Ruby Ann!!!!

Hi everyone, and sorry for the delay on the news and pictures!
For those of you who haven't heard, our darling daughter, Ruby Ann, was born Monday morning around 6:35 am. She was 7 lbs, 11 oz (one ounce smaller than Rae) and 20 3/4 inches long. I started having contractions around midnight and by the time we got to the hospital, I was already quite far along! I only had to push for 15 minutes (a HUGE difference from the 2.5 hours of pushing I did with Rae!) and there she was, beautiful little Ruby.
She has been healthy and wonderful from the get-go and is nursing like a true champion. We got home tonight (Tuesday) around 7:15 pm. Rae LOVES her little sister and always asks to "hold you." She gives her kisses and helps me with diaper changes (bringing the diapers, throwing the dirty ones away...). We are believing God for a smooth transition for all of us.
Anyhow, I'll stop typing and give you what you really want: pictures! Thanks to all of you for your prayers, wishes and love!

Overdue

As of today, I am officially "overdue."
I went to the doctor yesterday. He said that while I am making some progress, the baby really hasn't dropped very far. He said it could be up to another week before she makes her grand appearance.
I was fairly bummed out by that news, but I know she will come when she's ready to come. As of right now, I have another appointment scheduled for next Tuesday. Hopefully she will have come on her own by then, but if not, the doctor said he may want to look into some options for inducing labor. I don't want to be induced, so please be praying that she'll come soon!
On the bright side, I lost 3 pounds last week. :) It must have been that hour-and-a-half I spent sitting with my feet propped up every day (yeah, right).

One Week Left

Today I had my 39-week check-up. Much to my horror, I learned that I gained SEVEN POUNDS last week ALONE! That's a pound a day! And that's NOT NORMAL!
The doc said 3-4 pounds could probably be attributed to water retention (my ankles and legs are a bit swollen). He recommended I sit down with my feet up for AN HOUR AND A HALF (straight time, not broken up) every day. Moms -- do any of you have an extra hour and a half to sit down with your feet up each day? Because I certainly don't!
All that said, we are very excited to be only one week away from Ruby's due date (Wed, the 24th) and are ready for her when she decides to come! Here is a picture of my 39-week belly. It has taken on a very strange bullet shape as the baby moves into "ready position."

A Visit

My dear friend Nicole and her son Beckett were in town for the convention this week. We were so blessed to be able to spend the day with them today (Friday) before they headed back to Virginia.
It's crazy to see the two of them grow up and interact with each other so much. Here are some pictures from our fun day at the park.

Belated State Fair Blog

Rae and I made it out the state fair three times this year; once with our friend Sarah, once with JP's family, and once just with JP.
Our first visit was on opening day. It was beautiful outside and not crowded yet as we got there in the morning. Rae loved seeing all the animals, especially the "babies" in the Miracle of Birth center. We originally planned to just go with Sarah, but two international students ended up coming with us, and I was so glad they did! They were a blast -- everything was completely new, exciting and very "touristy" to them. They wanted pictures of everything. They had never heard of cheese curds or funnel cakes. It was a blast! But there was one sad spot in the day -- my first fair food stop is always the meat patties from the West Indies Soul stand in the food building, but when I went there this year, the stand was gone!!!!! I was heartbroken.

Rae meets the miniature horses

Sarah and the cow
Bird's eye view
Thanks for a fun day, Sarah!

We returned to the fair on Saturday with the Charlebois side of JP's family. We're now a two double-stroller family...with Ava & Rae in one and the twins in another. The highlight of this trip was the giant slide. JP took Rae down it twice. She absolutely loved it and kept wanting to go "again!" Here's a low-quality video for your enjoyment (Margie & Ava are on the left, JP & Rae on the right; the yelling comes from Margie):

Rae also loved the carousel. This is not the best picture we got, but it's the only one I have on my computer right now.

Another beautiful thing happened this day. On the drive to the fair I decided to go online on my iPhone and check the food finder to see if my meat patties were really gone. Much to my delight, I found out that they had only moved!!! They are now located in the new Bazaar, and if you have never tried a meat pattie from West Indies Soul, I HIGHLY recommend you make the Bazaar a stop on your visit next year (don't forget the sauce!)!

The chubby prego discovers her food is still at the fair!
Rae & Daddy at the Bazaar
The whole crew (the babies are in their bjorns)

The final trip back was just the three of us (JP, Rae and myself) and consisted of all the major food stops (meat patties, french fries, sweet martha's, corn on the cob, etc.), Rae's first mini donut, and three more rides on the giant slide. JP also took Rae "up high" on the Sky Ride. She thought that was pretty awesome.