40 weeks / 4 months

I had a whole post drafted in my head about getting to 40 weeks and the end of my pregnancy and the fact we've been here four months now, and instead I'm just going to post some pictures and maybe I'll talk more about the pregnancy later. I'm tired and tomorrow is a big day - we'll be heading to the hospital after we drop Eduardo off at school and my doctor will break my water and hopefully baby girl will be here soon after! So I figure it's better if I can try to sleep at a decent time and I'll write more later. :) I do want to try to write a few more things about the pregnancy so I don't forget. Overall I've not minded / semi-enjoyed being pregnant and I'll miss some parts a lot. But we are looking forward to finally getting to meet baby girl!!

We got new furniture and a new fridge this week. We were gifted a table for our porch - that we love! Thank you!!! It's very nice to eat outside. 

Our fridge was on it's last legs. Yes, that's a piece of wood holding that shelf up under the milk. 

The new fridge is so pretty!!!

We also bought a pantry type cabinet so we could stop storing kitchen things on the counter. (I refuse to use the cabinets in the kitchen for much as (1) they smell terrible and (2) bugs.) We also got a new microwave thrown in with the fridge. 

Here's a before pic with the old microwave and a small taste of the stuff we had everywhere. 

Our "pantry" before. 

Our new, fancy pantry. It holds so much!!

New microwave with no need to store anything on the counters anymore!!

Now we just need a new oven / stove and the kitchen will be perfect!

My bump has gotten so big!! :) I'll miss it. Although it will be much easier to get around without it! 

Someone posted this on Facebook and I thought it was pretty funny. 

However, I feel more like the Penguin guy from Batman. I waddle and my middle is way bigger than any other part of me. :)

It is officially the high part of rainy season. This means it rains every afternoon / evening. It starts sometime between noon and 2pm and doesn't stop much until after we're already in bed. 

The top picture is the view from our balcony in good weather. The bottom is how it looks when the rain comes in. It's pretty crazy. And the thunder! So loud!!

I'll post pictures as soon as I can of baby girl! I can't believe tomorrow my little family becomes four!!

39 weeks and picture link

Well, we weren't sure we would get here, but we did.  39 weeks.  Went to the doctor this morning and she said I'm not quite at 4 centimeters dilated, so we're still in the waiting stage.  She doesn't like for women to go more than a week past their due date, so we talked timing of inducing, if it comes to that.  I have another appointment on the 19th and I'll be induced on the 23rd if baby girl still isn't here.  I'm really hoping not to have to be induced, so keep your fingers crossed she comes before then!!  This weekend is a holiday weekend here though, so ideally it won't be this weekend.  My doctor is planning on being out of town, so I would rather wait until next week, if possible.  However, weekends are more convenient with Eduardo as we don't have to worry about getting him to / from school.  Of course, it really doesn't matter what is most convenient for us or for the doctor, baby girl is going to come when she's ready.  :)  We'll just have to keep waiting and see when that is!!

I just had to try on my Randy Travis shirt from his concert when I was 7.  It barely still fits at 39 weeks.  I feel like I am all belly!  :)

I finally downloaded the maternity session pictures and here is the link to where you can get them, if you want to print any:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/p6uvutancliwbz3/AAAyPMTYTtrzTN5Q9L7x43B0a?dl=0

Let me know if that doesn't work for some reason, but I think it should!

I don't know why, but I've been putting off calling about the Oklahoma police records.  Which is stupid and could cause issues with timing down the road.  Well, I did call actually, and left a message, and I submitted an email request on their website.  But I haven't followed up.  I'm not sure why I'm not actively pursuing it.  I have no excuses not to call Monday.  It will happen! 

Other than waiting, we're just waiting.  :)  Eduardo seems to be doing well in school.  All the teachers say how great he is and how smart he is.  It's very nice to hear so many good things. 

If all else fails, 11 days and baby girl will be here!! 

90!!!

We took a big gamble and had Davie go to Nicaragua yesterday to renew his visa. He still had a week, but with baby girl coming potentially any time now, I didn't want to wait. And despite a lawyer telling us it wasn't a big deal for him to overstay, I was not about to do that. Defeats the whole point of being here!! And our gamble paid off. Not only did baby girl stay put, but it turns out Costa Rica recently changed the rules around how many days Nicaraguans can get on their visas and Davie now has 90 days before he would need to renew again!!! This is great news as it means neither one of us should have to leave again to renew visas as once we turn in our residency application we'll be given temporary residency and won't need to leave. And it means Davie won't have to leave baby girl or me when she's less than a month old, as we were potentially looking at him having to do that as all depends on how quickly we can get the residency application done once baby girl is here. Supposedly it's three-four weeks to get her birth certificate once she's born. Other than that, the only thing I think we still need at this point is our police records from the US. Which are in progress, but potentially we'll have to start over again with the request. It's a long story. :P My goal was to have everything before she was born so all we would need is her birth certificate, but I'm not sure that'll happen now. I need to make some phone calls tomorrow and we'll know more then. 

Even with the police record hiccup, I feel like we're getting closer to the end of living in limbo and I'm very excited about that!! 

38! Will we see 39??

Well we had a little excitement yesterday and a false alarm trip to the doctors office to see if it was time. I have to say we were a little disappointed that it wasn't time, but hopefully it will be soon! It was nice to have a trial run and to know we've got our ducks in a row for when the time comes. 

We're going to celebrate Davie's birthday tomorrow, his actual birthday is Monday, and then Davie is going to head to Managua to renew his visa Monday afternoon, assuming it's looking like we'll have time for him to make it there and back before baby gets here. I would prefer baby girl get here this weekend and Davie can renew his visa on the 15th, but we'll just have to wait and see what she does. It's all up to her now!

I'm absolutely, completely in love with her nursery. I'm so happy with how it turned out. I've finally gotten everything put away where I want it. All of her clothes have been washed and I've packed her diaper bag and our hospital bag. There's been definite nesting going on. Now we just need the baby to go along with it! :)

I wasn't sure if we would make it to 38 weeks. Now I feel like we may make it to 40. :) I think she's going to like keeping us on our toes. I can't imagine where she gets it from. 

Frustration

I don't like to talk about the "I" word on here.  Immigration is such a hot button topic and everyone has their own opinions and thoughts and feelings.  I don't want to start a debate and I don't want to fight.  I also believe that everyone is allowed to their thoughts and feelings and opinions, no matter what those are, so I'm not out to change anyone's minds or anything.  All I can offer is our story and people can take from that what they will.

However, today, today I have to say how frustrated I am.  By this: President Obama to Delay Immigration Action.  But first, I want to say that I actually didn't fully agree with the idea of the President taking action on his own.  Please don't think I want change so badly that I'm okay with unilateral changes being made without the consent of all of the government.  That's not what I want for the US or for immigration reform.  At the same time, I do feel like the House and Congress have had ample opportunity to make changes and they have not done so.  And I feel most everyone would agree that changes are needed.  The system is broken.  There is a problem that is getting bigger not smaller and is not going to go away with inaction or by ignoring it.  Something must be done.  I don't know what that looks like or how to get it to happen, but something needs to happen.  And sooner rather than later.

So I am frustrated that the glimmer of hope that changes might be made is being taken away once again.  I don't even think the changes would have helped Davie and I, given the fact we are already out of the country.  But there are 11 million plus people living in the US who might have been effected, and I feel sorry for them and for their families.  And I just hope that eventually, one day, changes are made that are beneficial to everyone involved and that a compromise can be reached that won't tear families apart or pull people from the lives they've known for years and years and have fought so hard and sacrificed so much to obtain.  I have a feeling that's not going to be possible though.  The problem is too big to be able to fix in a way that will provide a reasonable solution for everyone and keep everyone happy.  Change is needed, but I think it will be a bittersweet day for many when it comes.

For now, Davie and I will live our lives in Costa Rica.  We have three years and a little less than four months before we can apply again for Davie to return to the US, all things remaining the same.  (I feel like the time is passing so fast!  It seems like we just found out that Davie wouldn't be allowed to return for at least five years and now we're almost down two of those years - we're hoping the next three years pass just as quickly!)  We would give and do almost anything to be able to return home - for Davie feels like the US is home, the same as I do.  But, until the possibility to return is there, we will remain here.  Watching the situation in the US closely, in case there is a change that will benefit us one day.  And being frustrated when the hope of change is delayed, once again.  But mostly, we will be here building a life for ourselves and trying hard for it to be a happy one.  No matter what may happen at home.

Making friends

I had asked Davie a week or so ago about having Melissa and David and their kids over today for a Labor Day BBQ. They are always talking about how much they miss the pool here (did I mention on here that they lived here in our condo complex before they moved the school into it's current location?) and I thought it would be fun to have a "traditional" holiday celebration. Davie vetoed the idea for being a lot of work, so I waited a week and invited them anyway. :) Sometimes I'm a terrible wife. It's good he loves me. 

I also invited two of Eduardo's teachers. And Saturday we went to a birthday party for one of Eduardo's classmates (LuzMari) and Davie told me to invite her and her mom (Juanita) as well (see - I knew he would come around! :)). Yesterday we got a text from one of the teachers that said she had invited another one of the teachers and her two sons. All told we ended up with 11 people here today, 14 counting us!

I realized yet again this morning how very, very lucky I am to have my husband as he and Eduardo were deep cleaning the litter boxes. This man, who doesn't love having inside animals but puts up with them for me, cleans up after them more than I do now and cleaned this morning for a party he didn't want to have in the first place! I'm still not really sure how / why Davie and I have made this relationship work, but I am very glad that we have! 

I think the party was a success. The kids got along well and Eduardo had the only casualty when he scraped the side of his face on the stairs in the pool. (Lots of tears, but no major damage to his face.) 

Juanita and LuzMari invited Eduardo to their house to play after the party, which ended up being really nice. Davie and I got a little time just the two of us in the pool and then we took a nap. :) I'm still not sure how long play dates are supposed to last - any recommendations from other parents??? Eduardo has had two play dates now. Both times the other parents have said he could stay as long as we wanted him to. Which is great. But I don't want to abuse that! The first one I had him stay just an hour. This one ended up being three and a half hours (oops)! So I think I'm like Goldilocks and the three bears and the first was too short and the second was too long and I need to figure out what is just right. :) Either way, it's very nice for him to have other kids he can play with!!

Between the birthday party and today's party and the play date, it's starting to feel like we are building a community here. I think once I have a job, we can really start feeling like this is home. September 15th is a Costa Rican holiday so there won't be school again. I think we might need to have another get together. :) I may wait a week to mention it to Davie though. :)