Everything Emery...

Time is flying by fast, and we know it's only going to go faster. Since our last post, Julie celebrated her 25th birthday with a great BBQ thrown by Aaron with some close friends and family. It was tons of fun, and Aaron's a great chef at the BBQ.

Julie's pregnancy is going along great! Her doctor thinks Emery will be a little bit larger than average, but not as big as Joseph (9 lbs). Julie has started to experience Braxton Hicks in the last 3 weeks, which she didn't have too much with Joseph. This has gotten her wanting to prepare for Emery's birth even more. They started out with just a couple each day, but now they're pretty much all day long. Emery's position used to cause Julie quite a bit of rib discomfort. Her little bum was next to a rib and kept her in pain if she sat for more than an hour, or laid down. Unless she was standing or on her hands and knees, it hurt. But luckily last week, Emery decided to drop! Julie heard that after your first, babies tend not to drop until labor, but are we glad Emery did anyway! Julie is sleeping much more comfortably now (and not taking Tylenol every 4 hours) and hopes that Emery's being lower will help the Braxton Hicks be more productive. As of her last appointment (last Tuesday) she was not dilated, but was effaced 50%. Her doctor says that she's on schedule for her due date and that's just fine for us!

In other Julie news, Julie is officially unemployed! Last week was her last week watching Olivia. After 19 months of taking care of other children besides Joseph, Julie hardly knows what to do with herself. Not really. She's very ready to have one less thing on her mind, and it makes the necessary shopping trips, etc. that much easier. It's hard to believe Julie watched Olivia for so long, and at the same time it's hard to believe it's over! But we're ready to trade Olivia in for a little girl of our own!

Joseph is doing well. He is very excited for Emery to "come out of Mama's belly". We think he has a really good grasp on what's going on. He took the hospital tour with us, and helps us get ready as much as he can. Her clothes are in the closet, bed is up, etc. Joseph is excited for her to come out so we can have her birthday party. Then he talks about all of the things he wants to do with her when she comes home, like take a bath, watch a show, and drink milk. Joseph is also really excited for the grandparents who will be coming to stay with us when Emery comes out. He talks about that almost more than he does about Emery. We're so excited for this next stage and know it will be a great new challenge. We think Joseph is up for it, and hope we don't have any dramatic attitude adjustments to deal with after Emery comes.

Aaron is doing great in his student teaching. He passed his mid-term a few weeks ago, and has one more observation to complete (his University advisor watches him teach). He is working really hard to finish everything possible before Emery's birth. All of his mentor teachers, advisors, etc. know about Emery's coming and seem really sympathetic to the demands on Aaron's time. We're hoping that they'll be lenient with Aaron's time after the birth and that he won't have to be gone too much. Here's hoping!

The countdown begins. 3 weeks to go!