Have I mentioned that as of today I am officially FIVE DAYS away from my due date this Sunday?
Have I mentioned that Oliver has independently nicknamed his sister “Honey Bear” and {adorably} refers to her as such regularly? (We’ve been calling O “Brother Bear” and he associates that with the Bernstein Bears. We assumed that Hazel would naturally be “Sister Bear”, but he’s gone the route of naming her after the bear siblings’ new baby “Honey Bear”.) Cute. We’ll see how long it sticks.
Have I mentioned that Oliver has dubbed Scout (our Weimaraner) “Stinky Bear”?
Have I mentioned that our family is growing not just by one, but by two this spring? Ryan’s sister is due to have a baby girl three weeks after me and we just can’t wait to meet this new niece!
Have I mentioned that I’m 39 weeks, 2 days pregnant and I CAN’T BELIEVE I’m finally here??
Have I mentioned that among those on call to attend Hazel’s birth is dear friend and remarkable Nashville children’s photographer Claire Wise? She attended and photographed our Evie’s birth (through NILMDTS) and we are so grateful to get to share this big moment of redemption with a friend who also shared our grief. We’re also so grateful know that we will have fantastic photos to remember our first moments with our baby girl!
Have I mentioned that Ryan is already showing all the hallmarks of being the Daddy of a little girl? He buys gifts for her impulsively, is protective of her when people touch my belly (don’t press too hard!), totally gets into the little dresses and things in her closet, and wraps up the blankets I’ve made for her and cradles and bounces them, imagining having his baby girl in there soon! A-dorable.
Have I mentioned that there really is no more room in my body for this girl to grow any more!
Have I mentioned, Miss Lady, that we’re ready when you are???
>Oliver calling her Honey Bear is one of the cutest things I have heard in a long time! He is going to be a great big brother to Miss Hazel!
>Oh wow! I hope the little one comes soon:) Enjoy these next few days! Have a great Tuesday!
Amy[www.theprikazskys.com]
>Have I mentioned that the friendship given to me by your family is one of my biggest blessings? I am so thankful to have met you all and sooooo excited to meet Hazel.
>We love the Berenstain Bears at our house. "Baby Makes Five" is one of the newer additions to our collection–most of the ones we have for the boys were mine when I was a little girl (with my name written in 5-6 year old penmanship inside). :) LOVE that Oliver calls Miss Hazel "Honey Bear"…precious boy!! And I love what having a daughter does to our husbands–such a lovely side of fatherhood.
Come on, Hazel!!!
>Praying for that "Honey Bear" to come and SOON! Blessings for a safe and easy labor!
Kristin
>Hazel is one loved little girl! All of your babies (on earth and in heaven) are blessed to be your children. Oliver is going to be such a great big brother, that is easy to see already! Daddy's are so cute with baby girls. We have two girls, and it's so neat to see the way my husband is with them. There is something special about that daddy-daughter bond.
Having a niece so close to Hazel's birth is going to be great! My nephew (our first) was born just two months before Adleigh was born, and it was great being pregnant with my sister, and I'm so glad Adleigh will have a cousin (and another sometime between now and Sunday). My older two don't have any cousins their age, but it's fun to see how they dote on both Adleigh and Easton! You're going to love it all!
>1. Honey Bear is beyond adorable.
2. I love pictures done at the hospital. The pictures from when my babies were born are some of my most precious treasures.
3. Ryan is so great. Kyle is the same way about girls. All he wants is PINK, and loves to take Hope to the mall and buy her nail polish.
4. Please inform your girl that I too, am ready when she is. :)
5. YAY!
>Raechel, I've been lurking for months and I'm so excited for your family! Meeting Hazel will be a pleasure!
>Oh…Honey Bear is so sweet! I can not believe the time is already here. I will be thinking about you and your family.
Hey, you’re the goto epexrt. Thanks for hanging out here.
>Yes Miss Hazel we are all ready for you to be welcomed into this world! We can not wait to meet you ( through the blog world )!!
>yippeee!! soon we get to see this sweet new blessing on the outside! you guys must be so excited!!! :)
so… are you having a doula at your birth? this is something people always ask me, being a doula myself. curious what you are planning… or maybe i missed you talking about it. ;)
>sweet boys you have (o and ryan) :)
come on out hazel :)
>stephanie joy – I plan to have my sister and my close girlfriend there. My sister is training with DONA (not officially certified) and my girlfriend is AWESOME (I attended her last home birth and it was amazing!) I definitely have good support for this labor and I'm grateful!
>Awww! Honey Bear sounds so sweet!
>What an exciting week this will be for you! I hope Brother Bear and Honey Bear are life long freinds!
… I'll be thinking and praying for you this week!
>That is so sweet! So excited for you! You and your family are in my prayers as you enjoy these precious moments =)
Lily
>We just got the double sit n stand and we love it. (saw your tweets on the side, but i'm not on twitter). We chose that over the regular sit n stand because it was actually a tiny bit shorter in lenght, more sturdy, and my mother in law paid the difference in price. We've used it several times in the past week as a double stroller and have loved it. We haven't taken the back seat apart to use to stand on yet, but plan to later in the spring or summer.
>"Honey Bear" – that's adorable!