HAPPY

As I write this we are inching near the 31 week milestone … only 64 days until THE day! 

30 Weeks along ... 10 more to go! 

Last week was a bit of an emotional vortex in the Pritchard house.  Forest (our “big dog”) was diagnosed with cancer.  I cried every day for a week upon learning this news.  And the tears weren’t small & pretty. They were torrential rainfall kind of tears that don’t stop until your eyes are physically incapable of producing more salty drops of sadness.  And when the physical tears vanished, my attention diverted to a throbbing heartache. Each heartbeat felt like a mallet to a gong – vibrating and permeating my body with the twinge of reality that we’ll soon be missing the sound of 4 paws clickity-clacking around our house.  

But one cannot simmer in weeks such as those without eventually collapsing into the arms of hope. I began to think about how many tears I’ve avoided in the past 8 years as a result of Forest’s gentle, unconditional love.  About how one swat of his paw in request of an ear-scratch could bring a smile to my face (and still can).  He has raised Jonny and I to be a stronger couple. We value the selfless act and responsibility of caring for something other than ourselves --- more than we care about ourselves most days.  The volume of tears I cried last week will never outweigh all the laughter he has given us. And so, I am resolved to make the time we have left with Forest a time that is filled with h-a-p-p-i-n-e-s-s. 

Forest being a happy dog ... he has the sweetest eyes! 

We’ve since been spoiling the Big Dog with lots of non-traditional treats: peanut butter, snickerdoodle cookies, rawhide bones… even some Worcestershire sauce.  We also outfitted him with some kickin’ boots (or “Air Jordans,” as Jonny calls them) to wear around the house, which give his hips some relief when he walks on our hardwood floors. He is happily following us around much more easily than he has been in the past few weeks.  His hardest time of day is nighttime, so we have been waking up intermittently throughout the night to pet him on the head and soothe him until he falls back asleep.  In keeping with my promise to find the “happy” in things, I remind myself that the nighttime snuggles are Forest’s way of training us for our lives with a baby. 

In baby news, I was showered in Cincinnati last weekend by some of my gorgeous girlfriends from near & far!  Every last detail was so personal and thoughtful. They knew I have been craving cheese & sweets, so they served different snacks with pasteurized feta and the most beautiful desserts. I literally ate 4 cake pops …. (shhhhh, don’t tell)!  And we played a fun game of matching celebrities to their kids’ names, which I won and didn’t mind bragging about - ha! Everyone was so generous with advice, gifts, and most of all, sincere friendship. My heart overflows with gratitude to have such wonderful girls – I can’t imagine a full life without each of them.   

Baby P getting lots of rubs & kisses at the shower!  

We now visit the OBGYN every two weeks and had another visit this week.  Our pregnancy continues to progress as beautifully as we could have imagined. The baby's measurements are right on track and his/her heartbeat continues to strum proudly & strongly (156 bpm)! It really seems that as soon as we’ve left one appointment we’re heading back to another --- time is FLYING!  Our nursery is still coming together and our next job is to start hanging some framed artwork on the walls … want a sneak peek??

Yesssssss, Baby P! You will be a sleeper! 

... Jonny is still trying to learn this lesson :)