Dear Diana At 37 Weeks!

Dear Diana,

It is almost time for your arrival! You are considered full term this week :) I have felt so melancholy over the last few weeks...I cry at the drop of a hat.

I will miss carrying you so much! I may never get to feel this again and that is okay...I am happy to share this with you...my little girl.

Daddy and I have been practicing swaddling with dolls...I have to admit...he is an expert. My swaddling skills can't even compare to his- I guess that will be one of his jobs. I have practiced reading to you in the new rocker...I hope you enjoy that as much as I am going to!

We had the car seats installed by our wonderful fire department...it was a great experience and Firefighter Wicker made sure that you will always be safe in our cars. Now we can take you everywhere we go! (Most importantly we can take you home from the hospital!) :)

I am looking forward to taking you to one of my favorite places and that is Griffin Park. It is such a nice time of year so we will be able to take some strolls...listen to the birds and have some fun!

Everyone is excited to meet you! All of our family and friends and friends from work and town...we will need to introduce you to the ladies at the coffee shop and hair salon and PTA as well as our doctors and co-workers and church....you will be one busy baby!! Get ready!

I am ready..this is the calm before the storm but I know we can do it....I look forward to meeting you...I am waiting...I am here to greet you...and I promise to always take care of you.

Love, Mommy

The Final Stretch

So I am 36 weeks...on Tuesday, I will be considered full term! We still can't believe it! Some days it seems like I have been pregnant forever. I am tired...in pain...can barely get through the work day...etc etc. Other days, I can't believe this time came so fast.

I cannot wait to meet our baby girl but I am very melancholy...I will miss being pregnant...miss feeling her move and miss the feeling of protecting her from the world.

On the other hand, I am constantly wondering...is she okay? What does she look like? Will she have hair? How much will she weigh? Oh...the curiosity is killing me!

We had our weekly appointment today and got our "Labor Talk." Dr. Bose explained all the amenities they have at Winchester Hospital and today, to me, it sounds like a hotel...private soothing showers for pain....a pool tub for pain...pain meds before the epidural...a birthing ball...etc etc...I am sure when I am having contractions, this will all seem less glamorous however today I am quite impressed.

I got an exam today too and although I am not dilated yet, my cervix has softened and is ready to go! Can you believe it?

We got a beautiful rocker for the nursery...yes another ebay special...can ya blame me? Rob put it together last night so I tested it out and it is comfy and will do the trick. It has a matching ottoman and all I have to do is point and flex my toes and everything moves quite nicely!

It is white wood with light green cushions...goes perfect! Stay tuned for some pix of the nursery...it is a little dreamland fit for a princess....our little princess! :)

The Birthday Boy!

So....Zack is officially a teenager!!! I still remember him climbing onto my lap the very first time I met him...he was 6! I was eating carrots and dip at Bainbridge's in Chelmsford and he says, in his little Forest Gump voice "I like carrots." This is a statement we all still use today.

I feel melancholy...he is no longer a little kid but he is such a special young man- one of a kind. He keeps us laughing and he always has a positive way of looking at things.

For his birthday, we surprised him with a brand new set of golf clubs and some practice balls and then Grammy and Papa got him a kickin' pair of golf shoes....he is ready to go!

What he asked for, however, was something unique and completely Zack...a birthday dinner with all of his favorite foods. So Rob and I both slaved over the stove for a couple of hours to make it happen...we had a ball!

The menu?
Dad's "Cheeseburger in Paradise Meatloaf"
Holly's Buffalo Chicken Dip with Tostitos AND Celery
Bagel Bites
Curly Spicy Fries

and for dessert?
Holly's Dirt Pudding Dessert complete with Gummy Worms

I need to also mention that last week, Zack hit his first ever career homerun!!!!!! All of the coaches agreed, "it couldn't have happened to a nicer kid!"

Happy Birthday Buddy- Love you :)

4th of July Weekend!!

So we decided to return to one of our favorite destinations for the 4th- Portsmouth, NH- nice and close to home this year and VERY low key. We enjoyed a nice beach day on Thursday including mega waves that almost knocked even ME over! Then we checked into the Sheraton Portsmouth, enjoyed the pool and grabbed dinner at The Old Ferry Landing- very cas...awesome food...got to eat out on the deck overlooking the harbor. Yesterday, we slept in, grabbed a legendary breakfast at The Friendly Toast...walked around and napped the whole afternoon! We did catch most of the Sox game before heading over to Hampton for dinner.

We met Grammy and Papa for dinner at Ocean 931...we celebrated Grammy and Zack's bdays and had a superb dinner including bday desserts for the guests of honor. We did try to catch the fireworks after BUT the traffic on the strip was insane so we headed back to Porsmouth for ice cream and called it a night.

We are relaxing at home for the remainder of the weekend...between baseball games and a trip to Cass's of course.

Hope everyone is enjoying their long weekend!