First Week in Kansas City

Packing up my bags, hugging my three big boys goodbye and driving away from our house was, without a doubt, one of the hardest things I have ever done. But I survived, and we have been in Kansas City for a week now.   

A.J. and I came up the day after Easter, and my wonderful Mom came along with us to help me get all settled in.  Moving into a house we had never seen in person caused a little bit of anxiety, but the house exceeded our expectations.  The house is so cute from the outside, and in such a charming neighborhood with tree-lined streets.  It will be a little tight when all of the boys are here (ok, a lot tight) but is the perfect size for two people.  My sister still has a crib that her boys have outgrown, which worked out perfectly for A.J.!  Within a day of being here he seemed to adjust and calls the house "Addy's house!"  (We call him Addy because his first name is Adam)  He knows where everything goes and how it all works here.  I am a bit embarrassed to say, we might be more settled in this house than we are in our Tulsa house.

I had my first regular doctor's appointment here last week.  I will see the same doctor from here until delivery, which will be nice.  Matthew had been breech, but finally turned head down.  One less thing for us to stress about.  I have an ultrasound every week where they check growth, blood flow through his umbilical cord, movement and practice breathing.  He passed the test with flying colors last week.  He is a little bit shy and almost always hides his face during ultrasounds.  I hope this doesn't continue once he is born- his Momma takes lots and lots of pictures!

My sister lives about ten minutes away, and it has been SO wonderful to spend so much time with her.  She has two little boys, so it has been good for A.J. to have them to play with and keep him busy.  If you can't have brothers around, cousins are definitely the next best thing. This situation would be so much harder without her to keep me company and make me feel at home in a place that is so new to me.

J.P., Luke and Ben played hooky on Friday and came to be with us!  Jack had a baseball tournament, so he stayed in Tulsa with one of his best friends.  We missed having him here so much, but feel so grateful to have such amazing friends in Tulsa who offered to keep him for the weekend.  Luke and Ben were excited to check out the new house, and Ben immediately checked every nook and cranny and made himself and his legos right at home.  Our house is a block from one of Kansas City's most famous BBQ joints, so we walked there for dinner on Friday.  Luke even taught A.J. how to say Barbecue, so I guess he is really becoming a Kansas Citian.  Saturday was a gorgeous but chilly day here.  We took the boys to a park to get some energy out and A.J. was in heaven!  He did the slides about 100 times, and would have kept going until he passed out if we would have let him.  He had SO much fun running and playing with his brothers.  We walked to the other restaurant that is just a block away for dinner on Saturday.  It is a little taco place with a wonderful patio and great food.  It felt a little bit like we were on vacation, walking to dinner and eating outside.  The only thing missing for me was a fun drink with an umbrella in it- that will have to wait a couple weeks.  Having them here was so wonderful, but having them leave was heartbreaking all over again. I tried to talk Matthew into coming early just so they wouldn't have to go, but he didn't cooperate.

As many ups and downs as there have been over the last couple weeks, I do feel relieved to be here.  We are in the right place and doing the very best for Matthew.  As my sister pointed out, I am getting to have a little Babymoon with A.J.!  It has been fun to have so much quality time with him!

Knowing that we will be home, all together as a family of seven, is what is getting me through all of this.  Not knowing when that will be is hard, but I am trying to be optimistic that is will be sooner rather than later.  Two weeks from today, at the very latest, he will be brought into the world and we will know more about what the next steps will be.  Part of me is in a hurry to get this show on the road. Another little part of me knows that he is safe and happy inside, so I shouldn't be in such a hurry.  Like all babies, he will come when the time is right.  In the meantime we will try to make the most out of this situation.  I can't wait to hug ALL of my boys this Friday and have a fun weekend together as a family of 6!