A quick selfie before leaving the house.
It's been an amazing help to have Kristin's parents with us for the last 10 days, and we are so grateful to Wayne and Diane for all of their hard work while with us. I thought that grandparents were supposed to spoil the grandchildren, but they've been putting a lot of effort into us too!
They have picked up many of the tasks we were handling solo, including cooking, laundry, shopping and of course helping with Penelope and Buttercup too.
For those of you who have seen just how obsessed Penelope is with her orange ball, Wilson, you know that it's a full time job to keep playing with her if you let her have her way.
Enroute to the hospital, we finally were able to talk to André's parents Steve and Evelyn in Mexico, who had called twice today and patiently waited while we scurried around trying to get ready for the hospital. We can't wait for them to be here to meet the kids! It was nice for all of us to be able to talk together in the Fiat mobile phone booth and share in the excitement of the trip to the hospital together with both families.
Oh yes, and for those of you who know us too well, we were true to form, and pretty much late to our own birthing event. Hmmm... Gotta' work on that.
There was a lot of excitement and there were some tears at the hospital tonight as we checked in, with the realization of what was coming starting to fray at the edges of our emotions. But we managed to have some lighthearted fun when we first arrived, surely sparked by our nervous energy.
At the hospital:
1) We found the baby warmer thingy, although it looks more like a hairdrier...
2) Compared bellies
3) And heard heartbeats again, reminding us of why we are here, after all.
(And we're still hearing those heartbeats, even as André writes this, while Kristin sleeps. So cool!)
Once settling in, André went into full nesting mode: unpacking suitcases, putting clothes away, setting up the stereo and mood lighting... Only to realize that this was just the birthing room, and that we won't be here after Kristin goes into active labor. Oops! Oh well, at least the room will feel right while we gear up.
Needless to say, when we all said goodbye at the hospital for the night, it felt strange to part ways after ten days together and the shared excitement of the tasks related to the pending birth.
On second thought, maybe those are tears of joy and relief now that they can get some rest with us away from the home!
But the artillery has arrived too, to relieve the cavalry. On the way home tonight, Wayne and Diane picked up André's brother Sergio, who flew in for the assist from California.
His main task is to provide support for the kids should Kristin need dedicated attention during or after the birth. But he couldn't wait that long, and in spite of a long day, and a long drive, after a long flight, he drove out to visit with us and show his love and support.
Thank you all. We are feeling the love tonight with all of the messages of support and kindness from all of our people.
