May

We had some friends, Kellen & Becca Hiroto, and their son, Yamikani, stay with us the first weekend of May. They are missionary teachers in Malawi so we haven't seen them since our wedding. It was absolutely fabulous to connect with them and to meet their 2 year old son. Parker loved Yami! He followed around his new friend, calling him "Mee-mew".

Parker is a prayer warrior. We pray with him before dinner and bed each day.  He chooses who we pray for. Every once in a while, we get an odd request like "Teddy" or "book", but most often it's for family and friends. Baby Sister almost always gets a prayer. Parker really enjoys praying. He starts saying "Amen! Amen!" when we sit down to dinner. A few times we've been pleasantly surprised when he's asked to pray at other times. The other day, Parker and I were riding in the car and he asked to pray for a specific family member. It just so happened that that person needed prayer at that very moment. Parker asked to pray for him over and over for the 20 minute car ride. Let me tell you, his prayers were answered! I love that we are raising a little prayer warrior. Prayer changes things.

This month has been dedicated to getting ready for our newest addition. We've pretty much decided on the name Hadley.  The middle name is yet to come. At 36 weeks, we started seeing the doctor weekly.  We went in on May 9th for the standard 36 week ultrasound.  It was fun to see her squirming around. She was in breech position, which means her head was up towards my ribs. The doctor said that she might turn on her own but to expect that because of the lack of space the last few week she would stay put. This meant that we would need to deliver Hadley via c-section on the 31st of this month (39 weeks).  At first I was disappointed about not having her naturally, but I quickly warmed to the idea. The bottom line is that she's coming into the world safely which is all Justin and I really care about.
On the 16th, Justin and I went to see Dr. Nelson again for the 37 week appointment.  After feeling my stomach, she thought that the baby had flipped! I was measuring small (again), so those two realizations gave Dr. Nelson motive to have another ultrasound. This was the best one yet! We saw right away that Hadley had turned head down.  As long as she stays put, we will have a natural delivery.  Also, she was in good position for a 3D image. We were able to see her beautiful, sleeping face. She has Parker's lips. I know we are bias, but she's adorable! I can't wait to see her on the outside very soon!
I've been having a lot of contractions lately.  This girl is getting ready for her arrival!
All this talk about how Hadley arriving launched Justin and I into nesting mode. We've been working on the nursery since.  Justin painted it a light shade of turquoise, my mom made the bedding, we've set up the furniture and decorated. It's a lot of work but it's cute! We are very happy with the outcome.

Heidi proved to be the world's greatest sister-in-law because she sweetly offered to throw Hadley a baby shower. She's extremely busy right now, so it was extra loving of her to find the time to honor her niece. She teamed up with my mom to throw an absolutely amazing shower! There were about 15 family members and close friends. We ate delicious food, visited and opened gifts. Let me tell you, people love to buy girl clothes! Hadley's closet is full of pink and ruffles! What a lucky girl!