Emma's 6th birthday

Emma is now 6 years old! She was one of the only kids in her class who was still 5 at the end of the year so she was really happy to "catch up" to the other kids. On her birthday her Auntie Melly and Carter came with me to get her ears pierced. I had told her whenever she wanted to do it she could but was honest about the fact it would hurt a little. Last year she said she would never do it, but a few weeks ago she said she was ready. She was a champ, said it hurt but there were no tears or anything and she loved the results!

She hadn't had a birthday party since she was 3 so we had promised her this year she could have one. Not the best thing to plan and put on when you're 9 mos pregnant, but it turned out well and she had a blast with all her friends.

Hormonal

I am super hormonal these last few days, maybe because I'm 36 weeks pregnant now and I know I'm about to meet my son and hold him and kiss him and give him lots of love. Okay now I'm crying, see like I said.. SUPER hormonal!

I am overwhelmed with how grateful I am that I made it this far (at 34 weeks found out I was dilated to 2 and that frightened me), and that I made it past Emma's birthday which was June 22nd and her birthday party which was June 25th. I'm grateful that despite a few problems here and there with my other 2 pregnancies I had fullterm healthy babies. The last 10 years I have worked with babies who were born weighing 1 or 2lbs and spent months in the hospital, or had some really bad syndromes that will affect them the rest of their lives so I know how lucky I am. I'm grateful that I have never had to deal with any fertility issues or miscarriages or anything of that nature that so many of my friends have had to deal with. I have been reminded this last month how I shouldn't take it for granted after another friend suffered a loss. I am grateful that I have a husband who without complaining takes over household chores and preparing meals and giving kids baths because he knows I need to be off my feet and resting as much as possible. He tells me all the time to sit down and relax even when I say I'm fine. I'm grateful for great insight, over the last 6 years we have made financial decisions that have allowed me to barely work so that I can be home with the kids. And once again my husband has supported me in that, understanding how it benefits the kids. I am so in love with family, I couldn't be happier. I'm going to really try and enjoy every minute of this baby, even during middle of the night feedings. Easier said than done perhaps, but I am going to try! And I am going to try really hard to get my patience back, because I lost it during this pregnancy.

Hormones are a crazy thing, they can be good, like now when I'm feeling all happy and grateful, but they can be a bad thing like when I see a pregnant person who is 2 weeks ahead of me and she's way smaller. That happened today in the doctors office, and it ended up being a co-worker of Josh, which made it even worse. But at least today I was dilated to 3, so the end isn't too far off and I can get back to a more normal size and wear normal clothes again and not feel like a whale!

Our little graduate

I seriously can not believe that Emma is done with kindergarten!! I so clearly remember posting about her first day! It has been a great year, she has met some really awesome new friends, and I have become friends with a couple of their moms. She has learned so much, she's reading books to us now, and Jacob often goes to her to be read to. She has super math skills and impresses me daily with some of things she can do now. She really loves school and learning and I want to encourage that so it continues for many more years. Kindergarten sounds so sweet and young, but now she's a big first grader and she's so excited about that. I myself have always had issues with change, but luckily at her school they keep their teacher and class for 2 years, so the only thing that will change is her grade. I am really excited to have her home for 8 whole weeks, with about half of that being before the baby is born and the other half afterwards. It gives me time to hang out with her and Jacob and give them lots of attention, and then time for her to be around the baby and get to know him before going back to school. I am so proud that Emma is my daughter, I love her so much!!