IT'S A BOY!

Charles Warren Miesen was born @ 2:50pm on 5/29/09

8lbs. 15 oz. / 21.5" 

Liz and Charlie are doing great!

See how excited Stella is to be a Big Sister!!!???

Just Waiting For Baby...

Yes, my due date has come and gone. That was the story when I was pregnant with Stella as well...but last time I went into labor the day after my due date. Apparently this kiddo is pretty comfy and isn't in a hurry to make an appearance...although things could change at anytime. I see my MD tomorrow and we'll know more after that. I am content and feel good and SO APPRECIATE all the calls, texts and emails checking in on how I'm doing.
To lessen the stress of this uncertain time, we've had the luxury of having Grandma Bettcher and Grandma Freeman stay with us. Grandma Bettcher was here last weekend, ready in case we had to jet off to the hospital. While she was here, we enjoyed time at the park, yummy meals, lots of errand running and fun times together. We even endured a power outage that ended up with pedicures and coloring by headlamp.

Do you suppose this is the first time anyone has ever gotten a pedicure by headlamp!?

Who needs candles!?

Between the thunderstorms, we've been outside plaing as much as possible. We've even been able to get the sprinkler out for Stella to enjoy. As fun as those videos are, this is one much better. We've known her to be an expert "belly roller" for a while now...this is the proof of that:

We will post updates as we know more. For now I'm "helping" my mom plant all sorts of goodies in the garden. Helping is a long shot as it's tough for me to bend...so I'm really just pointing out good locations for the plants and she's digging the holes. It's a pretty sweet deal!

Keeping Up While I Still Have Time

One week to go until baby is supposed to arrive...so I thought I would post a few more photos of what we've been up to lately.

Here's Stella in Daddy's headlamp. Now this "device" was almost a deal-breaker when I was dating Nick. I wasn't too sure about how cool a guy could actually be who wore one of these. Well, 5 years of marriage later, I've completely given in and allowed our daughter to wear one as well.

Last weekend we had Aunt Kerry, Uncle Kai, Max, Mason and Ellen in town to visit. Max was busy with lacrosse games and we were sorry to not see him, but really enjoyed our time with Mason and Ellen as we played outside, had ice cream sundaes, watched great bonding between the cousins, and even allowed Ellen to virtually be in charge of Stella at a mere 6 years of age. We can't wait until we're all together again!

Good morning! Stella woke up calling for Daddy and Ellen who were the two to put her to bed the night before. Thanks El for reading to Stella so nicely!!

Stella requested that a photo be taken of her while on the "ladder" as she called it.

We're contently waiting for the arrival of baby. I still feel great and am visiting the MD once a week. If there are any updates to share, we'll do our best to post them. Looking forward to sharing our joy with you!

The Latest...

We are trying to cram in as much as possible before baby arrives. Here's what we've been up to:

Weekend of 4/26...Emily's Rainbow Run in Westlake, OH benefiting Rainbow Babies Hospital in Cleveland

Stella taking her own lap around the track with her cousins, Jim and Tom

A new favorite...lay on the ground and get traced with chalk, (squint eyes SUPER tight if sun is bright) then get up and fill in the chalk drawing. She often makes requests to trace me, but I have to remind her that if I get down flat on my back, I'm not likely to get back up anytime soon.

FIRST pedicure courtesy of mommy, second pedicure done by Grandma Freeman who visited the 27th through the 1st. Somehow I didn't get one photo of her visit on my camera...typical!

A trip to the Columbus Zoo!

Who wouldn't climb in to join the kangaroos? See how I'm helping her scale the fence!?

Play date with Caroline and Bella

Our little artist at work...she drew everything you see! Not bad, huh!?

Great Stella and Daddy bonding time...this is what I come home to:

Road trips...first to Cincinnati on Friday May 8 for a girls' night!

out with Sarah, Erin, Gail and Katie!

Ice cream, of course!

Mother's Day 2009!

I was greeted by little feet running into our bedroom and a loud voice saying, "Happy Mother's Day, Mommy!" Nick followed closely behind with a tray of goodies for breakfast in bed. Stella held a gift certificate for a spa visit in her hand and snuggled with me as I woke up with my two most favorite people!

Road trip #2...May 10

North to Vermilion, OH to celebrate Mother's Day/Grandpa Larry's Birthday with Nick's side of the family at Chez Francois! YUM!

Headed home!

So, we're back, and we're staying put. Baby is due 2 weeks from tomorrow. I'm still feeling good. All is well. The kitchen is 95% complete...Nick just has to install some organizational components for the cabinets and we're back in business!
Next project: have a baby! ;)

The Belly

36 weeks as of April 28, 2009!

Due May 26, 2009!!!