Allie is here!

Allison Elizabeth Maisch arrived at 7:32pm on Friday, 6/27/08. She weighed in at 7lbs 3.9oz and was 19 inches long. Little round face, sweetheart chin and soft, dark hair. She's simply precious!

Mommy and Allie came home today and we're all going to spend the next few days, weeks, months, getting acclimated to being a family of five.

The boys adore her, and Ron is loving having a Daddy's girl. We simply couldn't love her more!

Predictions

We're all making predictions after my 39-week OB appointment yesterday. As of Wed, 6-25, I was 2-3 cm dilated. Due date is still 5 days away at July 1. But, as we all know, even the predictions of the best ultrasound techs and doctors can be off, so we started a little guessing game with our friends and family to see who will be right about when Baby Girl Maisch will make her appearance. Even Robbie got in on the action this morning. This was our conversation:

Me: Robbie, when do you think your baby sister will get here?

Robbie: July

Me: You know, she could come anyday now. She could come today, or tomorrow, or this weekend...

Robbie: or Tuesday

Me: You think she'll come on Tuesday?

Robbie: Yes.

Me: Okay. What will we name her?

Robbie: How 'bout Nicole?

So there you have it, folks. Our 4-year-old Nostradamus' prediction. (What got me the most is that he has no idea that Tuesday is the first day of July or my due date. He just pulled that one out on his own...as well as naming her Nicole, too.) Hee hee. ;) Of course, now Robbie has changed his mind back to "Lauren" for her name. Fickle.

Scottie says, "Maybe the baby will be Allie. I like Allie," and that she'll arrive "tomorrow."

For posterity, here's the list of guesses so far!

Wed, June 25: AllyF
Thur, June 26: Ron, Lori B, Kim D
Fri, June 27: Mom S, Sarah, Kim G, Scottie
Sat, June 28: Sue, Tracey, Ashley (1:31pm), Mike
Sun, June 29: Barbie, Tami, Marla, Dad M
Mon, June 30: Anne, Amy
Tues, July 1: Stace, Caleb, Robbie
Wed, July 2: Blue
Thur, July 3: Kate
Fri, July 4: Mom M, Kerry, Jen, Ali, Brynn, Brandi
Sun, July 6: Price
Tue, July 8: Evan

Anticipation

Remember that old Carly Simon song? It's going through my head these days. After being induced two weeks early with Scottie, I really thought I'd already be holding my baby girl by now. But here I am, 7 days away from my July 1 due date and still no news to report.

At my ultrasound appt last week, the baby was measuring smaller than either of my boys were at that stage. 7lbs 7oz on the ultrasound (which is probably really around 6lbs in reality since the u/s always measure so big). So my OB said we're just going to wait and see. I have another OB appt tomorrow to see if I'm dilated or anything, but I kinda doubt it. I never dilated on my own or had my water break or anything on my own with either of my earlier pregnancies, so I feel like I just need to wait it out again this time.

But we're all excited, knowing that she could arrive at any time now! Lots of anticipation going on. When will she arrive? What will her delivery be like? What will she look like? What will we name her? How will the boys react? What kind of baby will she be? I'm just so excited (and yes, a bit nervous, too) that I can't wait!

So, place your bets. When do you think baby girl Maisch will arrive? Ron's betting on Thursday, 6/26. I feel like, if I've gone this long, it would be nice to have a July baby, so I'd like to see her arrive on Tuesday, 7/1, which is my actual due date. Any guesses? We'll let you all know as soon as we know! :)

Boys and their Toys

I suppose getting spoiled with all sorts of new toys and gifts is what turning 4 is all about, but Robbie (and Scottie) really made out like bandits with all of their new goodies. It's been sum- sum- summertime here in the backyard with their new wooden playset, cool water pistols and super soaker blasters, and the driveway with brand new rollerskates and skateboard.

We also had a fantastic visit with Uncle Mike who came back to Jersey for the first time in three years. It was a great combination of reasons to get together with lots of family and just play and have fun.

Although, it does blow my mind over how fast my boys are growing up. I mean, when did they get old enough to be little skaters?

Happy 4th Birthday, Robbie!

It's only 9AM and we've already had a big, big day! Robbie and Scottie woke up around 6:20, so they got to spend a half hour with Daddy before he left for work. We opened a few presents and Robbie loves all the superheroes, cool new cape, binoculars, etc. We'll do gifts in shifts today so he doesn't get overwhelmed, but both boys are having a blast.

Gifts were followed by superhero pancakes and some singing and dancing to superhero music. (Can you tell this day will follow a theme?) ;)

Scottie even had a surprise for us on Robbie's b-day, too. At breakfast, he declared, "I need to go potty!" This from my child who refuses to even sit on the potty for an M&M. So off we went and had a little potty party. Scottie on his little potty seat and Robbie on the big potty. Surprise of all surprises, Scottie went! He even agreed to wear a big boy Diego pullup today, too! (First time not wearing a diaper for him.)

Now we're off to run some errands for the family party tonight. The kids' party is tomorrow. What a fun morning so far!

Preschool Class Birthday Party

Wednesday is Robbie's last day of his first year of preschool. At the beginning of the year, I remember the fear and nervousness about dropping off my very first baby with strangers. Sure, they were great teachers at a highly recommended preschool, but they were strangers to me and to my baby. I was so proud of him as he ran right into the classroom, excited to play with all their crafts and toys, but I cried as I pulled out of the driveway. I felt my heartstrings being pulled tighter and tighter with each yard down the school driveway. I knew it was the right time for him, and just hoped for the best.

Well, the best is what we got. This year has been such a wonderful experience for Robbie (and for me). His teachers were perfect. Caring and open. Sensitive to what made Robbie tick and helpful to me in letting me know what was going on in class. I couldn't be happier with our choice of school for him and his placement in this class. Today was just a reminder of all of that.

Although Robbie's 4th birthday isn't until next Friday, they had his class birthday party today. I made some dinosaur cupcakes for the kids to share (my own personal achievement since I'm no great decorator!) and got to go in to read to the class from Robbie's favorite book. We read Dr. Seuss' "The Zax" and "What Was I Scared Of?" (otherwise known as, "The Pants With Nobody Inside Them" according to Robbie and Scottie). Seeing both of my boys sitting there, listening to the stories they hear almost every night really made me feel nostalgic about this school year ending. (Scottie got to come with me to read today and got to sit on his own little carpet square next to his big brother -- he thought he was just so cool sitting with all the big kids!)

I find myself already looking forward to September when Robbie starts in the 4-day 4-year-old program and it's Scottie's turn for his very first days of preschool in the 2-day 2.5-year-old class. What lucky boys to have such fun experiences and what a lucky Mommy to join in the fun!

My Feet Are Sick

A bug has descended on our family, filling the house with coughs, sniffles and complaints. I had to fill an antibiotic prescription for myself yesterday, which prompted the kids to notice and also want some medicine for themselves.

This afternoon, Robbie told me his tummy felt sick today. (This is more from the suggestion I think I planted this morning when I asked him if his tummy felt good or bad after he went to the bathroom.) So when he told me that his tummy felt sick, after polishing off some pretzel sticks and juice with no issues, I was doubtful. But I asked him if he thought he needed to go to the bathroom or if he thought he'd get sick. He said yes, so we went to the bathroom together. Then, while talking about what it means to feel sick and get sick, he started to cry saying that he wanted medicine. Finally seeing what this was really about, I asked him what was wrong. I said, "Are you crying because you want medicine or crying because you need to be sick?" He turned to me with tears in his eyes and said, "How do I do it?"

After stifling my laughter over seeing him ask how to get sick just to get some meds, I told him we'd take his temperature and he could help me read the numbers. We used the temporal lobe thermometer that just swipes across the forehead and that seemed to appease him enough. So he calmed down and came out of the bathroom and joined in normal activity again. But sure enough, later, he was asking again for some medicine. This time for his ear (which again, I had asked about a couple of days ago). He said his ear hurt, so he needed medicine. Another talk about how medicine only works if we're really sick, and how it can be bad for you if you're not sick later, but he's still whining. So I said, "Come here, Robbie. Tell me what's wrong. Show me what part of you feels sick." He paused, walked over and said, "My feet."

So he spent the next ten minutes lying down in bed to rest his sick feet. :) Sorry, kiddo. No meds for sick feet here.