Tickled Pink!!!

Clarissa Ann arrived Sept, 27th at 4:21 pm.  She weighs 6 pounds 15 oz.  More pics at Nana's blog  at http://colleendown.blogspot.com/  Thanks for all the facebook messages, emails, and texts.  Our hearts have never been so happy!  XOXO, The Gregory fam

A Post to Say...

Yes, still pregnant (despite being halfway dilated). Here are some pictures to show how we've been passing time.... caving into cravings, playing with Tyler’s new puppies, walking all over Houston with Nana,  having play dates in the park, and trying everything known to woman (short of castor oil) to get this baby here on time.  The excitement is building and so is my belly pressure.  Today the doctor promised come Monday morning, whether it be mother nature, or some other means we will for sure have a baby!

Dear Baby,

Aren't you done baking yet???

We are packed and well prepared...

 Nana is here to help out...

And you have a big brother who is dying to meet you...

So please let your daddy miss work this Monday morning and make your debut!  XOXO, your anxiously awaiting family.

About to POP...

 Fortunately/ unfortunately my baby bubble is still holding strong.  Who is to say what is good or bad, but in order to avoid having a second cesarean the doctor gave me a couple stipulations:

• I have to go into labor on my own (I can’t be induced).
• My baby can’t be too big.

So now that I am full term with my due date about a week and a half away I’ve started taking steps for project push.  Over the weekend we did a LOT of walking in hopes for some water breakage...

 After our six hour stroll and not a single contraction, I am learning that breaking my water isn’t going to be the “walk in the park” that I thought it would be.   But hope still floats in Houston.  There are lots of parks around here, plus I have a toddler that keeps me on my toes.  And one way or another, sooner or later, this baby will eventually get here:) 

Reading for Two...

To keep my “baby brain” at bay I’ve been hitting up the Barbara Bush Library by our house.  I am liking that books are helping to give my back a rest.  Plus I decided it gives me the same high I used to get from shopping.  I can fill a whole suitcase full with beautiful books and I don’t even have to pay a cent.  All the book reading I want minus the buyer's remorse.   I love going home after and laying out all our finds on the coffee table and then spending the afternoon reading to James.  His favorite books have familiar characters he's seen on tv.  I am enjoying non-fiction books from the juvenile section.  Mostly because they are conveniently located on the kids floor of the library, they have beautiful pictures and they are easy to read yet surprisingly stimulating.   It is so fun learning about subjects and places I’ve always been fascinated with but haven't had time to read about until now.  I just finished a book about Thomas Edison, Communist China, Elizabethan England, and The World Health Organization. (A random assortment, but I have to redeem myself after my reality tv watching;)

 I was talking to my mom this morning about how time is moving like molasses.  She said I should read something steamy.  Any suggestions out there besides Shades of Grey?  That’s a little too hot  for this Houston heat;)  Hope you all have a wonderful weekend, love Jess

Forget the political polls, take a preggo poll!...

This is what I heard James exclaim as I walked in the kitchen the other day... “WOW, THAT IS A BIIIIG BABY (his eyes wide-open as he stared at my tummy peeking out of my pajamas)!”  It made me laugh since he is a kid of very few sentences.  It is true, I am getting bigger by the day and there are three weeks until the due date.   I was in the hospital a couple weeks ago for early contractions due to kidney stones, but haven't had any problems since.  So what do you think?  

How big will baby #2 be?  (James was 9.12 and a week over due)

At the children’s museum a stranger came up to me and said matter-of -factly, “You are having a boy.”   I told her we don’t know what we are having and then she said again,  "You are having a boy, I can tell!"  She said it so psychically that I believed her.  If it is a boy his name will be Thomas Lane and we’ll call him Tommy.  Thomas after my Grandpa and Lane after my dad’s middle name.  If it is a girl we are naming her Clarissa Ann after John’s grandma and mom and we will call her Clare or Rissy for short.  Either way, boy or girl, I am so excited!!!

Next Poll:  Will James have a baby brother or sister?