This Kid

And her faces.

Cracks us up all the time.

Ice cream and friends

Last week we met some friends at a local ice cream place to celebrate the birthday of one of said friends.  The ice cream was delicious and the time with fiends was delightful. But of more significant note (to me at least) were two things about Papillon.

First- she was coloring a picture before we left (which she does all the time these days). And out of the blue she asks me "can I give this to the guy whose birthday it is?" She couldn't remember his name, but she definitely wanted to give him a picture-present. And so she did! 

Second - after we enjoyed our ice cream, all the kiddos played together. It was mostly baby/toddler age kids. There was one other "older" girl there, but Papillon had never really interacted before which would generally would make for a very hesitant interaction, at least at first. But nt this time! Either Papillon has suddenly gotten very brave, or her new friend is amazingly charismatic, or perhaps both. But they were instant friends! It was so cool to watch.

Here are a few post-icecream crazy faces.

Yum. Pistachio in a sprinkle cone!

Black cherry...also in a sprinkle cone.

Friends!!

Beach time

About a week ago, we went to a local beach (not an ocean-beach, but definitely still a legit beach). I am not a beach fan, ad being an 8 months pregnant, walking furnace, I am even more so not a beach fan.  Our reason for going? Hibou. Randomly a couple weeks back she asked if it was "beach time". And every time I denied her there would be much weeping and wailing.  So I figured I would muddle my way through one beach trip and see if she actually liked it (the girls and I have in the past been of one mind about beach things).

It turned about to be one of the most delightful outings ever. A number of friends joined us which was lovely. But I also really just enjoyed enjoying the beach with my Girls. We were there for 3 hours, and spent 90% of the time in the water! The weather was perfect -calm, overcast, warm but not hot. There were no waves and very few other people at the beach. Perfection!

Much thanks to Hibou for inspiring this beach outing.

Backyard pool fun

We broke out our new little pool yesterday. The girls loved it. Mostly they liked scooping up the water and either "watering the plants" with it, or throwing it up in the air to land on their heads. 

I asked them to give each other a quick hug so I could take their picture. This is what they did....

Then they laughed cause they knew they were being silly. 

These two really are best friends.

Smocks make any craft that much more fun

Going to the craft store you need geberally results in a few superfluous purchases. In this case, a few wooden picture frames to paint with friends. 

I'd say it was $3 well spent. 

Practically-Annual Haircuts

Yesterday the girls and I made the hour and a half trek to visit our wonderful friend who cuts my hair. I feel like a hair-obsessed person when I travel this far for a particular stylist; but hair-obsessed I am not (as evidenced by my daily pony tail). But this friend understands my need for low-maintenance hair and we only get haircuts every 10months or so...so the trip is worth it.

Here are a few before shots:

It was Ingrid's first haircut. She was soooo excited and so determined to do it right, she held perfectly still. Not even allowing her expression to change throughout the process.

And a few "after" photos...

And a goofy face just for grins and giggles:

34 Weeks with Baby Boy

Since I've been a blog-slacker for a number of months now, I don't think tha I've even made it blog official that this kid is a Boy. So there you have it, it's a boy. He doesn't have a blog name yet. That wil come later I suppose.

I just past the 34 week mark and I am ready to be done with being pregnant. This is a new feeling for me (as in new to this pregnancy, not really new this week...impatience set in pretty early) With Papillon and Hibou, I was pretty content to let them come in their own time. Babies in-utero are easy to care for - no crying, pooping, and all that. And I knew they'd come when they were ready.

This time though, I am ready to have him here - crying, pooping, no-sleeping mess that he may be. You could blame the log winter. Or the current warm weather (it hits 80 and I melt!). But I suspect, in large part, it's because I've been pregnant for most of the past 15 months. Tis rather a long time to be anticipating a baby.  But I know this kind of wait is not unique to me, nor is it by any means the longest wait anyone has waited for a baby.  One thing that has come out of this long wait is a new found sympathy for others who are waiting; whether it's because of infertility, miscarriage, or even waiting for a spouse, the ache for a child to hold is very real and my heart goes out to them.

Otherwise, the biggest difference between past pregnancies and this one are really simply that everything is more intense. 

I gained a lot of weight with Papillon and Hibou. But I passed my previous full-term weight a while ago and I see no sign I that slowing down. 

I've had heartburn with my pregnancies before, but this time, I live on antacids. I've woke up once or twice with heartburn so bad I felt like vomiting. 

Round ligament pain, sore back, the waddling, the waking up every 45 mins at night to roll over and rearrange the pillows - all this is not new, but yikes! It's ferocious this time. I had a prenatal massage which was lovely, but we seem to be way past curing these aches. Having the chance to swim this past weekend was divine. 

All that said, though,  there are things I am loving even at this uncomfortable, impatient stage. 

I love how, when I lay down randomly, or grimace or sigh, both girls ask if the baby is kicking me.

I love how Papillon quietly moved her coloring to the other room so she wouldn't bother me today after I accidentally fell asleep on the couch.

I love how Hibou hugs my stomach seperately from the rest of me. And will occasionally ask if Baby is tired, hungry, kicking, etc

I love telling random folks at the store "it's a boy" and hearing their random comments about the differences between boys and girls.

I love all Baby Boy's movements. He moves all the time, but if I were to wager, I think he is fairly laid back. His movements are generally slow - lots of stretching and elbowing me and such.

Yup, I love it.

Just a few more weeks to go... 

7th Anniversary Trip

We just got back from celebrating our 7th anniversary (a little early, but the actual day is a little too close to my due date). 

By "got back" I mean we drove the 20 minutes back to our house from our hotel downtown. Yup, we stayed in town! It was Mon Amour's turn to plan the trip and he successfully kept his local plans a secret from me. Though I did have an inkling about the "main event"

The big surprise? A cooking class where we learned how to make some amazing Indian dishes (who knew lamb could be so tasty!! Also, if you find yourself visiting my house in the near future, you may find yourself eating some tasty naan!) followed by a relaxing overnight at a hotel in our own city. It had an indoor pool so my weary pregnant self was very happy. 

We managed to only take one picture of the entire weekend...and it's not even of us. It's a street performer we watched while eating some (majorly overpriced)  ice cream.

He's about to jump a flaming jump rope while balancing on a ball, in case you are wondering.

It was a wonderful weekend! Just goes to show you that you don't have to go far to have a wonderful time!