Family visits + new heartbeats

My mom, sister, and two nephews came to visit us last weekend. It was so much fun to see Abbie playing with her cousins--who needs babysitters with cousins around?! They definitely entertained each other and wore each other out!

On Saturday we had Abbie's big birthday party. My aunt Diane and uncle Greg came down from Cinci with my cousin's oldest boy, Ashton. He and Isaiah (who is one year younger) had a blast together. Lots of families from church came, and Abbie got so many cute clothes and toys! I was really impressed with how well she held up the whole day. I still can't believe she's one year old!!!

Today Matt's parents left Jersey and will arrive tomorrow for a weekend visit. We're really excited to see them. They've been itching to come down here since my mother-in-law finished her chemo treatments a few months ago. My sister-in-law just had her third baby--a BOY! named Evan, so they've been helping out with the two older girls. I can't wait to meet Evan when we visit Jersey later this summer!

Speaking of new babies, we heard OUR new baby's heartbeat yesterday!! It took forever to find it, but when Donna finally did it was strong and steady :-) Probably in the 140's, which adds more weight to my feeling that it's a boy... :-) It was so cool to hear the heartbeat, especially since we knew what we were listening for this time! The baby is in the exact spot Abbie was at first too--low and on the right. Pretty cool :-)

We have to change midwives, since Donna is moving out of state in October. Boo. BUT, she is referring us to a lady who's good reputation precedes her--two of our friends had a home birth with her, and have nothing but good things to say! And she's a certified nurse-midwife (CNM), which means the whole deal will be legal. Which is a good thing :-) (KY hasn't legalized all midwives yet, which a lot of activist-types around this area have major problems with. I haven't gotten that immersed in the debate yet.) I'm feeling better and better about planning a home birth, while trying to stay realistic-positive and accept that if anything goes weirdly with the pregnancy, that we won't be having the baby at home. That's ok. We can only wait it out and hope for the best! It's nice to be a little out of control once in a while, especially for me.