancy, and I was freaking out ... just a little. When I met with my doctor, and told her that he was head up, she started telling me what options we had at this late stage of pregnancy. It was unlikely, she said, that he would turn on his own at 37 weeks. So we could do a procedure in hospital to try and turn him, or else ... we were looking at C-section.
Well, needless to say, I was fairly upset about that news. With every pregnancy, aside from the top priority of having a healthy baby, above all else, I do not want a C-section! I don't know why, exactly, but I just ... never want a C-section. I know women all over the world do it all the time, and things end up just fine for most of them. But ... I DO NOT want a C-section. I stewed for days about it, and was just bringing myself to terms with having a C-section, and listing in my head all of the positives of having one, as opposed to natural labor and delivery, when lo, and behold! At my appointment, after we came back from Disneyland, my doctor did an ultrasound to see his position, and what do you think? His head was down!! HIS HEAD WAS DOWN! I just about cried, and definitely laughed. (Especially when I thought of the fact that I told mom to change her flight and come a little early, so that we could have the baby earlier ... by c-section. So, here, just DAYS after I'd told mom that we'd likely be doing a c-section and take him a week early, he turns out to be in the proper position. He'd turned all on his own! At 38 weeks!!) I was thrilled with this news! We'd probably be able to have him naturally after all!
But, then ... begins the waiting game...
We did all of our leftover preparations at this point: getting out all the baby stuff, cleaning it all up, washing clothes and putting them away, etc. I also taught my very last week of preschool, as well, that week after Disneyland. And, as much as I enjoyed (for the most part) doing preschool, and as much as Brooke loves it, I was SO GLAD to be done teaching preschool! So ready to be done and moving on to the next adventure! Our baby adventure!
Mom flew in Friday, April 14th, 2 days earlier than she planned to come. We've had a great time with her! I was a little bit worried about her stay here. I've been talking a lot to Julie; she's needed someone to talk to about how hard her life is right now, with Mark and living with Mom and Dad, and everything. So I'm her go-to person, which I love being for her. We've gotten really close this last year. BUT ... she tells me a lot of what happens at Mom and Dad's right now (and Diane told me a lot of what's been going on, too, while she was here), and it's left me with a bitter taste in my mouth towards Mom and Dad. Frankly, I've had bad feelings, angry feelings, about them and how they are treating Julie and the boys. So, I worried that I wouldn't be able to hide my feelings, and that things would be strained in my relationship with Mom. I was happy when things weren't as bad as I thought. She would talk to me about things that are happening at home, from her perspective, and I would often just keep my mouth shut, because I know the other side from Julie, and because I often disagreed with Mom. But, it has mostly been a real pleasure having mom. She complained a lot to me, and she slept a lot. But she did my dishes the whole time, and she played with the girls, and she bought dinner and made dinner a lot, and bought gifts for the girls. She also watched the girls so Daniel and I could go on a date. He took me to see Beauty and the Beast! :) They have loved having her here! And I have, too.
So, we've just been waiting, ever so impatiently, for this baby to come! Mom is worried that she'll have to leave before he comes, and honestly, at this point, I am too! His due date was yesterday, and Mom has to leave for Utah (Brian's wedding...) on Sunday! We'll just have to see...
*Brooke and her little plant. She saw me buying succulents for our house, and she wanted one for her room, too. She picked this one out, and then we had a little activity painting a pot for it. I love how cute it turned out, and I think she really loves it, too! She had fun with this activity. Camille has one, too.*
*Our Easter Egg Hunt at home. We had a Primary Easter Egg Hunt on April 15th that we all went to, Mom included. And then later that afternoon, we had to do our own Easter egg hunt. The girls had fun. Although, Camille kept smashing her eggs, trying to crack them open. I think she thought they were the little plastic eggs filled with candy, so she opened them up thinking that she'd find candy inside. Oops! We must've colored eggs on the 14th. We had a nice Easter weekend with Mom there. The girls got their Easter baskets on Saturday, so that we could focus Sunday on the Savior.*
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