It has been too long!

Here is a cute picture of Ean with the Pluto that his Nan and Babu brought back for him from Disney!

Sorry everyone! I have not written on here in so long. I am going to try to do better...really! So much has been going on since the last time that I have written. Ean will be 6 weeks tomorrow! I can't believe it . He is growing like a weed and this past weekend he started to smile when you talk to him. He no longer fits in his newborn sleepers, he is way to long for them. It is amazing how fast he is changing.
We went on our first road trip Easter weekend to visit our great friends Matthew and Angelique. The trip down was a little rough on myself and Ean, but we made it down and had a wonderful time. Ean loved getting to know them and I am sure that he misses them. I can't wait till we get to see them again.
We have another road trip planned for this weekend. Heather is getting married outside of Philly and my mom and I are heading down there on Thursday. Desmond and my dad will come after work on Friday. Our first night away from Daddy. I hope that Ean and Desmond will make it through! It should be a great weekend. Hopefully the weather is nice.
As for everyday life here, it is going pretty smoothly. I still haven't figured out how to get stuff done during the day. Ean gets up in the morning around 7:00 and is usually awake till he has to eat again. We then will take a nap until he has to eat again. He is then up until he eats again...can you tell that all he does is eats.....then Desmond will come home and at that point I will get a shower and get dinner around. There is some more eating times in there and he is usually in bed by 10:00. He does good and only wakes up once to eat in the middle of the night, so at least we get some sleep! Ean and I have been running during the day, but sometimes it is just easier to wait till Desmond comes home so he can help.
This week I have gone on two outing without Ean. Monday night I went with my mom to a womens gathering at church and last night I ran to the food store. Both times Desmond kept Ean entertained. I think that they made out ok. Ean got mad at Desmond a couple of times, but nothing that he couldn't handle. He did better then most dads would have done! I am blessed to have such a great husband and son. I love them both so much!
Ok. I will try and keep this up with all the exciting things that are happening in our lives. Have a blessed day everyone!

WELCOME EAN JOHN SHAFFER!!!
Wow...what a crazy last couple of days! It is good to finally be home. Ean John came to visit us on March 19th at 11:11 pm. He was 7 lbs 9.5 ounces and 20 inches long. It was quite an ordeal to get him here, but he was a champ and came out singing!
Desmond and I had a doctors appointment on Wednesday. The doctor said that we could come in that evening to be induced. We came home and got everything we would need for the hospital and were on our way to have a baby. Labor started around 8 am on Thursday and by 8pm we were ready to start pushing Ean into the world. After about 1 1/2 hours of pushing, Mary, our midwife, decided that he wasn't going to come out that way no matter how hard we tried...and we were trying! They called for a c-section and at 11:11 pm Desmond got to watch them pull little Ean out of my tummy. I was not feeling well at all at this point, but it made me feel better every time I looked at Desmond and he had his mask on upside down! After Ean came out and got checked, weighed and measured, him and his dad got to spend a long time alone together while they took care of me. After we got back into the recovery room Mom and Dad Marion were the first to get to say Hi to Ean. It was about 2:00 by the time they came in and they didn't get to stay long. We were then transferred to the room we would be staying for the rest of the time and got settled around 4:00 am. We slept about an hour...we were too busy staring at the cutest baby ever! That day was filled with lots of family and friends coming to see Ean and by 8:00 that night I was ready for bed. The next day was the same thing and we got to come home on Sunday. Last night..our first night home was quite a challenge. I don't think that Ean was really understanding that it was night time and night time is for sleeping! Hopefully we will get it all straightened out soon! Now Desmond and Ean are walking around the house singing to each other and giving me a chance to get this updated! Thank you to everyone who prayed for us over the last couple of days. We really needed it! Hopefully I will get a chance to update this soon and let you all know how Ean is doing!

6 days past due

Ean...Your Dad promises to let you reel in the biggest fish if you come out before trout season!!!

It has been 6 days since our due date and I still feel the same. Nothing much has been changing that I can tell. This morning I woke up and it felt like Ean was heading north! Wrong way! We go to the doctors at 4:00 today for an ultra sound, stress test and a meeting with the doctor. I am hoping that they will at least give us a date of when to come in if nothing happens. I refuse to have another appointment!!! Well, I say that now, but when they hand me the appointment card I will just take it and hold my frustration till I am out in the parking lot! Desmond has been a great support through this whole thing expecially over these last few weeks. He has been helping out in anyway he can. He has been helpful in walking slow while I waddle, tying my shoes, helping me up and being kind to me when we are out and I am making my 50th bathroom stop. He made his first cravings run yesterday...well, he made it seem like it was a cravings run for me, but I think he enjoyed it just as much. All I have been wanting for the last couple of days is a nice warm chocolate chip cookie. YUM! He ran to the store and got some cookie dough, came home and stuck some in the oven...as well as sticking some in this mouth! The cookies were perfect and hit the spot! What a good husband!
We also have been enjoying this beautiful weather and I do not want it to stop! Yesterday we went for a long walk...well for a 41 week pregnant lady it was long! Didn't help with the baby coming out though. I have been turning off the heat and opening the windows. It is suppose to be another beautiful day out today! Hopefully I can get out there and enjoy it!
Well, I guess it is time to start the day. Should I pack the hospital bag and get my hopes up??? Maybe! Check back in tomorrow for an update from the doctors....if there is nothing...maybe it will be time!!! Have a blessed day!

1 Day Past Due

Ean...Please come out before the family reunion!!! It is so much fun and the Marion's are excited to meet you!

We have made it to our due date and one day past. I am feeling pretty good today. I cleaned most of the house so far and decided to take a break and update our blog. It has been a few days and I thought I better get everyone up to speed with how Ean is doing.
I had a doctors appointment on Wednesday and all our stats were great. I haven't progressed any since last week, so they don't think I will go any time soon. They set us up with another doctors appointment for on the 18th. They are going to do a non-stress test, an ultrasound and I am going to see a doctor instead of a midwife. They will then look at everything and decide if we can wait another week until they decide to induce. He will be born in March, it might just be the end instead of the middle. I really can't complain. I have been feeling really well and I can still get around. The hardest time is at night. I just can't sleep very well. I usually get the best rest after Desmond leaves for work.
Other then that, not much is going on. Desmond and I have our weekly "Waiting for baby" dinner with the Marion's, DeWire's and Zimmereman's. I can't wait to see what yummy meal Mrs. DeWire is making for dinner this week or what dessert Mrs. Zimmerman has come up with. I think that we are spoiled! After dinner we have an action packed game of Mexican Train planned that even my dad and Mr. DeWire play. We just have to make sure that Mr. Zimmerman takes enough tiles! Always have to be watching him!
So, I guess all that is left to say is I hope that this baby decides he is ready to come out and that it is before Wednesday!

Aunt Juliet and Uncle Matt are waiting for Ean to come....Uncle Matt can't take the waiting for much longer. He is getting tired just like Bibi and Babu!

2 more days until Ean's due date and I don't think he has any plans of coming out any time soon! I can't complain though. I am feeling fine and can still get around. Friday Mom and I went to the mall and did some shopping. We also went to Sams Club and the food store. Lots of walking and no baby! In the evening we had our weekly "Waiting For Baby" dinner and games with the DeWires, Marions and Zimmermans...no baby. Saturday Desmond and I did some last item shopping for baby and bought a washer...still no baby! Saturday night our friend Bob came over and for some reason we wanted to watch our cell phones change over to daylight savings time. We felt kinda cheated when it went from 1am to 3am. Was not as exciting as we thought. Sunday Desmond and I slept in for once and then we spent the day with his family. We ate way too much at the Olive Garden and went back to his mom and dads and played a game. It was a great weekend but I was tired after it all. So, monday came around and I didn't do much of anything around the house. Whatever happened to nesting? So here I am on Tuesday mid morning wondering when this little one will decide to come out to meet us. I wish I had the answer, but I am sure about one thing...by next weekend Desmond and I will be parents and we can not wait!!!

What I am missing...

6 more days till my due date...but with a mom and sister who loved being pregnant so much that they were pregnant forever, I am not getting too excited!

Something amazing is happening in Philly this week. It is the Philadelphia Flower Show and if you have never gone...it is truly a sight to see! There are thousands of flowers everywhere..and thousands of people! It is incredible to see how you can turn a huge empty arena into a colorful village filled with perfect lawns, beautiful flower beds, cute houses and even the occasional full scale church with stain glass windows made of roses. It is truly amazing. You are probably wondering why I am going on and on about this magical place...cause this year I can't go! That is right folks! I am here at home waiting for my baby(which I am excited about) I just wish pregnancy came with a pop up timer that lets you know when you are done and ready.
Although the Flower Show is a sight to see, what I am missing more is the fact that we go with our family every year. We always start out by taking the train into Philly..which sometime can be an adventure in itself...walking around all the exibits , grabbing a bit to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe and end up sitting in the hammock chairs wishing we could fit them back on the train. By the end of the day our feet are tired and our bellies are full but the memories we bring back from that day are ones that we will never forget!
The picture in this blog was taken 2 years ago by Desmond and it is one of my favorite. That was a good year. I think it was the most people we had go with us to the Flower Show. Come to think of it, I think that was the weekend we learned the " Replace That Word" game on the train with Uncle Bobbo. Still one of our favorites when we are together. So anyways, I am missing the Flower Show, not for the flowers but for the wonderful memories that I get to share with my family. Have fun Aunt Chris and Aunt Tina...Think of us today while you stop to smell the flowers!

Waititng...

Bibi and Babu are getting tired of waiting for little Ean and it's not even past my due date! I wonder how much they will be bugging me if he is late!

Last evening Desmond and I made the all too familiar trek to the hospital for our weekly doctors appointment. We got lucky and had the chance to see our friend Mary. She said that everything is looking good, but we aren't ready just yet. She said that she will see us next week at our appointment so we took that as this kid isn't going to be coming out in the next few days. Oh well, we have waited 9 months, what is another week?
Nothing much on the schedule for Cheryl today beside cleaning the house and doing the dishes(yuck!) Maybe packing the hospital bag would be a good plan. The baby is all packed and his stuff is ready to go..just need to get moms stuff around. Desmond has a full day of testing at school today and then we are going to be heading out to finish video taping a drama with the youth group kids. Desmond might need some video games by the time we get home.
Other then that we are just waiting for little EJ to announce that he is ready to come out and meet the world!