Happy Halloween!

Our little monster!  Halloween night, we dressed Austin up just for fun, even tho we didn't do any door-to-dooring.

Our Smiley Austin Wayne

Announcing the arrival of our first bundle of joy, Austin Wayne.  Born Sunday, September 18 at 5:32am, 7lbs 4oz, 21 inches.  We call him our smiley baby:

Austin had his newborn photo shoot this past Tuesday, and our photographer, Lora, was able to capture some of his most precious moments, including this photo of Austin smiling sweetly.  Warms my heart every time I look at it!  Check out more of Austin's photos here on Lora's facebook page.

Austin is such a sweet, sweet baby.  He's almost always in a good mood, and we just can't get over how cute and cuddly he is!  He's always making us smile.  Dave and I could just sit and stare at him all day!  Here is more of Austin smiling:

And now back to parenthood for me!  Enjoy the video :)

Waiting Somewhat Patiently

Just a quick note that we are still patiently waiting the arrival of our little Schwartz!  At 40 weeks right now, so we know it can be any moment (or still a week or two in the distance).  Of course I'm wanting it to be happening right now, but trusting in my body and baby's perfect timing.  Been saying I feel like a watched pot that never boils...  It's hard to keep my mind distracted, but I'm trying!

Baby S at 40 Weeks

Went thru a night of prep surges a few days ago, so Dave took the liberty of getting the apartment all ready for the birth.  Birth tub is set up, plastic covering all the floors, bathrooms and kitchen spotless, and all our birthing and baby's first items are set out on our dining table for easy access.  So proud of this dad-to-be!  I can tell he's just a little excited for what's to come.  ;)

So, we're ready when you are Baby S!  Thank you to all those praying for us!  We've been asked by our prayer warriors for specific birth prayer requests, and wanted to share them with you all as well: that Elise stays calm and relaxed thru labor and birth, that baby and mom work together with each surge, Elise to stay focused thru each stage, and a calm entry into the world for Baby S the way that God intends.

As a friend told me yesterday, no news is...no news.  Lol!  We'll post pictures as soon as we can after the birth!

Realized we needed a family picture before baby arrives!  Check out the ficus tree Dave got me (we've always wanted one).  He wanted us to have it in time for the labor and birth.  Very "zen".  :)

Summer in Charlotte

Well hi everyone!  Burning up or melting away in all this summer heat yet?  We sure are!

We've been up to plenty since our last post.  Biggest news is we moved out of our little room in the cat apartment and into our very own two bedroom apartment about a minute from Dave's office!  YES!!!!  It's been so great having our own space again.  It's been about 1 year since we've lived in our own place, just in time for baby Schwartz to arrive.  Two weeks ago Dave took some time off from his clinic and we ventured home to Houghton to pick up all our stuff from my mom's house.  She'd been storing it for us in her basement since last summer, bless her!  We flew up then drove a truck back down to Charlotte.  All in all the move went great!  Dave did all the heavy lifting and we now have furniture again, as well as more than one plate, bowl, and sauce pan!  It's been like Christmas every day since as we get the  boxes unpacked and things put away in the apartment.  We honestly forgot we owned some of the stuff we have!

It worked perfectly that Kevin & Samantha's wedding in Oshkosh was the same weekend we took the trip, so on the drive down we were able to be at their wedding.  It was so fun!  We always love seeing everyone and spending time catching up with all of you guys!  We had a great time!  My favorite part was the ice cream cake for dessert!!  First time we saw that at a wedding, so fun!  Congrats to Kevin & Sam!

The pic below was taken outside at their wedding reception, baby belly at about 34 weeks.  Since this picture was taken, baby has dropped!  So imagine the belly about 2 or 3 inches lower..and yes, I'm feeling it!  But babe and I are moving along right on track for a successful homebirth.  We will try to update the blog with pictures and details as soon as we can after the birth!  Or I'm sure we'll at least have time to post a picture or two to Facebook between feedings... :)  I am so so excited to meet this little baby!  Nesting is also in full swing, and in the past two days, looking back, I can't believe how much work I've done!  The apartment is cleaned top to bottom, baby clothes washed and laid out, blankets and towels washed and ready, and all the other baby stuff is set up ready for use.  Last thing on the list is to stuff our freezer full of meals to last us at least a month.  I've got an estimated 4 weeks to do this, but will probably get started this weekend with the meal plan at least.  It's all coming together, and soon God's greatest gift will be delivered to us!

Baby Belly - 34 weeks

A little update on Dave, or should I say Dr. Dave?  His clinic is growing every day.  We try to get out almost every afternoon or evening to meet families who need our help.  Something Dave and I have set up most recently is a health and wellness group at our church.  We're calling it "The Pulse."  It'll launch this fall just after baby's born.  If you want to check out the article, they featured us on the front page of the church's August newsletter.  And the church ladies were so sweet to also included a little personal blurb about us at almost the end of the newsletter, too.  Sunday was fun as we heard whispers from behind us, "I think that's them..." as people recognized our faces.  We're so excited to get even further plugged in to the church and make some great friends here in Charlotte!

Wish I had time to write more, just using the Internet at Dave's office while he is in with a patient.  He's almost finished up and then we're off to home to eat dinner.  (I am starving!!)  We are getting Internet hooked up at home on Monday, so soon we will be back to normal again.  And I'm sure our next post will be pictures of Baby Schwartz! :)