Preparing for Baby Peanut

It is December 1, and at this point most people are beginning the countdown to Christmas. In our house, we have a very different countdown going on. It is five days until the official due date for Baby Peanut. That means we may have only five days to get our act together. And it means that beginning in approximately five days, we will begin to find out if Callie's good nature has anything to do with our parenting or if we just lucked out.

Callie has been very excited about the idea of having a baby sister and has talked about it for quite some time now. And we have tried to make sure that she is a part of the different stages of preparation, including trips to the doctor for ultrasounds. In our most recent visit, Callie insisted on bringing her blanket. When we asked why it was necessary, she told us that we needed to bring it in case Baby Peanut came out. Hopefully this is an indicator of the type of big sister she is going to be.



Of course it is not just about the mental and emotional preparation. Once again, GA (Great Aunt Teri) strikes again with an incredibly beautiful bedding set for Baby Peanut's crib. The arrival of this gift provided the motivation to get the crib out of the basement and upstairs. As you can see below, Callie was eager to be a part of the process.



The changing table has followed the crib and hopefully this weekend we will put the finishing touches on the space put aside for our little girl. We are still a little in denial about how much stuff comes with an infant. Sooner or later we will have to face our fears. It is hard to believe how much we have forgotten in the time since Callie was first born.

Back by popular demand is the requisite belly picture. This is Sarah at 39 weeks. And although, much to John's dismay, she has forsaken the Dairy Queen Blizzard hunger that came when she was pregnant with Callie, she has still managed to become large and in charge. Seriously, don't mess with her. (For the record, as always, we are writing this together. It's not just John with a glass of bourbon in his hand thinking he's being funny.)



Our final picture shows Callie with the gift she picked out for Baby Peanut. It is safe to say that she is both excited and unaware of just how much the new baby is going to change things around here. I guess it is also safe to say that the same thing applies to her parents. We are excited and clueless all at the same time. But at least the three current members of Team Bowes are ready to add a rookie to the mix.