The Final Countdown

Feel free to cue the old song by that hair band, Europe. I have officially started the countdown for the arrival of our new addition. I have 10 more sleeps until we head to the hospital and I can hardly believe the time has come. The nerves are kicking in and I am anxious for the surgery, but cannot wait to meet this little person that has been "cooking" in here for so long. One of my closest friends up here had her baby this morning and I went to visit them at the hospital this afternoon. I was overwhelmed with the sheer adrenaline and pure love that filled the room and can't wait for us to get to experience that again. Baby Cailyn was born at 5:56am this morning and she is gorgeous. She also has a full head of hair and since Tammy and I both suffered from heartburn throughout our pregnancies together (which according to the old wives tale means a "hairy baby"), I am sure I am giving birth to Chewbacca.

Thankful in a backhanded sort of way...

So, I am walking into the break room at work to have one of the few vices I am allowing myself during this pregnany (caffeine in the form of jasmine green tea from Trader Joe's!) and the tea packet slips from my fingers onto the floor. Now, I could see how if you are reading this you are thinking "big deal", but to a 9-month pregnant gal who hasn't been able to see her feet looking straight down in months, this is a problem. I am watching the packet of glorious tea sail to the floor in what feels like slow motion - the same tea that is meant to help get me through the day that started at 5:45am when Finn woke up our household. With a hand on the door for stability and a grunt for sheer motivation, I bend over to pick up my tea packet only to stand up face-to-face with a co-worker who had proceeded to watch the entire thing shake down without offering any type of assistance to me whatsoever. Honestly.

Now, anyone who knows me can vouch that I am sensitive and get my feelings hurt probably easier than others. Perhaps OVERLY sensitive could be used as a descriptor and adding pregnancy hormones to this mix does not help anything, but I am officially OVER selfish people. This unfortunately clueless man has no idea that his actions, or lack there of, have set me off on a tangent of rehashing all the things people have done recently that have disappointed me or hurt my feelings. But, in writing all this down it has allowed me to vent and get it off my chest. Especially since I know that people will continue to be selfish and self-serving and I can only be responsible for how I let it affect me or react to it.

So, I am thankful to those who have reached out to me during this pregnancy to send congrats, check in periodically to see how I am feeling, offer advice or funny anecdotes to get me through difficult days, post on this page, or just let me know that they are thinking about me and my growing family. My plan is to take note of those who have shown this type of kindness to me and make sure to pay it forward AND continue to show my gratitude. In addition, I will look inwardly to make sure I am not being selfish and will strive to reach out to those in need...you never know when someone just needs to know you are thinking about them or care how they are doing. And, if a pregnant woman ever drops ANYTHING in front of me when I am no longer with child, you can bet I am going to do my best to get it for her.

Hugs!

Today, I am thankful for the multiple hugs that Finn decided to shower me with this morning. Hugs from him usually have to be requested multiple times and he will begrudgingly oblige for the most part. But, I received two hugs this morning on the couch, one "run and jump into my arms" hug and one leg hug while I was putting my shoes on in preparation to leave for work. Made a blah Wednesday that much brighter for this Mommy!

Weekend Update from Massive Headwound Harry

Ok, so it's not THAT bad, but Mommy wanted me to document the weekend's excitement of injuries. Now, I am going to start this off by saying I am a climber. If there is something for me to climb on, I will be on it ASAP. Numerous times a day my parents tell me "Finn, don't run on the couch" or "Finn get down, we aren't supposed to jump from the couch to the table" or "Finn, it's not ok to stand on the armrest of the couch" or my personal fave to do "Finn, do NOT jump from the armrest, run on the couch and jump onto the table." These two are really stifling my gymnastics career.

Anyway, I was completely OVER dinner on Saturday night and left my parents at the table so I could slyly pull off one of these many maneuvers before getting in trouble. I was having a blast jumping off the couch and landing on the table, when I misjudged the distance and face planted onto the coffee table. My right eye now looks like Rocky Balboa's and Mommy is afraid school is going to call CPS on her when she arrives to pick me up today.

Fast forward to Sunday morning. My parents were pretending they couldn't hear me when I woke up yesterday, even though I was sending them clear messages like "I GET UP DADDY!" Deciding to take matters into my own hands, I climbed out of my crib and toppled to the floor landing on my head. Yes, that was the second time that region of my body had been compromised in a span of 12 hours. Mommy and Daddy hope that this isn't turning into a pattern, although I did stay in my crib after naptime yesterday and when I woke up this morning, using the requisite "I'm Ready!" that Mommy made me promise to say instead of scaling my crib to freedom. Finally, last night I was playing under the table and stood up without moving far enough away and hit my head for the third and last time this weekend. Perhaps the next time you come see us at our house I will be wearing protective gear like a helmet???

Gratitude

I have a few friends who are taking this time in November to memorialize something in their life that they are thankful for each day. I LOVE the idea, but am tired at just the thought of doing it each day this month, so I thought I would jot some things down now.

My Mark - I am so lucky to have such a cool, smart, funny individual that wanted to spend his life with me. He is a great example of the type of person I would like to be and who I hope our children will model themselves after. His feathers don't get ruffled easily and he is super patient. Sometimes, these two characteristics madden me when I want him to react like a lunatic about something (ahem, like how I am reacting perhaps) and always appreciate it after the fact when he didn't. I appreciate all the additional work he has had on his plate recently to get ready for this new baby, not to mention helping take care of Finn AND me while I am swollen, grouchy, and rotund.

My Finn - Terrible two's have hit the Barry household like a whiny, crying, stubborn tornado. And yet, I am still ridiculously thankful for our little boy. His language and comprehension skills amaze me every single day (for example, he made me laugh on purpose yesterday while we were driving home and then had to announce "I'm funny!") and I sometimes just find myself staring at him in amazement and disbelief that I can take 1/2 the credit for creating him. There are definitely times when he tries my extremely limited amount of patience, but each morning I can't wait to see that little face and hang out with him once again.

My Family - There are too many people to list everyone by name here, but I am soooo thankful for my family, both immediate and extended members. I am especially grateful for my Dad's upcoming visit to watch Finn for us while we are having this new baby and adore the relationship that they have, even though we are far away. And I am extremely grateful and looking forward to my sister's visit as well (not to mention her previous weeklong stay with us when Finn was born.) I laughed quite hard during that week, which is not an easy feat with a c-section incision, and will always be so thankful for her coming to stay with us while she left her own family behind for the week. My Dad is the epitomy of selflessness and he definitely passed that onto my sister. And, what did I get from him??? - His nose! :)

The one thing I wish for is that my Mom would have been able to meet my two incredible boys that I have in my life, as well as the new baby that will be joining us in the end of the month. I know she would have loved Mark and would not have been able to get enough of Finn (and her adorable Granddaughter Amber too!) For that I am sad and probably always will be, but the silver lining is that I got to have her for as long as I did and I know that I have witnessed her personality shine through on occasion in Finn.

I am looking forward to this season of giving Thanks and hope to be able to appropriately show my gratitude for all the blessings that have been bestowed upon me. These, of course, are not the only things I am grateful for and will hopefully be able to post more soon.

~ Courtney

Our Little Fanly

Mommy keeps talking about how our family is going to increase at the end of this month. She asks me all the time who our family is and I tell her "Mommy, Daddy and Finn...our Fanly"! Sometimes I will add Papa Danny to that or Nuna and sometimes our friend Tammy gets included too! Please note that I don't include the baby in this equation yet. My parents think it's still a little too early for me to understand that this thing wiggling around in Mommy's belly is actually going to be a baby that lives at our house and joins our "Fanly". Can't say I love the idea.

Yesterday was Halloween and although I have been stoked to be Buzz Buzz the Bumblebee ever since Mommy ordered my costume, I REFUSED to wear it. Would.Not.Look.At.It. That's the type of refusal I am talking about. Nobody is sure why I didn't want to wear it (and I sure am not talking about it), but Mommy and Daddy went with the bee theme and I would only wear my pajamas to the Halloween party at my friend Tyler and Austin's house. Mommy did say that Grandma Sharon was having a ball laughing at that scenario! We didn't get one family shot on our camera, but think Tyler and Austin's Mommy might have, so hopefully we can post photos soon.


We will be welcoming the new baby on November 29th, as long as s/he doesn't come early and Mommy is getting a teensy bit nervous about the whole thing. She has already had some contractions, but no real labor yet, and says that anyone who says you forget what labor and recovery is like is a big, fat liar. I am SOOOOOO excited that Papa Danny is going to come up and stay with me for a week while Mommy is in the hospital and he is going to get to see my "new house", my "new school" and bring me to the hospital to meet my new brother or sister! Nuna is going to come the week after for a few days to help and then Mommy said she doesn't want to think about how sad she is going to be once her "fanly" leaves. Sheesh, what a baby! :)


These are Mommy's last two weeks of work before she takes some time off for the baby. In actuality, it is 9 1/2 more days or 76 more hours or 4,560 more minutes, but really whose counting?


Thanks for checking in and hopefully we will have more posts before the new baby arrives!!!