A Family of Three

Since I'm scheduled for inducement on Wednesday, this was officially the last weekend as a family of three. We celebrated by taking Anna to Chuck E. Cheese, getting hotdogs at Costco, and then taking a drive up the canyon to see the leaves. This weekend was supposed to be the peak for the Aspens and they did not disappoint. I've never seen such brilliant yellows and oranges in all my life. The most amazing spot was a lookout over a mountain valley. You could see across several ranges and the patches of Aspens were amazing. The pictures do not even begin to do justice.

It was such a great way to take my mind off having this baby. It's been a long couple of weeks. We all laughed at my inability to climb over rocks and lack of balance. I'll be glad when I can go out again and not have strangers comment on my ridiculus state. It's all good, though. We can't wait to meet baby boy in just a couple of days.

We are still undecided on names so if anyone wants to contribute an idea or two...

We Miss Grandma Already.

We're so glad that Marlene came to visit this weekend. Anna is instantly attached to her grandparents when she see them. Anna and Marlene were two peas in a pod as they made cookies, read stories, shopped, snuggled, sang, and just enjoyed the mutual love that intrinsically exists between grandmas and grandchildren. Jeff and I loved having her here and look forward to many more visits.

I tried my very hardest to have this baby while Marlene was in town, but baby boy just didn't want to cooperate. He did tease us, though, with bouts of false labor pains and nausea.

Next up: Grandma Black. Can't wait to see you, Mom!

Sausage Fingers, Emotional Outbursts, and Other Pregnancy Treats

The end of this pregnancy is blessedly near, so I thought I'd reflect a little on the good and not so good parts of being with child.

• I have bratwursts for fingers and little smokies for toes. (That metaphor is for you, Jeff.)


• The first flutterings turning into substantial kicks is such a delightful process. "I think I felt the baby move" to "that was definitely a kick."


• Extreme fatigue leading to excessive amounts of children's television programming.


• The excitement of learning we'd have two girls, the shock of finding this was not true, and the growing thrill of bringing a boy into the world.


• Wiggly pink lines all over my stomach are growing darker daily. (I'd rather not use the common term.)


• I have loved hearing Jeff talk about "his boy" and all the things he wants to teach him, man to man.


• Embarrassing tears, weld up by emotional blockbusters such as Angels in the Outfield and Sister Act II. I'm serious. And pathetic.


• I'm so happy this pregnancy has gone so much faster than my first. Except maybe the last couple of weeks.


• I've started to get to big for some of my maternity clothes. Talk about demoralizing. GIVE ME MY BODY BACK!


• Anna started to pray for baby brother in her prayers. Sure it's tacked onto the end of a string of random things she's "grate for," but still, it makes my mother's heart sing.


• I can't wear heels to church anymore. Weird that this would be a bummer for me, but definitely feel prettier with a couple of inches added on. Better legs, taller. Vain, I know and I don't care.


• I ONLY HAVE 17 DAYS LEFT UNTIL MY DUE DATE!*


• Carrying groceries up a the flight of stairs from the garage is the bane of my week. I sweat and am completely out of breath by the time I'm done. Then I say to myself, "Remember when you used to run 3 miles every morning? You used to be awesome! " Then I eat some chocolate I just bought.


• I have been eating a lot of chocolate knowing I'll probably have to quit while nursing. I feel good about eating a lot of chocolate.


• I can't bend over. At all.


• Despite all the crap that comes with pregnancy, the best part is knowing that I am a part of the creation process. I'm so thankful for the spiritual perspective pregnancy has given me. I really feel a greater understanding of the plan of salvation and the blessing of gaining a physical body. What a privilege it is to be a woman and to be a part of joining a spirit and a body.

*My doctor informed me this week that my due date based on my ultra-sound is actually Oct 1st rather than Oct 10! That's the date she's been going by for the last two months. I'll take those 10 days, thank you very much.

Anna Jumps

More of our zoo day...

A Day Out with Daddy

Jeff has had a crazy week. Because of a lot of conflicts, Anna only saw Jeff on average about 15-30 minutes a day. I don't know who it's harder on, Anna or Jeff. They are buddies and miss each other terribly when they are apart. Anna is especially insistent on Dad being around for family prayer. It's a little heart breaking when I'm putting Anna to bed and we're ready for prayer and she immediately runs to the top of the stairs, yells "Daddy! Ready for prayers" then remembers he's gone and returns saying, "Dad is not here, bummer."

Anyhoo! The point is, today we spent some time at the zoo with dad and it was great to reconnect after a busy week. I love to see the growing relationship Anna has with her dad. Even though I felt like a waddling spectacle, I was glad I tagged along. I was especially grateful for the conversation Jeff and I had near the end of our zoo trip. Anna was exhausted in the stroller and we had some moments to walk and talk about our baby boy. Jeff expressed his excitement about having a son and we mulled over the new dynamic of our family. Any woman who has been pregnant knows you are constantly reminded of a new person coming into your home. It's hard to forget when your ribs are being kicked and your bladder is sat upon. There is a lot of thought about who this person inside of you is, what they will be like, what they will look like, etc. There is something so sweet about hearing the same thoughts from my spouse. Jeff is such a good dad.

PS Anna actually posed and smiled for a picture today. (See seal pic above.) A breakthrough? I hope so.

A Mean Old Witch

We pulled out all the Halloween gear yesterday and Anna was excited to find her costume from last year. She loves the song, "I'm a mean old witch." Here's the second half. She refused to perform the whole thing for me after I started filming.

Homegirl

I bought myself a new beanie when we purchased Anna's snow gear. Anna has decided it is hers and wears it all the time. Today (no pics, unfortunately) she wore it out on our errands with shorts and sandals. It's 85 degrees. Love these shots of homegirl stylin' it up while watching Saturday morning cartoons. Please note Dad's dirty sock she's also sporting. Love it.

Brainard Lake

Saturday I decided we really needed to cook s'mores over a campfire before the summer was over. We drove up one of the many canyons and headed for Brainard Lake Recreation Area. The drive was really magnificent. The sun was low and made all the foilage a gorgeous emerald green. The mountain ranges here are crazy. They just keep going up and up and up. By the time we arrived we had climbed over a mile higher and had almost hit the tree line.

We (and by we, I mean Jeff) couldn't resist a little fishing after we set up our picnic area. Anna caught her first fish Grandpa J style: Jeff got the worm on, cast it strategically, set the hook, and then let Anna pull it in. This how I also caught my first fish at Lily Lake, except I was 23 rather than 2. Anna was super excited but a little freaked out to hold the thing. She told me after it was, "slippery and cold." That sounds about right. I don't love to hold them either.



After fishing we headed back to our picnic area for tin foil dinners and s'mores. Anna actually had a Lunchable, which she thought was about the best thing ever. We had issues with our fire and ended up eating warm tin foils and semi-roasted marshmallows. We're blaming the poor oxygen flow through the fire pit. :)


We also enjoyed playing hide and seek in the trees, jumping off rocks, looking at the stars, and snuggling in camp chairs.