Nesting and Resting

Yes, I'm still here with a big tummy. Each day I am greeted by surprised coworkers who can't believe I made it through another night without giving birth. Having said that, several of those same people have remarked that this Friday, the 4th, is a full moon. If working in a hospital for a few years taught me anything, it's that all bets are off on a full moon night -- anything and everything can happen. We'll see.

My OB says everything is progressing well and promised she would "only" let me go one week past my due date before inducing labor. Wow! Thanks for the words of encouragement. Meanwhile, I'm loving the cool weather we have this week. My swollen feet are thankful too!

Enough about me. Frank has started teaching again and therefore has started grumbling about teaching again. At home, during short-lived periods of energy, we have been trying to nest and get the baby's room ready. The baby isn't really going to care that there are no decorations on the walls, right??

Frank has been picking up the slack around the house and with Maddie. I have been trying to rest when she naps and it helps a lot. We are both pretty worn out and hope our energy levels will improve after the baby arrives ......wait, did I just say that?????

Here are some random pics of Maddie over the last several weeks.

Yes, that's a tambourine in her hand. She's a little musical diva these days. And yes, that is her potty chair behind her. She will only "go" on a big potty chair now, so this one will be relegated to the attic soon. My, my, my...


Discussing the virtues of the Giant in Noah's book during some quality time at the Parham's.

My great coworkers gave me a small shower with an awesome tiered cupcake cake. Do they know me or what? They forced me to take the leftovers home to my little cupcake connoisseur. We brought the HUGE box to the table and let her pick her own. She was ecstatic.

"Hey, who said you could have one??"

Our last date night before the new arrival. One of the very few belly shots we've taken in nine months.

Although she looks a mess, she's actually spreading cheese on crackers and eating salad. We definitely think this is the German heritage showing itself.

Snuggling with the baby in Mommy's tummy. A rare quiet moment...

Happiness is....convincing your friends to watch "Potty Power" with you. Noah and Stella Dot are not so sure this is fun.

Reading a good book. The jacket describes it as "throat-cutting suspense."......hmmm....

My birthing ball, as I call it, has been reinflated and put to use in these last few painful weeks of pregnancy. Sitting on it really does feel like you are sitting on a cloud....
Since it's pink and a ball, Maddie thinks it's just for her. Of course.

It is.

Lots of family time

Big Pool
Last weekend, we took Maddie to her first real pool. Up until that point, she thought a pool meant two things: inflatable and ankle-deep water.

We went to Robin and Waylon's gym pool as guests. Having Noah there and seeing him being comfortable and brave in the water helped her to overcome any fears she had. Also, Frank wasn't afraid to get wet with her and that helped too. The water felt great and she had so much fun. We ate lunch poolside and stayed until her and Noah both were exhausted. Maybe next year, we'll join the YMCA and enroll her in swim lessons. She is definitely a little fish, just like her daddy.




Garden Harvesting
The garden we planted a few months ago is almost overtaken with grass. Still, we are harvesting cucumbers, Roma and German Johnson tomatoes and soon an eggplant or two! We started the garden against Frank's pleas, because he knew as the pregnancy progressed, he would have to be the main caretaker. Still, up until the last few weeks, we were all able to help with watering and weeding. Now, it really is up to Frank. But Maddie likes to show "our garden" to visitors and it is important to us that she knows that food doesn't just appear on store shelves. Since this is our first NC garden (we had one in TX, but it consisted mostly of hot peppers -- imagine) we have learned quite a few things for the future. Our recent harvest below.


Double trouble
A last minute dinner date with Amy and Stella Dot on Friday night gave Maddie a chance to play in her new room with a friend for the first time. They were happy and laughing for a really long time. Amy and Frank and I were foolish enough to think there was no mischief involved -- ha!



Hooray for washable markers and wipeable latex paint. We even found open markers in the bed! No wonder they were laughing!


OK, let's see if the markers wash off the girls as easily. Bubbles and boats strategically placed...

Rainy Weekend
It has rained all weekend. We are glad for the water, but it makes for scarce play options for little ones. Maddie and I spent lots of quality time together, and I had to bend some rules (TV, painting nails) to keep both of us happy indoors. I am not the Mom to take my two-year old to the Princess Prom Place or whatever they are called. BUT, it was raining, she liked my painted toenails, and my mobility is limited. The result: Maddie's toes
And then her turn. My fingernails:

After nail painting, we played with her new favorite thing, groceries.
"Mommy, can we play something else now?" OK. Time to get creative. So we pretended to be cashiers and I made a "beeper/scanner" out of a CD. Paper bag plus old receipt and you've got hours of entertainment, folks.

And finally, I'm not going to lie, there was a bit of TV-watching involved. All educational of course!
I love this photo -- thoughtful and quiet.