Any Day Now (Guest Blogger: Auntie Kara)

Tonight I (Aunt Kara) am simultaneously waiting on my sweet nephew to arrive and watching “hometown” night on Bachelor. You’d be shocked at the emotions that can arise from such a seemingly unrelated combination of activities!

The waiting game began last Wednesday, when we got the news that Kristin was literally about to “pop”! I learned that John Mark was potentially on his way “any day now” and that it was possible that it may not even be 24 hours before I met my new little family member. Quickly, I was reminded of the day that I walked through Kristin’s front door to find her standing in the middle of the living room crying and saying “we’re going to have a baby!” and Brandon with his head in his hands (don’t worry – he got used to the idea). Wow. What a moment. Kristin later wrote an entry about the sound of joy being similar to the sound that came out of my mouth when I heard that I was going to be an aunt. My eyes get all watery just thinking about it. My very own nephew!!! I loved him from the moment that I learned he existed.

Now, here we are, on the cusp of meeting John Mark Jones (it has been 5 days since I first heard he’d be here “any day now”). Watching the hometown dates on Bachelor has me thinking a lot about “meeting” a person. I keep wondering why I feel so anxious and excited, but also how I already love someone so much whom I haven’t even met. The Bachelor, Sean, is meeting all these families tonight...and it is quite possible one will be HIS family one day. He will love them like his own, much like I love my fiance’s family.

However, thinking about meeting John Mark is SO different from that feeling. When you meet adults, they already belong to someone else, often multiple people. When you date someone, they already have “THEIR” people – the ones who have loved him no matter what since the beginning. And that’s the thing – I get to be one of John Mark’s people. Someone who is with him from day one, despite the good or bad. Someone who will change his diapers, take naked baby pictures of him (completely intended to embarrass him in the future)...someone who will laugh with him and play with him, watch him grow, and hopefully be an integral part of the person he becomes. He will be OURS. Yes, mostly just Kristin and Brandon’s...but he’ll be mine too......

I don’t have to worry about initially impressing John Mark. Upon meeting my nephew it won’t matter if I’m funny or pretty, or what I choose to wear the first time he sees me...even though I fully admit to having an outfit prepared for his birth - hahaha. All that matters is the love I have for him and the dedication I have to him and his future. How amazing is that!? I can only imagine how it feels to be the parent...

I thought all the mystery was gone once I learned that Kristin and Brandon were having a little boy and that his name would be John Mark. But there is so much more to learn about our sweet blessing. What will he look like? Will he have his mother’s positive, happy nature? His father’s careful yet hilarious tendencies? Will he be as fun-loving and carefree as his Mimi? As silly and quirky has his grandpa and namesake, Mark? Will his personality match his reluctance to join us? Will he be strong willed and always keeping us on our toes? I don’t know, and I just can’t wait to find out!

Any day now, they say. Any. Day. Now.

Well Rested and Nested

So last Wednesday my doctor said the baby would probably come in at least a week and even possibly within days. Well here we are 3 days later and no signs of baby yet. No contractions, no nothing. I really wanted him to come on our anniversary/Valentine's Day, but even after a vigorous walk and a spicy dinner, nothing.

I keep thinking that he's waiting on me to finish my to do list before he comes and I can respect that. So last night we finished up at Babies-R-Us and today we put things together, cleaned, and organized. There is literally NOTHING left for us to do. We are so prepared that I'm living out of my hospital bag. We both even tied up all loose ends at work on Friday. Tonight we have our Diapers & Wings shower, which we've really been looking forward to. After the completion of our final do lists and this final celebration, we are really ready.

In addition to being done with all the prep, last night we slept really great. This is a big deal because I've (I mean Brandon) been battling pregnancy induced sleep moaning and snoring. While it was cute and funny at first, Brandon has finally resorted to the guest room, but last night we actually made it the whole night together - no snoring, no moaning. On top of that great night's sleep, we both took naps today. So now, not only are we fully nested, we are fully rested.

When she told me he could possibly come as early as Wednesday night, I got really excited. However, in retrospect I'm glad I've had the past three days to finish things up. That being said, after tonight's party, I will have no objection to his arrival! Bring it on :) If he doesn't come, I'll just keep reminding myself that it's a matter of WHEN he comes, not IF he comes, so no matter what, we will settle in and wait til he's ready for his debut. Can't wait!

Happy Valentine's Day

With our anniversary coming up tomorrow, I started thinking about dates and landmarks in a relationship. This Valentine's Day we will have been together 5 years. I've never been very romantic or overly sentimental, but our anniversary has always been important to me. When I was getting excited about the 5 year mark, it hit me that we haven't even been married a year yet and don't most people celebrate their wedding anniversaries bigger than their dating anniversaries? However, I think I could make the case that the day we went on our first date is possibly more important than our wedding date. It's the day that changed our lives forever (even though we didn't know it at the time). It's the day when our future really started to unfold. Being with Brandon defines and shapes my future like no other decision I've ever made (well, except maybe the decision to have a child). Our relationship has changed and evolved since then, but it's the day when it all started. Our wedding date will always be special too, but we knew long before we said "I do" that we were the people we wanted to spend the rest of our lives with.

It feels like yesterday that we were at Sol y Luna for our 4 year anniversary last year. I can't believe that one year later we are married with a baby on the way. It's crazy how radically different your life can be in just a year!

This picture was taken at the Little Black Dress Party about a month after we met. We were five years younger then, crazy!

Today we have a doctor's appointment. How wonderful would it be if John Mark decided to show up on our anniversary? Then Valentine's Day would be even more special to us! Fingers crossed :)

Phase 1

We are in labor! Before you get too excited, let me explain. The good news: we are in phase one of labor. I've got all the symptoms. Bad news: this phase could last days or weeks. I said on Facebook that I'm in limbo just like when you're not sure if school is gonna get out for a snow day or not. I'm preparing for work like I'm not coming back on Monday, but I could actually be back Monday and then the following two Mondays as well. This is frustrating, but exciting nonetheless. Before our most recent appointment, I knew our baby was big and he was not head down. I had actually assumed we would probably have a C-section and I'd come to terms with that. However, after our ultrasound and exam the other day she's sure a C-section will not be necessary and that I could go into labor anytime. The exciting thing about this is that labor is going to happen more spontaneously than a planned c-section. Everywhere I go, I imagine what I would do if my water broke...while scary and embarrassing, that is definitely going to make for a better story and I love a good story! I'm walking around trying to absorb all the details so that when it happens I'll be able to tell the story well.

The bottom line is that it's all a matter of "if" not "when" at this point and no matter how you look at it three more weeks is nothing...we will enjoy our freedom while it lasts (although I doubt Brandon considers spending the afternoon at Buy Buy Baby "freedom")!

Ready to Pop

I've been dying to go to my 36 week appointment for forever so maybe we could find something else out about when the baby might be coming. Today we had an ultrasound and he is measuring 7.5 pounds give or take 15%. In other news, I am 3-4 centimeters dilated and 75% effaced. This is doctor speak for "almost ready." She said he could come anytime between now and 3 weeks from now....I'm not likely to pass 39 weeks (March 1st). She said I've got the best cervix she's seen in a long time, especially for a first timer! This is exciting, but definitely means we are running out of time! Bags are packed and everything is almost ready to go ;) We will be meeting him sooner than later, that's for sure!