Fall Festival

We brought Caroline to a Fall Festival they were having in a nearby park this morning. It's funny going to a Fall Festival when it is about 90 degrees outside! Normally we would be apple picking in sweaters back East! Despite the heat, we had a great time. Caroline enjoyed trying out every jumping house, slide and tunnel she could find. She and her buddies Bryan and Amelia were thoroughly tired out when it was time to go home for naps!

37 weeks, 4 days

Brett is back from his trip! I'm ready to have this baby anytime now!

37 Weeks

I had my Dr.'s appt. yesterday and I am still 1.5 cm and 50% effaced. Brett came with my to the appt. to see what the Dr.'s opinion was on him leaving for a business trip to Vegas yesterday afternoon through Fri. She said that she didn't think I'd have the baby this weekend and she thought it would be ok for him to go. Hopefully, I won't have to call him in a panic telling him I'm in labor and to get home ASAP! I had a really fast labor and delivery with Caroline (6.5 hours from start to finish) and I keep hearing that the second child comes even faster. Let's all keep hoping that the baby stays put until at least this Saturday morning!

On another note, I told Caroline that when Daddy takes Mommy to the hospital to have the baby that my friend, Amanda, will be watching her and that maybe she'll get to play with Amanda's little girl while I'm having the baby. Caroline has seen Amanda twice since I told her this and each time she has asked me, "Are you going to have my baby NOW?"

Baby Showers!

Sara and I at Playgroup Shower Playgroup girls (and kids) at Playgroup Shower

Cake from playgroup shower.
Opening presents at Playgroup shower

Michelle and I at our shower this weekend
Most of the girls

Becca and I this weekend

This weekend, my good friends Sara & Amanda gave my friend Michelle (who is 33.5 weeks pregnant) and me a baby shower (Sara also gave Michelle, our friend, Vanessa, and me a shower with our playgroup two weeks ago). It was so nice to get together with a bunch of the girls and enjoy coffee, breakfast, and uninterrupted conversation. We were spoiled with bunches of boxes of diapers and wipes, baby blankets, burp cloths, toys, and a handmade knitted hat (made by Sara). I am so lucky to have such wonderful girlfriends here that have really made me feel special while we wait for Baby #2. I can't even tell you how many friends and neighbors have offered to watch Caroline when we have to run to the hospital. It is so nice to know there there are so many people that are looking out for us and I hope that we can always return the favor.

36 Weeks-Getting Ready for Baby!

We are finally in full swing in order to prepare ourselves and our house for Baby #2! It's about time, wouldn't you say?! The nursery to mostly complete. We are just waiting to see if the baby is a boy or a girl to add either blue or lavender accents to the sage green walls. The living room has baby gear ready (pack n' play, bouncy seat and swing) to get Caroline used to seeing them and (hopefully) get over the temptation to play with all of it every 5 minutes! All the baby clothes, burp cloths, bibs and blankets are ready to go, as well. At my last appt. (36 weeks) an ultrasound confirmed that yes, the baby had indeed, turned head down and that he/she weighed about 5 1/2 pounds. I was 1.5 cm and 50% effaced (for all of you that don't know exactly what that means, this is a G rated site, so look it up somewhere else!). My next appointment is this Tuesday morning, so we will see if any more progress has been made. I have been having pretty bad constant cramping/back pain since last Thursday, so hopefully we will be getting somewhere soon, since I will officially be full-term at 37 weeks as of this Tuesday! I would not mind being early, that is for sure!

Blue Feet

When I picked up Caroline from preschool today, I asked her what she did at school. She told me, "I painted. Paint. Paint. Paint." I asked her what she painted and she said, "My feet." And I said to her "Ohhh...that sounds like fun" when I was really thinking, without believing her, "Oh how cute, what an active imagination!" I didn't take off her socks today until about 6:00pm and when I did, my child had blue stained feet. My two year old definitely knows what she is talking about, how silly of Mommy to think she did NOT paint her feet at school today!

Very Sad News

Caroline holding "Baby Braddock" this past Sunday, Sept. 9, 2007

This past Tuesday, September 11, 2007, we found out the incredibly tragic news that our five and a half month old nephew, Braddock Dean Bergen (Brett's sister, Kristin and her husband Zach's son), passed away during the night. We just got to hold Braddock for the first time while up in Cleveland for Kristin's wedding this past Saturday. During our visit, Caroline was so excited to see him and kept asking to hold "Baby Braddock". He was an incredibly sweet baby who always had a smile on his face. Braddock will always be a little angel for the Oswick family.

Ireland Mary Oswick

We had a new neice born this past Sunday, Sept. 9, 2007. Brett's brother, Jonathan, and his wife Audrey had a daughter, Ireland Mary Oswick. She was 6 lbs. 9 oz. (I think that's right!) and 18 1/4 inches. We were there to welcome her while we were visiting Cleveland over the weekend for Brett's sister's wedding.

35 Weeks

I had my Dr.'s appt. Wed. morning and she is pretty sure the baby turned into head-down position! She will be doing another ultrasound next week though, just to make sure. She also said that I am 1 cm dialated. So far I have gained 26 pounds. 5 or less weeks left to go!

First Day of Preschool

Look at my new dress and backpack!
I heard big kids take a bus to school?
Mom, no more pictures!
One more...
Ringing the bell in front of the school

Ready to play
Mom, you can go anytime now!

Standing in front of my cubby.

My buddy, Bryan, and I in our classroom.
Playing with shapes

Caroline started her first day of preschool today! She was so excited to go see her teachers and her friend, Bryan. She was also very excited to carry her new backpack with her. She did a great job when I brought her into the room, sat right down at a table and seemed pretty comfortable playing with some of the toys that were out. When I picked her up at noon, her teacher said she did great and that she was a "big helper" for the teachers. I asked Caroline what she did at school and she said, "Ashes, ashes, we all fall down!", so apparently "Ring Around the Rosies" was on the agenda. Then as we walked out, she started crying and said, "No bye-bye! Stay here! No bye-bye!" Nice way to boost mom's self-esteem! She would rather stay at preschool than play with me at home!

Goodbye Breakfast

This morning we met up with my brother, Michael, and his family and my mom and dad for breakfast. Michael, Sonia and Essie (my seven month old neice) are moving to Angola, so my parents came into town to help them get ready for the big move. Caroline adores her little cousin, Essie, and wanted to hug her, kiss her, sing to her, and help give Essie her bottles. She was also very excited to hear that she was going to be seeing Grandma and Grandpa yet again. On the way to the restaurant Caroline kept saying, too, "We're going to see My Michael?". (I guess, Sara, that Uncle Michael's are very popular with their neices/nephews!) It's been awhile since she saw her Uncle Michael since he has been abroad working in Angola for the past 7 weeks. Above are some pictures of Caroline and Essie with my parents.

Update!

1. "My Turn!!!" has now been joined by "I Myself!!!" (a.k.a. BY Myself!) and "I First!!!".
2. Caroline is really into singing right now. Some of her favorites include "The ABCs" (Thank you Aunt Rita for the new CD! It was a BIG hit!), "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star", "Old MacDonald", George Strait's new song, "Wrapped", which is requested EVERY time we're in the car and mostly recently she has discovered a song with her name, "Sweet Caroline" (sung complete with "Bum! Bum! Bum!" at the appropriate moments).
3. Puzzles, Puzzles, Puzzles! Caroline adores doing puzzles and has gotten really good at them. She can now do the 25 piece cardboard jigsaw puzzles "I Herself!". Once again, Aunt Rita, how did you know? The new puzzle that was sent was also very well received!
4. She can also now put ALL of her shoes on "I Herself" which, I'm excited to say, adds on another five minutes or more to us getting out the door each day.

Pink Baby! Orange Baby! No-Green Baby!

Apparently whatever color shirt I am wearing is the color of the baby in Mommy's tummy. Caroline also called me back to her bed when I was putting her down for her nap the other day, so that she could "give the baby a little kiss and little hug". She then kissed and hugged my stomach before lying back down. Sometimes she will hold on to my tummy and "Helloooooo Baby!". We have been reading lots of library books about new babies and big brothers and sisters. She used to keep saying that she wanted a sister, but has now changed her mind and clearly states that she would like a brother. She keeps saying that she will hold the baby and give the baby a "paci", too. The other day at the store, Caroline wanted to pick out some shoes for the baby. We had to settle on finding some socks/booties instead.

A Full Day

Caroline had a very busy day today. We went down to the big mall downtown to pick up a bag of mine that was being repaired, while I was doing that Caroline rode the escalators with Daddy (always an exciting feature of any mall). Then we took her to the Aquarium's restaurant for lunch. Our table was right up against a huge fish tank that took up the whole wall. Caroline was so excited she keep saying we were at the "Fishy House" to eat! She really wanted to see some snakes, for some reason and although there were none in the fishtank, a giant eel seemed to do the trick instead. Later on in the evening, we met up with friends to get ice cream (strawberry AND chocolate with gummy bears for Caroline-mmm...tasty!) and then she and her buddy ran around in the water fountains after and "fed" the donkey statue in the park. Needless to say, she went right to bed tonight without much fuss at all!