Rhymes With Orange

3 Strikes and you're out!

Howdi folks, mr RWO here to give ya'll some updates. I'm leaving the big post for the normal RWO to do since this is her blog and ya'll come to hear her, not me!

Daniel Leland was born today at around 5:38PM CST. He weighs 8 lbs 3 ounces and was 19.5 inches long. He also has a full head of hair on him... enough that they were able to part his hair for his pictures :)  he ended up having to be C-sectioned but thats ok as mom and baby are perfectly fine. She gave a great try and after 2 hours of pushing the decision was made to bring him out another way since he was so big (did I mention his head is ginormous?)

Anyway, This is Mr. RWO signing off. Next post will have pictures and stories and all the good fun stuff!

Thanks again for all yours prayers and words of encouragement!

Contest! W00t!

Mom is on the road right now, making her way down here as fast as she (legally) can. She asked that I post this for her just in case it disappears from her blog (Bad PTK blog! Bad!) Now I'm off to attend to some very important cereal-related business. Also chocolate milk. Possible together.

It was raining and cold when I left Northern Michigan. It got progressively warmer as I got souther, but the rain kept on coming. I’m in Mount Vernon, Illinois right now, a nice town toward the southwest end of the state, at a nice hotel with wifi and free breakfast. I laid down 646 miles today, some of it at 55mph (it feels like a crawl!) and at 65 through the great state of Illinois, which incidently, doesn’t believe in speed or any sort of road markings or signage except right outside of the larger towns and cities. I hadn’t a clue where I was most of the time.

Tomorrow I’ve got about 550 miles left. I’m getting 27.6 miles per gallon, and gas has been $3.68/gallon in every state I’ve been in so far.

I brought along 5 hibernating projects, 2 current projects, 5 different types of wool roving/batts, three spindles and my Louet S10. Lou is a pretty good traveler for a non-folding wheel.

And after this, a baby.

So that’s where the contest comes in. You know the drill. Email me (sgrougan at gtlakes dot com), put BABY! in the subject line, and give me your best guess as to: date, time, weight, length. (Gender guessing is unnecessary…it’s a boy. I’ve seen the ultrasound.) Here are two big hints: 1. Her ‘due’ date is May 15th. 2. She’s measuring 41cm already. Got that? Closest to actual will be rewarded with yarn. Or roving, if it pleases. Or perhaps both, because you’re going to have to wait until I get home for your prizes to be awarded (patience is a virtue, right?) If you happen to be a really good guesser and get more than one correct, you’ll be doubly rewarded.

I’m going to have Katy post this on her blog also, as we’re now well familiar with my disappearing posts…

Let the guessing commence!

:::off to sleep away the miles:::

Two weeks notice

Little Mister Orange has two weeks to vacate my body. My doctor doesn't want me going more than 3 or 4 days past my due date because my body is starting to show a lot of wear & tear, and she's getting a little concerned. Since I wanna be induced about as much as Amy Winehouse wants to go to rehab (No no no), mom and I are really going to push it once she arrives here on Sunday.

Anybody know a good way to bring on labor?

Perhaps I should empty the crib while I'm at it?

Yesterday, my OB/GYN announced that my seven+ pound child could possibly make his appearance before my appointment next week. I went into panic mode because, hello? I'm having a baby, and I STILL haven't bought baby socks! Or a diaper bag. Or crib bedding. Or a baby monitor. Or a Boppy Pillow. Or anything that would amuse an infant like a swing, bouncy seat or mobile. Apparently my nesting instinct has been replaced by the much stronger Sit On The Couch And Eat A Whole Box Of Honey Bunches of Oats instinct.

I do however have a small stack of wonderfully organized to-do lists. They even have bullet points and numbers! (The road to H-E-double hockey sticks: I'm paper mache-ing it with my meticulously detailed lists.)

Last night, I spent two hours driving around looking for a diaper bag which I never did find because EVERYTHING IS PINK. But! I have baby socks. We still need to get everything else, but it's okay because we have baby socks. Which I am totally tempted to wear on my nose.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have an important meeting with a cereal box. Mmmmm.

Almost 37 weeks

Hurry up and cook little guy!

Somebunnies love you Little Mister Orange

Yesterday, some of my dear friends and family had a small online baby shower for Little MO. It was a little wonky with the online camera, but we made it work, and everyone got to see us unwrap their gifts =) I was really, really blessed. Now it's time to show off some baby gifties =)

This is a gift from Baby Orange's Oma (Also known as Mike's mom, Esther =) It's a really cool highchair that sits lower than most, so you can keep the baby involved in mealtime and as they get older eventually use it as a chair at the table. Thanks Mom! It will get lots of use =D

These were gifts from Mike's Aunt Sue & Uncle John. Really soft receiving blankets, washcloths, bibs, a little toy that hangs on the car seat and an alligator towel that I am absolutely in love with =) Thank you John & Sue!

Mike's sister, Kirsten, got us a really awesome baby bath and basket full of essential baby items like diapers, shampoo, wipes and lots of other goodies too =) Thank you so much Kirsten!

Mike's Aunt Marga & Uncle Jerry got us a baby carrier that will see lots of use and a package of cloth diapers. You can never have too many cloth diapers when it comes to burping ;) Thank you Marga & Jerry! So, so much!

Mike's Oma & Opa (and Baby Orange's Great Oma & Opa =) got Baby O some adorable little outfits for when he gets a little bigger and a really soft bunny. I keep hugging it. Thank you, thank you, thank you Oma & Opa!

These are absolutely precious booties and a little wash cloth knit by a wonderful woman at the church Mike grew up in in Saginaw =) If there is anything we know how to do at Chez Watrous it is appreciate hand knits =) Thank you Betty! His little feets will be toasty =D

My Aunt Bj sent Baby O this adorable little outfit. It's SO soft! And the tiny pants! I LOVE tiny pants! They're so tiny! Thank you Aunt Bj! And thank you again for all of the other baby clothes too! (She has amazing taste =)

These were a gift from my Mama =) The sunlight in the picture doesn't do justice to the blue color. They are both wonderfully functional AND cute =D Thanks Mama =)

And last, but not least my Daddy. He bought Little MO his crib & changing table (both of which are now full of baby things that I need to sort out and organize before LMO makes his grand entrance) Thank you very much Daddy =D

Thank you everyone. I feel so special and so blessed by all of you. And thank you to everyone who reads my blog. I've loved being able to share my pregnancy with you, and the support and encouragement I've received has been so immense. It has truly blessed me. I look forward to sharing my newest love with you (when he finally decides to arrive =)

Confessions

The truth is, I actually had the baby already...but he was so yummy that I gobbled him back up.

Okay, so not really, but we're getting close. Almost thirty-six weeks! I am so, so, so ready to be done. I think Little Mister Orange is too. We're quite squished, and he has resorted to using my ribcage as a leg press. I wake up a lot arching my back yelling, "Ow! Ow! Nonononono!" I go in for another ultrasound tomorrow because my doctor is quite convinced I'm going to give birth to a toddler because of how large I'm measuring, but he's been right on track at every other U/S, so I'm not sure why she's so convinced that he's suddenly huge. Not that I'm complaining. I love any opportunity to catch a glimpse of what's going on in there =)

In other news, the crib is assembled! It's actually been together for quite some time now...like a month. I am just lazy and haven't posted about it.

The day after it was put together, I began panicking. I called my mom like twelve times in tears because this meant I had to have a baby now! And I'm totally not ready. I haven't even bought baby socks and EVERYONE knows you can't have a baby without socks! And then the next day I called her all calm and happy because look! I have a crib! It's so beautiful, and I love it, and I can't stop petting it. (I AM NOT CRAZY.)

The crib has been given the task of guarding precious baby items from the cats for the time being. All the sweet little baby clothes my Aunt Bj sent (Thank you so much!), the beautiful blanket that Mike's mom, Esther, made (Thank you! It's beautiful!), and my feeble attempt at packing a hospital bag which hasn't gotten very far yet. Not good. Four weeks Kate. Pack! Pack like the wind!

This post brought to you by chocolate milk. I swear the baby is floating in it by now.

Happy Easter everyone!

I am totally worn out right now, so we'll just jump into the picture content ;)

The Easter Bunny's eggs ain't got nothin' on this belly.

Little MO is now a little over four pounds and is in the correct head-down pose with his tray table up, and his seat back in the full upright position. I'm excited! Except for the whole being kicked in the ribs thing. Not so pleased with that.

Chloe and Eli have called it a truce and have become friends. She smacks him on the head and cleans his ears; he bites her tail and sleeps on her belly. That is totally the meaning of friendship right?

Tune in next time for: Fedex brought the wooden dowels, so where is mah bay-bee?

Welcome to the 8th month

Create yours at BlingyBlob.com!

Belly pictures will follow shortly. As soon as I can peel the kitten off of my chest long enough to shower.

I swear my eyebrows are gonna melt off any second now!

Things have taken a turn for the seriously hot here. I know this is what I can expect from living in the south (I did just move from a tropical island ;), but My Adorable Little Heating Device is making it so much worse. Ever see Father of the Bride part II? With Steve Martin running around in a huge down parka while his pregnant wife and daughter are sweating and panting on the couch? It's something like that. I'll have sweat pouring down my back, and I find poor Mike huddled on the couch wearing sweat pants, a thick hoodie, socks and a blanket.

We've started putting together the nursery. How's that going you may wonder?

This is the crib. Not for lack of Mike's enthusiasm! He was all set to put together. He opened the box, sorted parts and prepared to begin the long, arduous trial that all first-time fathers must go through, only to discover that he could not complete step one because the company had neglected to include fifteen small wood dowels. I spent the next twenty-four hours leaving weepy messages for the company WHO NEVER ACTUALLY ANSWERS THEY'RE PHONES, till finally I called my mom in hysterics because my baby was going to be born without a crib! And what kind of mother was I? He'll have to sleep in a laundry basket! How could I bring this precious child into the world without a bed of his own? He'll never forgive me! We'll have a horrible relationship that will end with him running away at fifteen, and I'll never see him again!

Then Mom called the company and within five minutes, they were shipping out fifteen wood dowels.

Hormones are fantastic. Send ice.