Today

Today my Lexi Joy is two days old. My how time flies!
Today we worked on getting her birth certificate, the nurses at St. Petersburg Hospital were very friendly but weren't quite sure what to do with us.
Today my sister in law is making me empanadas and that makes me happy.
Today Lexi smells just like a newborn baby and I like to squish her cheeks.
Today Elena and Abbie played dress up with Baby Lexi. Over and over again.
Today we weighed Lexi...8 1/2 pounds?? Seriously? My babies just keep getting bigger and bigger!
Today I remembered what those horrible contractions felt like and I decided to think about something else.
Today I'm really glad I married a Good Man who watches the girls while Lexi and sleep.
(We didn't sleep all night, we both just ate and ate.)

Today was great.

Alexandra Joy McCobb

You're Just Mine

The birth is going to be soon.

I can feel it.

Whether soon is tomorrow or 6 weeks from now, I don't know. But soon nonetheless.

I can feel myself drawing inside, getting more quiet, more serious and more peaceful.

I spend a lot of time thinking about labor...the process where Baby stops being just mine and I have to share.

I do get uncomfortable, and no, I can't sleep well, but it's special when the baby kicks and I'm the only one who knows it.

Soon, and very soon, Baby will be here. Baby will be loved, held, kissed, cherished and swooned over by me and everyone else. That will be wonderful, but a small part of me will miss this time...the quiet, brooding, pensive before the birth time, where Baby is safe, warm and quiet inside of me.

The You're Just Mine (for now) Time.

Baby is on it's way.

It's true. I am expecting. I know I told you that, but seems some people don't believe it until they see the famous "belly picture."

So there you have it. My belly (34 1/2 weeks in the making) and a cup of Panera Bread coffee. Decaf in the afternoon...of course.

I'm running out of clothes that fit, I can barely roll over in bed, I'm constantly hungry and tired, so obviously, it wont be much longer now before McCobb Baby #3 makes his/her arrival.

We're so happy to be in Florida...no snow expected here. The sun is shining, the sky is blue and I'm feeling more human again. There are Latin people everywhere I turn and I couldn't be happier. It almost feels like home.

Almost.

Black Friday

I've always heard of Black Friday and the craziness involved so I decided that this year I would have to see it for myself.

My Christmas shopping is finished and I didn't need anything, but curiosity got the best of me.

So at 4:40 am my alarm went off and I dragged myself out of bed. It was a cultural experience that I didn't want to miss, so off I went to Target.

I arrived five minutes after the store had opened and all the shopping carts were gone, the parking lot was full and the line to the electronics department was halfway down the store.

I saw a man with three huge screen TV's in his cart.

One lady had three large boxes stacked on top of each other and was nudging them through the store with her foot. Bless her heart, they moved an inch at a time. She's probably still there. No shopping carts, remember.

I saw women talking to other women on the cel phones. "I'm in aisle three getting the Barbie Hair Dressing thingie. How many did you want? Two or Five?"

I grabbed Candyland because I had to buy something on Black Friday, but by the time I wandered up to the cash register the line was quite extensive, so I put it back.

As I was walking out of the store I overhead a woman tell a man that she had been in line since 3:30 am.

In New England on a rainy day when it's 44 degrees outside.

(If you ever hear of me doing such a thing, please call the loony bin and let them know I've escaped.)

All in all, I went to one store for thirty minutes and bought nothing.

I am glad I went, I'm glad I saw what the craziness is like. Walking through Target with long lines and huge amounts of people I realized that shopping on Black Friday is actually quite similar to grocery shopping in Asuncion, Paraguay.

I'm just glad I don't have to get up at five in the morning to do that every week.

Happy Thanksgiving

I'm very thankful that my daughter dresses herself in a creative manner. Flowered dress, striped stockings, and black patent leather shoes.

Why not?

And tomorrow I hope you eat lots of pie.

Why not?

Happy Thanksgiving.

The Lord's Day

My Sunday involved:

• Getting dressed for church in a hotel room while Little Einsteins blared on the TV.
• Eating breakfast (blueberry muffin and hot chocolate) in the car.
• Seeing old friends from college at church
• Watching Brian carry in a casket after church (a church member passed away last Thursday and the funeral was today.)
• Climbing over the backseat of the car looking for dental floss while driving on the highway.
• Chaning five horribly stinky diapers at several different locations.
• Arriving at new church smelling like mini-van. (and like horribly stinky diapers.)
• Watching my two year old throw up all over the dinner table of the family we are staying with tonight.

You just never know what a Sunday will hold.

How was your Lord's Day?