T - 6 days

Hi Everyone~ Well, I'm on the "OFFICIAL" countdown! 6 days until delivery. I was at the Dr yesterday & Dr Gaetze told me that Monday's the day! WOOHOO. I managed to keep my blood pressure down, stay off of bed rest, and just stay healthy. Dr Gaetze would have liked to see me gain more than 12 pounds, but all in all, I am so proud of myself! I was a little worried, (so was my dad) about my blood pressure for a while there. We're on the home stretch & before all of us know it, we'll be letting you know if the next little Brown is a boy or a girl. Mollie informed me yesterday, after asking for a brother all along, that she has changed her mind & now wants a sister. Lord help us!
Through all of this, I can't THANK my husband enough for being so great! I know that's cliche, but it's true. Especially this last month or so. I have been really uncomfortable, not sleeping well at all & CRABBY! I complain so much that even I'm sick of hearing it. I don't know how he puts up with me, but thank goodness he does. He still loves me too! Ha ha.
The other person I need to Thank is my dad. He's been awesome through all of this! My Dr's appointments have never been an issue. He's worked around all of them, and even put his fun plans on hold for me. He's supposed to be at Lake Erie right now trying to land the "BIG ONE", but decided to stay so that if he needed to be here, he was. I'm feeling bad that everything is going so well & that after it's all said & done, he really could have gone & had a great time, but I thank him the same for sticking around for me! (I still think I'm his favorite oldest daughter) I have a feeling that next year when this trip comes up, I'm going to owe him BIG time. Wink wink!
My parents & my in-laws have been great. Between them, they kept the kids for us most of the weekend so that Rob & I could tie up a bunch of loose ends & get things done around the house. I still need to pack the girls & us, and get our hands on a new car seat, but that's the easy stuff. My plan is to have that feat taken care of tonight so that I relax & enjoy the rest of the time with no worries. Mollie & Ava are both so excited to have a sleepover at Grandma's house! I hope Grandma & grandpa are ready for them!
Wright & Evelyn made it to Sioux Falls last week. It's so good to see them. The girls are LOVING all of the attention!
I'm off early today to go take a tour of JFK Elementary School with Jill, Mollie & Grace. I can't believe that it's almost time to begin this new journey with Mollie. It will be nice to share this with Grace & Jill. I think it will make things easier on all of us!
Well, the next time I "Blog" will be with fun & exciting news. I can't wait to share it with everyone!
Post you soon!

T - 2 weeks

Hi Everyone~ There isn't a whole lot to report this week. Not much has changed other than we're a week closer to the next little Brown joining our excited family, and the fact that I'm that much more uncomfortable. Poor Rob. I'm sure that he's sick to death of my complaining! He's a saint for putting up with me! Boy, it's hard to explain to a 4, almost 5 year old that 14 days is a long time to them. We're trying. I was at the Dr yesterday & my BP was 121/68, which is normal for most people, but for me is EXCELLENT! My next appointment is Monday April 27th, (Happy Birthday James) at 9am.
Speaking of the 4 almost 5 year old.... she had her 1st soccer game of the season on Saturday afternoon. WOW! I don't know what happened between last Fall & Saturday, but what a difference. She was volunteering to play & right out there in the middle of everything! The timid little girl who was afraid to kick the ball or be kicked last Fall is GONE! She scored the first goal. Boy was that exciting!
Mollie had to have a new bike this year also. The 12in bike that she rode all last summer is officially to small. The seat was all the way up & she was still kissing her knees. I found a GREAT deal on a brand new bike that was still in the box at a used kids store. We brought it home last night & daddy, along with his 2 little wrenches went to work putting it together. Mollie now has a 16 inch bike & Ava is DYING to ride the 12 inch. Hopefully it will be nice enough outside when we get home tonight to let them ride!
Happy Birthday yesterday to Grandpa Wright. Mollie can't wait for them to come & asked him last night on the phone if they would be here tomorrow.
Happy 3rd Anniversary to Mike & Lynne! Have fun on your date night!

T - 3 weeks

Time is flying! I was just at the Dr yesterday & must confess that I was REALLY nervous about yesterday's appointment. The week before, she had talked about putting me on bed rest if my blood pressure (bp) didn't come down & I gained some weight. Well, I'm not one to just sit around & wouldn't know what to do with myself if she said "Laura, you're on bed rest". So, I went in to see her & my bp was 121/76 & I had gained a pound. She was happy with that & let me go. I don't have to see her again until next Monday! YIPPPPEEEE! She did say that this wasn't going to be a very big baby. I guess I would be more excited about that if I had to deliver all natural, but seeing as how it's a c-section, not that big a deal. The heartbeat was good. Strong. 142 - 144 bpm. I'm getting uncomfortable, but the light at the end of the tunnel is visible!
Update on Mollie: I was home with her all week last week due to Influenza B. According to her Dr, the most contagious & the roughest one to deal with. She was one sick kid! I'm happy to report that after finishing the Tamiflu, and going through an antibiotic to treat a possible case of pneumonia along with the Influenza, she is getting back to her bubbly, playful, ornery little self! Luckily, Rob, Ava & I managed to keep from getting that nasty stuff!

Saturday, the weather was so nice that we took the girls to the zoo! They had a blast. The animals were all active, out & about.

We had a really nice Easter. The weather wasn't too bad. The girls had an Easter Egg Hunt outside at Grandpa Mike & Grandma Lynne's, and then another one at Grandpa Mark & Grandma Suzy's. Man, that bunny moves. We tried to catch him at the Hagen's, but he slipped away, maybe next year. The girls had so much candy, that I would bet we have some left over next year when Easter rolls around!

Soccer is beginning & Mollie is still doing Gymnastics & Sunday School, so we keep busy with that. I can only imagine what life will be like once Ava starts getting involved in stuff & we have the new little one.

Things at the house are just about ready. Only a few little things left to do. What gets done, gets done & the rest will have to be.

That's all I have for this week. I'll post again next week. Take care everyone & I hope that you all enjoy the beautiful weather!

Hi Everyone~ This one will be short & sweet. I just got home from the Dr with Mollie & she has Influenza B. She is on the medication to help it, and we have one for Ava for preventative measures. Keep your fingers crossed & say some prayers that the rest of us don't get it.
Things are going well otherwise. The baby is active, especially at night when I want to wind down. We're on the home stretch & before I know it, I'll have pictures to post.
Take care. I hope everyone stays well.
Happy Easter!

T - 5 Weeks

Well~The whole goal of posting at least weekly is off to a rocky start. Rob reminded me yesterday that I needed to get on this. "Chop Chop" were his exact words.

Things in the Brown household are still crazy, (does it ever change?!?). Last Sunday, March 29th, we celebrated Grandma Vera's 78th birthday at mom & dad's house. Thank goodness it was there. I don't know where else we would have put the more than 50 people that showed up to help her celebrate. Uncle Jon suggested that we rent the local VFW, after everyone started to show up. We had a GREAT time. Grandma was so happy to see everyone. Of course, there was a TON of food. She out did herself again.

On Monday, Rob invited my family & his mom and Mike to our place for Ribs & Pork Loin on the grill. It was delicious. That night around 12:30am, Ava woke up with the flu. She was miserable & up the rest of the night. She finally stopped around 5am. I didn't feel so well, so Rob got up with her the last few times. Around 8am, Rob had it. 3 down 1 to go was all I could think. It was a miserable day. Having the flu when you're 8 months pregnant is NOT fun. Ava was pretty well back to normal by late afternoon, Rob started feeling better late that night & I was finally feeling better on Wednesday morning when I woke up. Mollie never got it thank goodness. She was a helper though! We found out that this flu made it's rounds. Matt & Katlyn had it, Jill, Grace & Eyan had it, Uncle Al & Uncle Jon had it, along with Victoria. What a bummer.

Wednesday morning I went to the Dr. I have to go back again next week. She's giving me until then to see if I can change things or she will look at putting me on bed rest. The bottom number of my blood pressure was 76 at my last appointment 1 1/2 weeks ago, on Wednesday it was 89. I also lost 9 lbs since my last appointment, and had only gained a total of 14. So hopefully, the 5 remaining lbs is all baby. I don't think that she's so concerned with the weight, it's the blood pressure. I was pretty disappointed. I have been trying so hard to keep my blood pressure down, and with only 5 weeks to go, I was hoping that things would be different. Oh well. I guess I should be thankful that if I am put on bed rest, it would only be for 4 weeks. Could be worse I guess. I'm just not very good at sitting around with nothing to do.

Mollie is officially registered for Kindergarten! She is SO excited & asks every morning when she starts. "Mommy, do I go to Char's today, or do I get to go to school?" (I have a feeling it's going to be a long summer) I told her that when the weather is nice we will start practicing her "walk to school".

It's Friday. What a relief! It's been a long week. I'm hoping that Phil Shreck is wrong with his weather forecast. Mollie is supposed to have her first Soccer game on Saturday pending the weather. Keep your fingers crossed that the four letter word they're forecasting misses us.

I hope that everyone is doing well. I can't believe that Easter is next weekend already. Hopefully the weather will be nice for all of those little ones looking forward to the Easter Egg Hunts!

Have a great weekend!