3 WEEKS(minus 1 day) LEFT

My scheduled c-section is 3 weeks from yesterday(& not a moment too soon...lol). I can't wait!! I'm in the state of "misery". I can't get comfortable in any position(sitting, standing, laying, etc etc). Soon it'll be over though & I'll have precious little Luke joining our family.
Hate to say it but so glad Christmas is over. We changed it up a little this year. We only went to his parents for Christmas eve(instead of both eve & day/night). Then we went to dad & Hazel's for lunch on Christmas day.
I feel so bad for dad & Hazel. I had to use them as babysitters that one day & I guess it traumitized Matthew. He is such a "creature of habit" & to have a "monkey wrench" thrown into his routine....it has apparently "scarred" him. Now every time we go to their house...he starts crying as soon as we get to the front door. I'm hoping he'll grow out of this. And hopefully he won't cry when they come over to our house the next time. His reaction each time(now) is really hurting them. I feel so bad BUT there's nothing I can really do about it.
I just found out a few days ago that one of my really good friends will be in town when I have Luke. I can't wait to see her. I hope & pray she is able to make it to the hospital to see me.
Well I better start thinking about doing a little work while I'm here....LOL!!!
Hope everyone had a great Christmas!! We used a disposable camera for our pictures this time around...so as soon as I get them developed & a disk(or scanned to my home computer) I'll post them on here.
Matthew hadn't quite grasped the concept of unwrapping the gifts yet...BUT he had a blast with everything he got for Christmas!!
More in a while!!

4 Christmases

Matthew is having "4 Christmases". He had 1 yesterday...we let him open his gifts from his "Aunt Sandy" from church. Talk about having a blast!! He wouldn't even stop playing w/his toys long enough to eat lunch. Then #2 will be Christmas eve w/Wayne's family. #3 will be Christmas morning w/us & then #4 will be later that day w/my dad & Hazel. Matthew is going to have a blast!! He still doesn't "grasp" the concept of opening gifts(still needs a little help w/them) but once they are open he's all about them....LOL.
3 weeks from Christmas day!!! if Luke lasts that long....LOL!! I hope he does(even though I am completely miserable) because I have a lot to do before then...lol!!
Well better get back to work...boss just walked in...lol.
If not back on before then...hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!!

4 WEEKS TO THE DAY LEFT

Well by this time 4 weeks from now, I will be in recovery(if not already in my room). It's not that far away yet it seems it at times.
My doctor said that what the other doctor meant about the baby being 2 wks more than me...had nothing to do w/my due date needing to be changed. It just meant that at that moment he was the size of a 33 wk old "fetus"/baby.
I still don't know if I'll actually make it to my actual scheduled delivery date or not. Noone I know thinks I will either. I look like he could drop out at any moment...LOL!!
Matthew is having a hard time lately if his daddy is not home within a half an hour of us getting home. I went thru another evening of him crying for more than an hour because he wanted his daddy. He wouldn't even take comfort from me..his own mommy. He wanted only either his daddy or his "Ninnie"...BUT no mommy. I now kind of know how my dad & Hazel felt a few weeks ago when they watched him & he cried for an hour for me. He was so upset last night that even in the brief moments when he'd be "calm" & I asked him if he was ready for dinner, he'd start crying again(I guess he associated eating with his daddy)....so needless to say he never ate dinner last night. He fell asleep before Wayne got home & had refused to eat until he got home. I hate that he didn't eat but I can't force him to either. I'm sure he won't suffer from missing one meal(especially after hearing what he'd had for breakfast...he ate more for breakfast than I did for breakfast, lunch & snacks...LOL).
Well better do some work(LOL) before it's time to go home for the day.

BIG BOY!!!

FUNNY FACE!!!! But look at the hair!!! This is the first picture taken after his very first haircut....which he had done this past Saturday(12/13/08). Daddy was so excited that he finally got a haircut. Everyone was...except mommy!!! I loved my lil man's curls he had in the back. BUT I caved to the "pressure" of everyone saying how badly he needed a haircut. I only caved because I thought it was important for me to be involved in it...& I had a fear that someone else would sneak him away for one while I'm in the hospital having his brother. I did good while he was getting it cut....BUT I did cry a little bit afterwards(in the car) because he no longer looks like my "little boy".....now he looks like a little "man". It has grown on me & I do love it...it was just hard at first...LOL!!! BUT since he got his haircut he has "changed"....he has become more "stubborn" & defiant....LOL...even his daddy noticed...LOL!!!
Well I go to my doctor today. I'm in the stage of appointments every 2 wks now. I have to ask her if I had heard the ultrasound doctor correctly the last time when she said that I was 31 wks & 5 days but that the baby was 33 wks +. If so, there's a chance I won't make it to my January 15th scheduled c-section. Plus this past Sunday night, I was having contractions(at least I think they were contractions...LOL). I say think so because I never had them w/Matthew....so not completely sure what they feel like. I just know that whatever was happening was not something I ever felt w/Matthew. Who knows...maybe I was having sympathy pains for Wayne's cousin's wife who had their son Sunday night...LOL!!!
Oh yes....time for the BIG announcement!!!! It hasn't been told to everyone(not sure if all of Wayne's family knows yet or if they are still calling the baby..#2...his dad was told the name so I assume he told Wayne's mom & so forth)......this baby's name will be.....Luke Austin Rippel.
Well I better do some work seeing as I leave in a little less than an hour.

Growing Up

Matthew & daddy taking a ride on Papa's(grandpa Rippel's) riding lawn mower. Matthew saying "hey I'm going to drive this thing by myself".

He is becoming such a lil' man. So grown up!! He's definitely not a baby anymore.

Matthew is "speaking" more & more w/each passing day. Last night we started going thru some flashcards w/him. Then I decided that we'd just pick one each Monday night at dinner & that would be his "word" of the week. His word this week is apple.....AND he did say it two times last night during dinner(as I was showing him the card). He's very smart. He knows exactly what we are talking about(no matter what the subject). For example...while he was sick a few weeks ago...he got "hooked" on the bottle again(anything to get him to drink enough fluids). Well it's gotten to the point that I want him "broke" of it again but he can be very demanding...LOL....so if he says bottle I ask him "what do you want? do you want a b-o-t-t-l-e(I spell it out)?" He then shakes his head yes.....the kid already knows how to spell bottle....LOL!!!

Well I hate to have to close but I better.

BACK PAINS

I have back labor. NOT FUN!!! I honestly don't know if this child will wait until the scheduled surgery day or not. I meant to ask my regular doctor the other day, if I had understood the ultrasound doctor correctly. I'd swear last week when I had my ultrasound done that she had told me that on that day I was 31 wks 5 days(according to my Jan. 22nd due date) but that the baby was measuring 33 wks. I will have to remember to ask at my next doctor's appt. on Dec. 16th. I'm thinking if I heard correctly, that there's a good, strong chance that this baby will come earlier than expected(more like closer to my original due date of Jan. 9th).
I'm still sick. Matthew is still congested a little bit as well. I really hate being sick. It's so very annoying!!!
Well better get back to work.