So, it turns out that outside ward activities in August in North Carolina are maybe not the best place to be when you're almost 38 weeks pregnant, trying to avoid going into labor, and have a 19-mo-old who loves to play with balls, climb on the jungle gym, and in general wander around everywhere asking, "Where's da-do? Where's da-do?" which means, Where's daddy? I'm all about supporting ward activities, having previously been a Ward Activity Chair, but the next time I'm dilated 3cm, 75% effaced, and the baby has dropped to a -1, I think I'll just let the boys go without me. I'll enjoy my lemonade much more from the air-conditioned inside.

Helping around the house

Nathan has decided to become marginally helpful of late, throwing things away, shutting doors, drawers, and cupboards, helping empty the dishwasher, and even occasionally picking his toys up. He has also taken up "cooking" as another one of his marginally helpful activities. He loves to put on an apron just like Mommy or Daddy, climb up on the stepstool, and get into as much as he can reach. Maybe he can stay motivated to be helpful long enough to actually help. I can only hope so. And yes, the apron says "Kiss the Cook." And yes, we do :)

The Pink Shoes

In addition to throwing a fabulous baby shower, our friend Heidi got New Baby a few baby gifts, including a pair of pink patent leather Mary Jane's. After a year and a half of blues, puppies, and cars, it's been fun to have a little pink around the house :) Nathan found the shoes, and he also thought they were quite fun. He insisted I squish his fat feet into the shoes and proudly walked around all morning in them, much to the chagrin of his poor dad. He wouldn't stand still long enough for a good picture, but here's the best I could get. One day I'm sure he won't think this is nearly as funny as I do...

Baby Update

I went in for my 36-week checkup yesterday (without Nathan - babysitters are wonderful). According to the ultrasound, New Baby is no longer breech, but she is weighing in at a whopping 6lbs 14 oz at 36 weeks. Thank heavens she's coming a week and a half early or I could have had another 9+lb baby on my hands. I know the estimate is only that and not terribly accurate (no one thought Nathan was over 8lbs - ha!), but no wonder I'm getting extremely uncomfortable. We should probably start getting ready for her arrival soon, since she is coming in less than two weeks now...

Also, our computer has decided that it wants to be replaced and is currently making our lives difficult by being slower than dirt, randomly crashing, and other endearing actions. So if I'm not posting super-regularly, chalk it up to more random contractions (I'm already at 1cm), Nathan, actually getting ready for New Baby, or the slowest computer ever. It's probably the computer.

The Beach :)

My dad's side of the family has been going to the beach every summer since 1982, going to the same beach since 1983. I've never, ever missed a week at the beach, overcoming work schedules, school, weddings, etc. Now that we live a mere 40 minutes from the beach, there's no reason I'll break that streak. Even 36 weeks pregnant, we made the trip this past week, and we had a great time. The weather and water were a little cooler than previous years, and Nathan certainly spent a fair amount of his water time with blue lips, but he loved the beach. He called the waves "bubbles" for the bubbles they created when they crashed. He was a brave little kid, going over and under some pretty mean waves, all with a big grin on his face. He learned about sharing with his cousin Kathleen and didn't completely freak out when we held his cousin Sophia. It was a very successful trip, a fun time to catch up with all my siblings, and a nice break. Now we're starting to get ready for New Baby's upcoming arrival - only 2 1/2 weeks to go!

One Year

Last week marked our one-year anniversary in Jacksonville. We celebrated by going to Raleigh. It has been quite a year - Nathan has gotten so much bigger, Chad started working and then several months later started earning enough to cover our expenses for the first time in our married lives, we found out we're expecting a little girl in three and a half weeks, Chad is on his third calling in the ward, and I'm on my fourth calling. It's been a great year, and here are some highlights from it :) Since I'm usually photographer, there is only picture of me. Given my size these days, I'm not sorry.