CRAVINGS

I thought it would be a good idea to mention the cravings that Kristen's had during this pregnancy. The funny thing is, for the most part, they've been non-existent. But there are a couple of quirky things that she's been seen doing over the past 9 months...

Ice
She's just been eating ice. The woman who cringes when I 'chew' ice cream has been going through glasses of crushed ice like nobody's business. Interesting (and cheap, accessible) craving.

Cherry Coke
The former Dr Pepper Queen has had quite the taste for Cherry Coke during this term. Not that she drinks a lot of soda, but when she has, Dr Pepper has not been the go-to beverage. Very strange indeed.

Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries
I think that in the past 7 years we've had chocolate-dipped strawberries one, maybe two times. Then in the past 6 months, we've had them at least 3 or 4 times. And there's a double-large carton of strawberries (and I assume, white & semi-sweet chocolate chips) on the counter as I type this...

So a couple things I guess - none of which are all that crazy, just interesting to see the different preferences from the norm. It's been by far, the easiest pregnancy so far, and that's been a nice change. The kidney stones I'm sure she could do without, but otherwise all is well.

I'd like to take this chance to mention too, that She's looked absolutely radiant these past 9 months. I know I married a beautiful woman, but I've caught myself staring at her on several occasions in recent months, amazed at how gorgeous she truly is. I know I keep saying that I hope the 3rd time's a charm for a dark baby who looks like its daddy, but who am I kidding? She'll be blessed to be as beautiful as her mother.

FALSE ALARM

On Saturday of our Memorial Day Weekend, we had a wonderful time as a family. We got some yard work done in the morning, saw Shrek 3 before noon, played soccer at the park, and then Kristen's contractions began. For 3 hours they were coming every 5-7 minutes.

We calmly prepared burgers on the grill, packed bags, got the boys prepped, made arrangements for the dog - basically tied up all the loose ends we hadn't been planning on just yet. The boys were dropped with Meme and Grumpa, and we were off to the Hospital by about 7:30pm. I was calling for a dark-haired daughter by midnight.

Unfortunately, as soon as Kristen was admitted to the Labor and Delivery Triage, the contractions stopped. So almost 4 hours of nonstop, hard contractions (Kristen was pretty out of breath) and then nothing. Dr Gipson - who when returning Kristen's page, greats me on the phone with a, "Hi Nick, it's Sheri" We seriously love her - checked everyting out and sent us home, but not before reassuring Kristen that, "I've got all these degrees, and even I was sent home with mine, so don't feel bad."

I don't think it was a matter of feeling bad, as much as it was feeling annoyed that she wasn't having this little girl yet. Not to mention the latest kidney stone(s?) that are making the continued pregnancy what I can only imagine to be unbearable. So feeling let down, we went back to get the boys and break the news, that their baby sister wasn't ready to come out and play just yet.

So we're still on baby-watch here. There's 3 and a half more weeks until the official due date. We were spoiled with the boys who came 3 and 3 and a half weeks early (at 6-11 and 7-7 respectively). If this little girl kicks it off like a diva and keeps us waiting, it's going to be a long remaining 23 days...

RUFFLES, RUFFLES, EVERYWHERE

I'm not talking about potato chips here either. Kristen had her Cinco De Mayo Baby Shower today - courtesy of Niki and Deb - and she just finished showing me all the loot. And my goodness, we're drowning in ruffles!

I'm getting a little nervous, because I'm really not sure how to dress this future little girl - there are so many parts to every outfit!!!

She'll be living the life though, as our wonderful family and friends gave so generously, some incredibly beautiful and fun outfits. Thank you all, we're clearly very blessed to have you in our lives.

And we'll of course be blessed when Allegra Sofia Santilli drops into our lives too...