Wild Animal Park

On Thursday, we went to the Wild Animal Park with Naomi, Noah, and baby Isaac. Here we have stopped by the monkeys, and December and Noah are enthralled.

Here's the monkeys! This black one in the foreground is playing with a small mirror attached to the fence -- he was pretty funny about staring at himself in it, and you can see a small white baby monkey in the background, swinging around the cage.

The Wild Animal Park has a children's play area that we spent most of our time in, as December and Noah had a great time. These two love to run around together and actually play together -- I like seeing December begin to grow out of her "parallel play" stage and actually begin to interact with her friends. And you can see December's new haircut! I cut it a few nights ago -- the length is somewhere between her chin and her shoulders.

The baby is getting ready to come! At my doctor's appointment this week, I was told that the baby is head-down, which I'm so thankful for! I was really hoping that the baby wouldn't be breech, and he/she isn't! If the baby would have been breech (feet down instead of head down), it would have been an almost guaranteed C-section. But the baby is in the right position. And I've been getting more and more Braxton-Hicks contractions, which are light contractions preparing for real labor. All this week, it feels like I can no longer close my legs because I have a bowling ball stuck between them, which is a strange feeling and one that really accentuates the graceful duck waddle I've acquired! So, everything is getting ready for this baby! They say that your due date is flexible by +/- 2 weeks. If it's -2 weeks, this baby is coming next week! Yikes! That is very soon...

Babies, Triangles, and One Very Pregnant Woman

Last week, Noah and baby Isaac came over to play. December loves baby Isaac and talks about him all the time! Hopefully that bodes well for her loving her new brother or sister.

December held him and did NOT want to give him up!

He's a sweet little boy...

Brad and December snacking on Halloween candy -- December would eat chocolate all day long, if we let her.

December still loves this picture frame -- it really is weird, the "toys" (that aren't really toys at all) that kids find and decide to play with for hours on end!

December picks the frame up and, thinking it's shaped like a triangle, sings this song, which you probably won't know unless you're an avid watcher of Seseme Street (as we are):

The song makes me laugh -- it's so crazy...and yet, so very catchy. I must admit that I find myself singing this song during the most random times of the day, like when I clean the bathroom or go get the mail. Very weird.

Dancing

Normally I'm hesitant to have pictures taken when I reach the behemoth stage of pregnancy, as I currently have. Brad tells me that I have grown so much that I now have my own gravitational force field. Ha! It's a pretty accurate statement, hehee...but my dear mother wanted to see a current picture, and since I love her so much, I had Brad take one of me. This picture was taken on Sunday. Not too much longer now -- 3 1/2 weeks!

Holding the Status Quo

December playing with a picture frame




Daddy and December cuddling.


December watching "Curious George"

The past couple of weeks have been fairly ordinary...not much that is new has happened. Brad's school is coming along, with a midterm thrown in last week. He is currently working on one of his papers. All of Brad's 3 papers are due only a few days after the baby is due, so he's trying to work ahead on them. Very smart idea! As for December, she's been doing her daily, normal things: playing, going to the park, hanging out with her toddler friends, potty training (which is going WAY, WAY better!! I have hope that December will be fully potty trained by the time the baby is born.). My "nesting" has been kicking in, and I've been getting things ready for the baby. I'm nearly finished. Actually, if the baby DID decide to come right now, we'd be fine -- my hospital bag is all packed and ready to go! My friend Naomi (that you saw pregnant in the pumpkin pictures) had her baby almost two weeks ago, a beautiful baby boy named Isaac. What a precious little one! December and I LOVE going over to visit him.

So as you can see, most everything here is ordinary. In fact, things have been so normal here that I haven't even taken any pictures! I took the second and third pictures above just right now, so that you'd have at least something to look at! hehee. Today, Brad is off to work in the school's library, I'm going to be sewing some pillowcases, and then December and I are going to my friend's baby shower (she is due just a few weeks after me, on Christmas Day.) So that's our update! I apologize that it's not more fascinating for you...our really interesting news will be coming in about five weeks' time! YAY!

Matt & Tarena's Wedding -- the Professional Pictures

Here are a few more pictures from Matt & Tarena's wedding in August...I was just looking through the pictures that Tarena put up, and I was excited to discover that the photographer had taken more pictures of December than I ever dreamed she had! She did a great job...here they are!