Adventures in Iowa and baby day is NEAR!

Kaufman's have been in Iowa for over 3 weeks now, just waiting for little man to arrive!  We were just sure he was going to be making an early arrival but as it turns out, he just wanted his family to be nearby!  :)

We have not lacked fun, that is for sure!  Our kids are surely going to be spoiled when the Kaufman's head back home to Washington!  We've been out to eat more times in the past few weeks than in the entire year probably!  We've also been to the circus and celebrated Campbell's 6th birthday and also my twins 6th birthday!  We've gotten together with friends more times than we can count and had lots of fun evenings at our house all together.  We truly have become like a big family over the past 3 weeks.
I know that spending a month in Iowa wasn't what the Kaufman's had planned but as time goes on, I truly am beginning to believe this is how it was supposed to be.  Had we stuck to the original plan, the Kaufman's would have been arriving later this afternoon.  Tomorrow we have a Pre-Op day at the hospital and we will be preparing for Friday.  It would have been a very rushed and chaotic 24 hours. No time to relax, bond, or really even introduce our kids to each other.  The last few weeks has allowed us time together that is so very priceless.  Our 4 kids are more like siblings now and its something I am cherishing more and more each day.  The one on one time we have had with the Kaufman's has been such a blessing.  The guys have gone golfing 4xs together, we've spent time with friends here locally and Kellie & Chris have really gotten to know my family too.  This all would have never happened if we stuck to our original plan of them being here such a short time.
I have to share some photos of all the fun adventures we have had while them being here!

LOTS of doctors appointments over the past few weeks!  It's been very special that Kellie has been able to come along and get to know my doctors before the big day! 

 When Campbell is around, of course there will be some cheerleading!  :)  My boys LOVED it!

 A spa day and slumber party with all my girlfriends.  How special that Kellie was able to be here for this!

 The circus came to town!  The kids loved it!  The parents are okay if this was a one-time only event ;)

Can't forget Halloween!  It was so much fun our kids were able to trick-or-treat together!  

A girls night out with many of our friends!  We had a big It Works training here on Sunday and so we celebrated while so many were in town!  

Swimming at the Kaufman's hotel pool!  These dads have had their hands full some days.  One night, the ladies went out and there was 9 kids and just 4 dads (who are all very laid back), running the show! 

We got a sitter one night so we could have dinner together with my parents.  We went to a yummy brewery!

SO SO SO cool to me that Kaufmans were here for our annual Signature Chef's Auction for the March of Dimes.  Its a charity VERY near and dear to my heart and I always look forward to this special event.  My heart was so very full to celebrate this evening together and with many close friends.  And, who doesn't like getting fancy for a night!?  ;)

Now, onto the update.  We are LESS than 48 hours away from the BIG DELIVERY DAY!  Oh my goodness... I just cannot even believe its almost here.
At this point, I think it all seems very surreal to me.  It's so hard for me to even imagine what Friday is going to feel like.  I know its going to be very bittersweet for me.  This journey has been absolutely amazing and I know seeing it come to a close will be hard... BUT,  we get to see Baby Kaufman!!  And truly, the thing I cannot wait for is just to see Kellie and Chris holding him and seeing the joy that will come from that.  Ever since my dream of wanting to be a surrogate started, all I could think about was what that moment will feel like.  What I will get to see and feel as they hand their baby over to them and see the looks on their faces.  Yesterday Kellie and I were discussing the delivery rom plans and I just started crying.  I can't believe its here and I am SO excited for it.
I have a scheduled C-Section on Friday morning. We are unsure at this point who will all be in the delivery room.  All along I have planned to have Steven by my side during the delivery, however, over the past few weeks my thoughts have changed.  Just as long as I am doing fine and we are still in a routine C-Section, I am okay for Steven to wait outside the doors in the recovery room and be waiting for me as soon as I am finished with surgery.  I feel very strongly that I want Kellie to witness her sons birth and we also are hoping to have a photographer in the room to document everything as well.  I don't want to miss a thing! :)  And for those of you who know my love for pictures, totally understand why I would want this all photographed!  IF they were to allow 1 more person into the OR, I would want Chris to be in there with Kellie.  I know her emotions are going to be SO strong and I would love for her to experience that WITH Chris next to her.  So, as of right now, thats the plan.  This is all up to the doctors at the hospital and we will just roll with the punches if anything changes.  Kellie has told me she wants me most comfortable and so they want me to make the final decisions on that aspect.  But, so far, I am very at peace with my choice and I know Steven will be waiting just a few feet away in case I need him ;)

Bring on the tears.  I am crying just writing all of this.  Friday is going to be a highlight of my life.  Its so hard for me to even explain because its hard to believe this dream is really coming true.  1 year ago Friday I did my first injection for the mock cycle for the surrogacy and here we are delivering a baby boy 1 year later, to the day.  Not to mention, surrogacy has been in my heart for over 4 years now.  It's surreal that my dream has officially come true.
I told Kellie the other day, "Okay... so, I am going to be a bawling mess on delivery day.  So I just want to get that out there now so you know, I am truly just excited and it does NOT mean I want to steal your baby!"  We both had a really good laugh about it!  And her response "uhhhh... I think I would be MORE concerned if you WEREN'T  a crying mess!!"  :)
Well, good, as long as we cleared that part up!  haha.
Alright friends.  I think thats my update for now.  Send us some prayers for this HUGE DAY!  I am sure Kellie or Chris will make the baby announcement shortly after he arrives and you can look for an update from me after that.  And, we hope to share the birth story images once they are ready, too.  Many of you have followed this from the first blog post, so we would love for you to be able to 'follow us' thru to the very end!
Also, legally we are sitting very good.  The Pre-Birth Order WAS accepted which is great news.  That means that Chris' name will be placed on the original birth certificate with my name.  Then, just a brief hearing needs to happen afterwards for what is called a 'step-parent adoption' for Kellie.  It sounds funny but its truly just formality.  This doesn't even HAVE to be completed by the time they head back to Washington with the baby.  Most likely it could be done on Skype or telephonically if they don't get it done within a few days of birth.  After this, my name will be removed permanently from the birth certificate and Kellie's will be added.  This process is just because Iowa laws are kind of grey. They don't have any laws for or against surrogacy.  Our attorney is very very familiar with surrogacy and so she knows how to make this the easiest.  After all, I am JUST the oven ;)
Sending love to everyone reading.  BABY DAY!!!!!!