Friday afternoon

Brian ran home..... (and that's as far as Leigh got with that before we had some visitors arrive, so I'm going to take over from here)

....to see Emma and Callie (our two labs, 7 and 1.5 years old, respectively) and make sure our place was still standing. Thanks to wonderful neighbors, it was in great shape and I got to spend time saying hi to them as opposed to cleaning up to make sure the house is clean and neat for Payton's arrival (not that she cares much...mama hasn't turned her into a neat freak yet!) and took them on a quick walk. Right before I left, I brought out one of Payton's swaddling cloths to introduce them to her scent. Emma, our older, calmer dog sniffed it obediently but disinterestedly as Callie tried to take it from me for a game of tug. So, a pretty overwhelming failure on the 'introduction of scent' front. No worries though, they're both great dogs (I can hear all of you that know them saying, "BOTH??". Yes, both...but it helps when Callie is exhausted.) and we're not worried about how they'll act around Payton. The biggest concern for both of us is Callie jumping up on Leigh when she's excited to see her. Getting in the door will be a carefully orchestrated maneuver that could put military drills to shame.

Back to the hospital to hang out with some more visitors. Andy was here and gone before I got back, then Chris showed up followed by Jennifer with baby Aniston. Next Beth arrived and Chris and Jennifer left. We expect to see Jay and Jen and Britt and Dan (with baby Maddie?) after they get off work.

Definitely looking forward to getting out of here tomorrow morning! Leigh hasn't left the building for more than 20 total minutes since 7:30am Monday morning so I'm amazed how she's able to keep from ripping off her hospital ID bracelet and taking off out the door into this beautiful Charlotte day. The nearly-constant stream of visitors over the last couple days has been a very welcome diversion!

When we leave the hospital tomorrow, we'll be headed.......to the hospital! Yep, Cheryl (who I've mentioned before) with husband Jeremy has gone into labor and expects to deliver within a few hours! Payton and Raegan will be a force to be reckoned with! Be afraid, be very afraid.

Pictures to come! Prepare to melt!