Delivery time

Well we are off to the hospital here in a few minutes. We are very excited to welcome James today. I think I am more excited to be done with this pregnancy than anything else! We are scheduled for our c-section today. Please pray for us during surgery. When I get home and get some pictures on line, I will post them. Thank you all for your support through this pregnancy. We really appreciate it. Soon to be a family of four!!!!!!!!!!

Wow!

Mother's Day breakfast!

Well a lot has happened around here since the last time that I posted anything! Let's start at the beginning.

Jamie came to visit and that was wonderful! She was here for about a week and it was really great to spend that much time with her. My grandma also came for the weekend and that was equally wonderful. It was very nice to spend some time with them. My baby shower was last Sunday. Although it was extremely hot, it was a very nice afternoon! We ate, played games, and I opened lots of fun and useful presents. Thank you to everyone that was able to share that day with us!

I had an appointment with my doctor on Monday and she officially took me off of work. She took me off a little early since I am already dilated to 2 cm. My body is definitely getting ready for James to be born and he is getting ready also. This week I have been home trying to get things ready for his arrival and have been having contractions everyday. They are not regular at all but they still hurt. He will be here soon hopefully so we can all meet him!!! We are getting very excited. We are continuing to prep Taylor for his arrival and she is continuing to get excited about the baby. She keeps remembering "Baby Norah" and getting very excited. I just hope the excitement continues after he arrives. We shall see!

Taylor had her first dance recital on the 15th. She performed at her preschool during the graduation. It was the cutest thing. I have never been so proud in my life. She did an amazing job and had so much fun! She loves her dance class and her teachers. She is continuing to love school and everyone there. She will stay in preschool over the summer for their summer program. It will be a very good routine for her to have once James arrives.



Taylor getting ready to dance.



"Stop! Drop! & Roll!"

Dr appt

Well I had my latest Dr appt last week and everything is right on track. James is growing well and developing right where he needs to be at this point. I am about 33 weeks which is great. I will be continuing to work through the end of the year as of right now. This pregnancy is going so much better than my pregnancy with Taylor that the doc won't take me off work until 36 weeks. So I will be at school until the end of the year. It has it's pros and cons but I am ok with it overall. I am starting to get tired again but dealing with it. James is starting to become very very active in there and moving around all of the time. It is starting to get very exciting. He will be here in just a few weeks and I don't feel like we are ready yet but we will be. I am really looking forward to my shower to see all of my friends and family!

Mike is getting busier than ever. He has been irrigating at all hours of the night. He left last night at midnight and is still gone irrigating. We are having to adjust to him not having any kind of set schedule lately. But he is really happy with what he is doing so we can't complain. Taylor is doing great and continuing to get excited about her new brother. Since Mom and Dad are in Hawaii for two weeks, she has been spending a lot of time with Mike's parents. She is loving that!

Easter and things

Yesterday was Easter and it was a fabulous day! We went Napa to visit the Richmond side of the family this year and it was a great day. The sun was out and it was almost hot. Everyone but the Shulls was able to make it. We missed the Shulls but understand they had prior commitments. Taylor and Grace ran around and played all day, Norah was one of the most easy going babies I have ever seen being passed around to everyone more than once. It was very nice to sit and visit with everyone.

Taylor has been growing like a weed and talking more clearly every day. She has started going to school 5 days a week and dance class one day. She loves it!!! She is turning into quite the little girl instead of the baby. I love every day with her...even when she drives me crazy. She has started going through a phase that I am not too thrilled with. She has started saying No. I don't like it very much but hopefully it won't last too long.

I went and had a 3D sonogram to see James. It was very cool. He is definately a boy. There is no doubt about that. It was a very fun day and I got tons of pictures. As soon as I get a baby book I can start filling it up.

Mike and I are still busy. Mike is working for his dad and I am still teaching. I think I will continue working until the first week of May. I have an appointment on the 22nd of April to schedule my due date. I will keep everyone posted when that happens. He will be here very soon!

I have also put in some pictures so you can see what has been happening with us!!!

I forgot

I forgot to mention my job situation. Everyone has undoubtedly heard about the budget cuts to education and all of the pink slips being given to teachers and how many teachers will inevitably be laid off at the end of the school year. Well, the deadline was March 15th for the pink slips to be given out. We were all on pins and needles around here since I have only been teaching two years and I am not yet permanent. Well I have good news. There was no pink slip for me!!!! I still have a job for next year and I am very excited and grateful. I was planning on looking for a job closer to home for next year, but with the education system in the state that it's in, I am just grateful to have a job for next year. Thank you to everyone who was thinking of me and sending me prayers and good vibes. It paid off! I appreciate it.

my birthday

Friday was my 27th birthday! It started like any other day with taking Taylor to school. She is loving preschool and is starting dance class tomorrow. When I was finished dropping her off, I had to go to the doctor to have my glucose tolerance test. That is my least favorite test ever but it was done and over and everything came back fine.

That night, my parents invited Mike's parents, his brother John and John's wife Christina over for dinner. It was supposed to be a small surprise but Mike spilled the beans. That was ok though. We had a very nice evening laughing and talking. Overall, my birthday was low key but very nice. On Saturday, Mike and I got to snuggle down and the couch and watch a movie after Taylor went to bed. That was some very nice time for us.

Friday was also my sister-in-law Christina's birthday, so we went to their house yesterday for a BBQ. It was really nice to spend so much time with family this weekend. We all laughed a lot and had a very nice time.

Today is back to reality with taking Taylor to school and cleaning up the house. I am off to buy her dance shoes when she gets done with school. We are all very excited. Mom and I will be doing that this afternoon.

We are also getting ready for James' arrival. We have painted the nursery and gotten all of the furniture in there and put together. Taylor is starting to understand more that someone will be living in there. We have also gone through Taylor's old clothes and taken out all of the gender neutral sleepers to wash for James. Might as well get some more use out of them. He is moving around like crazy and kicking me all day and night. It is really fun. We go back to the doctor on Wednesday to check and make sure we are still on track. I will keep posting our progress!

Names

Hello all. Just to give you an update....we have decided on a name for the baby. We are naming him James Anthony Damas. We are very excited about choosing the name since it makes it a little more real. Mike and I painted the nursery this weekend and one of the teachers from work is going to paint a mural on the wall as her baby gift. I am super excited to see how it turns out. Next weekend we will bring the furniture from my mom and dad's house and start setting that up. We are trying to get as much done as possible because it feels like he will be here before we know it. I hope this finds all of you doing well. Hope to talk to you all soon!