Etta Grace Wicks

Last pregnancy picture before heading to the hospital.


One shot in bed during labor.



Etta Grace Wicks
Born 5:26 p.m. April 28th, 2008
6 lbs. 1 3/4 oz, 19" Long

Overseas greetings!

This one's for you Aunt Molly! Wanted to get one more off to you before we get to send one with her little face a smilin'. We miss you and Uncle Jim!!

Parting Shots

So I figured that since I'm now "due" on Monday I should take atleast one more prego pic. Did a measure yesterday and I am 42 inches around. Since I started under 30 that seems to be a gigantic number. But that's ok. It's all for the baby, right? Anyway, I have been walking to the hospital every day for my blood work and sometimes it takes a bit longer than others but it is still nice to get out a little bit. And I always have my cell phone!

And if you look back to the previous shot you can see that she has definitely dropped a bit. And while it doesn't feel like I could reach down and shake her hand, sometimes it does feel like she is trying to tunnel her way out...

Week 38

3 centimeters dilated and still 80% effaced.

BUT...

"D" Day was decided on. On this post it is Delivery Day! Since the very beginning they have been talking about inducing a week early. Well, that would be next Tuesday, the 29th. But the doctor looked at her schedule and she is on call Monday or Friday of next week. I was there by myself and decided that for me the Monday date would be better. The new medication that I am on is kind of a pain, literally, and I didn't want to be on it for any longer than I absolutely have to. And the doctor also said that the longer we wait the more of a chance I will go into natural labor. She would rather be able to have more control of my medication. Makes sense to me. They have been monitering the baby super close throughout the pregnancy and she said that everything looks really good and that she should be ready. Pretty nerve-wracking to have an actual date set though. I guess that I have a bit to do between now and then. That whole nesting thing could kick in at any minute, that would probably help a lot!

Last Day

Well, the last day of teaching has come and gone. There was a part of me that thought it would never arrive and the other part of me that wishes it never had to. Very emotional day. Coupled with the fact that I am over 37 weeks pregnant... Pretty much an open fire hydrant for tears. Some things I will not miss, not even a little bit. But some things I will ache for I think. It is incredible how a decision can seem so clear and right when you are making it and then become so blurry and questionable when it arrives. But we know that once Etta arrives with us there will be no more doubts. That and the crystal clear way that God has made his plan known over the course of the last ten months. There is really no questioning that now. Here is a bouquet that one of my students brought to parent/teacher conferences last night. (Along with a chocolate cake.) She hand selected each flower and had them create the arrangement. No pre-made store selection for her. That right there - that's what is tearing me up inside.

"D" Day

Tuesday was Defense Against the Dark Arts Day. Oh wait, I mean that the day had finally come for Bob to defend his thesis. Yes, he scheduled it for Tax Day. Thankfully I am the one who does the taxes, but I think that is a whole other blog entry. I took the afternoon off and traveled up to Moscow with Cathy to be there for his defense. We had a nice little crowd actually, very good feeling to be so supported. It was amazing to me as I knew that he had been putting a lot of time in to the whole thing over the last three years, but I guess I didn't really comprehend how much time. Oops. Live and learn. And many people have said that the roles will be reversed once Etta comes...But he made it through the presentation and the question and answer time and passed! He now has to do some more revisions to the written part, have it edited and then get it "published". Oh, did I mention that it has to be by May 1st? That along with the two concerts he has next week, and the fact that the baby seems ready to come at any time has him a little stressed out. We just keep remembering that God never gives you more than you can handle and that we are truly blessed that these are the worst of our problems right now.

So a thesis defense isn't necessarily the most exciting of times but I tried to capture some shots to bring the action to you:


"As you can see, I have very long arms and can point across over half of the black board." (Actually he was exlaining how much kindergartners can learn in one year.)


"And then the board comes along and crunches the budget and compacts the music department yet again." (Really? He was showing a rubric that he has classroom teachers use to evaluate student concert etiquette at concerts.)

EWU Invitational Band Festival

On April 12th I took the 7th-9th grade band up to Cheney for a band festival. When I planned it in January it seemed like a great idea. Right before I was going to go on maternity leave, spring time, pretty close by...well, getting to week 36 1/2 and having to travel on a bus with a ton of kids three hours away from your main OB suddenly doesn't seem like such a great idea. But it went really well. The kids were super behaved, Bob was able to come along and overall it was a really educational - and fun! - day. Here are just a couple of action shots.

Week 37

2 centimeters dilated and 80% effaced.

The Final Countdown

From right now I only have three days of work left. After seven years of going to Jenifer every day for work I'm not sure if I am still excited not going in. (Having school keys, my own office, my own classroom...) Well, I am pretty excited about not getting up at 5:15 a.m. every day to go to work but I am really going to miss my kids. Seven years - the only other thing that I have done continuously for seven years was go to elementary school! But it's not like I'm never going to see them again, it will just be different.


Mrs. Pregnant Band Director

They seem incredibly at attention. Why do I not notice this when I am actually conducting?

New roof

The old, moldy garage roof. Bob has had reroofing on his "to do" list for a couple of years now.

He decided that this spring break would be the best time to finally "git 'er done" and with Steve's help...

We have a beautiful new garage roof. Guaranteed to last thirty wonderful years!

The Ladies Man

This is Jonah. Will he be Etta's boyfriend? We will have to make sure that they are not playing doctor!

New shots

So this is about 35 weeks. She sure is growing. And I swear that I felt her drop on Sunday afternoon. It is probably just my imagination but things do feel a bit different. Feel free to scroll down and compare to the previous pregnancy shots.


And one just for fun. I thought that never seeing my face was a bit disturbing. With regular clothes on some people still don't realize that I am pregnant and others don't believe that I am due in early May. I think that I have been pretty lucky with all of that. But I have a sneaky feeling that she is going to be early - watch her be late now!!

Jazz Dance

On March 21st my jazz band put on our annual "Big Band Dance" at The Elks Lodge. A bit earlier this year than normal, but we did play for about two hours. I think that it was a great time and I was glad that I was able to share it with the students before I have this baby!