Prayers for Gray and I

Well, here I am blogging on the eve of another birth of another son.  And another big life change.  It was a busy day (busy week...busy pregnancy...ok, I haven't slowed down much the entire time!) but I'm beginning to get anxious as the final hours wind down.  I covet prayers of the righteous, and here is what I'm asking for:

• A safe and healthy c-section!
• Minimal pain
• Peace and joy for the occasion that only the Father can give
• Big, fat prayer that breastfeeding will go well.  That Gray would be a champ at it, that my body won't spaz out this time.
• That we will get enough rest, especially at the hospital.
• For my hormones and mental health.
• That our family will experience His presence in all of it!
• That we will all adjust well!

We are so excited to lay eyes on Baby Gray for the first time and I am trying to keep that excitement at the forefront of my mind.  Well, better take my Tylenol PM and conk out...we have to be at the hospital at 5am and that's going to come awfully early.  Pics to follow!

36 Weeks

This pregnancy is winding down so quickly; I can hardly believe how fast its gone!  I'm sure the more older siblings you have, the truer this phenomenon is. :)  On the whole, being pregnant with Gray was blessedly easier than Noah.  The nausea was less severe and I didn't have the ridiculous back pain I had the first go-around, probably because I spent a lot less time in a desk chair.  I have had crazy hip joint pain, however.

Gray remains something of an enigma to me.  I am so curious (and maybe a bit anxious, ha!) to find out who he is and what he is going to be like.  With Noah, I always felt like I just "knew" him.  I am excited to meet this new guy and see who he looks like and what sort of personality he has!

I don't believe Gray is quite as active as Noah was en utero.  His favorite position involves feet in my right rib cage and fingers wiggling underneath my left hip bone.

Noah is very excited about baby Gray coming.  We'll see how long the excitement lasts. ;)

People keep asking if I'm ready, if I'm excited, ready to have my body back, etc.  This is a tough one because physically, I'm just worn and ready to evict the guy.  Mentally, I don't think I would ever be ready!  Besides, once you end once set of aches and pains by having the baby, you just start a whole new set of aches and pains that last a few more months beyond the birth. :)  So my answer is, 6 of one, and half a dozen of the other!

A Little Texas Springtime

 Somehow we missed the bluebonnets this year.  Just never found a good time to do it.  But we've had an amazing spring here in Central Texas and this year was the first time I've ever noticed the poppies.  So I drug Noah out to a lovely patch of wildflowers on one very warm May afternoon for some pictures. :)

So handsome.  I mean, really.

I just LOVE the poppies.

And this nothing to do with springtime.  Noah's teacher emailed me this picture of his drawing he did one day and  its just so fitting.  This is a a drawing of our family of four, plus a train.  Naturally.  :)

Girls Weekend and 34 Weeks

I had the privilege of taking a trip to Lake Whitney the weekend of April 19 for a lovely girls weekend with some of the gals from my moms group.  We ate, shopped, talked A LOT, and cried some too. :) We stayed at Hayley's parents' beautiful lake house.

Stephanie took some pics of me out by the lake, so here are some shots of 34 weeks!

Melanie and Hayley

Melanie and Stephanie

We tried to talk Stephanie into some of these.

Wild times on the bucking bronco.  Haha.

The feet of little Hayes, the only man on this trip.  (Not in utero, of course.)

My yummy frozen yogurt.  Why choose between 2 great options.

I am so blessed.  I love these women so much.  I can hardly believe the community he has given us here and the amount of wonderful friends He has given us to do this life with.

Four Years Old!

Guess who just turned a whopping FOUR years old?  I can hardly believe it myself.  Warning: long post ahead!

None other than Noah Timothy Barclay, of course.  Of all the days, we found that Noah had strep (again) on his actual birthday.  He missed out on his birthday party at school but got to enjoy a fun trip to the pediatrician's office complete with a throat test, his least favorite thing ever.  The good news is that he got to make it all up the next day.  I took a Thomas the train cupcake cake that he had been eyeing up at the grocery store to his class.  (Regrettably, my camera battery died as soon as I got to his classroom and I have no pictures of his class party.)  He got to wear a birthday crown and badge all day.

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On April 6, my aunt Patti hosted a family party for us at her house.  Train themed of course.

The guests of honor all took home a ball cap with their first initial embroidered on.

The clever table cloth and set of toy trains kept Noah enthralled.

Making his own train pizza.

Cousin Jake making one too.

Plenty of presents!

Uncle Scott gave Noah his first electric train.  It was quite the hit!

Chowing down.

Boys just hanging out.

Who doesn't love a train?

For even more fun, we stopped the next day in Allen to visit a big red caboose and then headed over to the Allen train show.

Enamored.

Got to run the electric train himself.

The following weekend, April 13, we had Noah's party in Austin.  (Yes, we did celebrate 3 times in one week.  Hey, its his last birthday as an only child. ;)

Pump It Up of Austin showed us a great time.  It was very laid-back, private, simple, and they took great care of us. Well worth the money when Mommy is too pregnant to do much planning, organizing, and such. :)

Bouncing with Jonah.

The big slide with Daddy.

And Jason.  It was hard to tell who had the most fun, the little boys or the big boys.

Cutest bunch of buddies.

Caboose party favors.

Taking time out for a little business.

2 crazy pals.

Parker helped :)

Cupcakes with Liam.

Everyone should have a throne to open presents on.

Another big hit was his first trampoline from Mimi and Papa.  We are hoping this will burn lots of energy this summer!

Stats from his 4 year well check.  I want to brag about how awesome Noah handled the 2 immunizations he got as well.  Not sure which helped more, watching Daniel Tiger get a shot, or the lidocaine I used.

Happy Birthday, baby boy!  We sure do love you.