Care to Venture a Guess??

My mom requested a baby arrival guessing game. She may be particularly interested in this because she nailed the exact date with Carter and is looking for win #2....

In any case, tomorrow marks 3 weeks to the due date, so we set up a little poll. Click here, or use the link on the right side of the page to venture a guess.

Bellies and Brains

One boy belly, two balloon bellies



Labor pains?



There are a few things that are more pronounced in this pregnancy than they were when I was pregnant with Carter: aches and pains, fatigue and general lack of mental capacity. With regard to the latter, I've been pretty lucky so far (knock on wood) to be able to hold things together at work - and that's a feat because I've had a LOT going on. But, this time around, all the excess mental capacity I have left over after taking care of work (which isn't a lot) goes towards taking care of Carter. So that leaves no mental capacity for other things, like putting things away in the correct places or carrying on normal conversations. I've put lettuce in the freezer and recycling in the laundry bin. And I pretty much can't carry on a conversation that doesn't have a clear purpose. I guess the good news is that all the big stuff is getting taken care of, but I'm certainly not much fun at parties -- except for any entertainment my extreme forgetfulness may provide!

A Poem

I was going through some books recently, and I came across an old favorite: a book of children's poems called If I Were in Charge of the World by Judith Viorst. To my delight, Carter has really enjoyed having me read the poems to him. When I suggested that he memorize a poem, he readily agreed -- and had it memorized in one night. (Regrettably, that led him to stay up reciting it at the top of his lungs when he should have been sleeping). The poem he learned is:

NIGHTMARE

Beautiful, Beautiful Beverly
Has asked me to a dance
And I am dressed
In all my best
My purple shirt
My buckskin vest
My cowboy boots
And my... [I'll leave the final line for him to reveal in the video]

Artist

Girl Trip 2011

Grounded

As in "not flying", not "in trouble".

After a couple of final business trips the last few weeks - and a fun girls' weekend (pics of that to be posted soon), I'm officially through with traveling until after this baby is born. So now it's time to buckle down and get ready for his arrival!

It feels good to be grounded!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Mass on the Grass

Our favorite time to go to church is when they do Mass on the Grass - a casual outdoor service. I much prefer the less formal service and music (fiddle is more my style than organ), and I also just love to be outdoors for worship. Between the heat wave and my propensity towards swelling these days, we opted to sit in the shade for the first time this year! Someone snapped this sweet shot of Carter during communion. I particularly love it because it actually captures all 4 of us: Carter, my belly, and both Thomas' and my hands.

T-Ball Season

It's that time of year!

Last year, Carter was on the Phillies. This year, we were assigned to the Giants for about a half an hour -- until I discovered that the Giants practiced at 5:30 on a weeknight. We had to switch to a team with a later practice time, and the switch turned out to be a good thing, because now Carter is on the Cubs!

(I'm guessing that we weren't the only family that requested a switch to a team with a later practice time, as our team seems larger than most. I wonder if all those other parents were as blindsided as we were that they even have weekday practices. It certainly wasn't in the promotional material! Ah, the YMCA...)

Carter was reluctant to pose for a picture in his uniform until I told him that his friends Eleanor and Thomas really like the Cubs, and would definitely want to see a picture of him in his Cubs gear!

Thomas is helping the coach out on the field and at practices

At the first game, Carter got the best spot as the last batter. It's the best spot because, in t-ball rules, the last hitter always gets a grand slam!

One Room Down...

We've been living in various states of mess and upheaval in our house for the last month or so, but tonight we put the kitchen back together with a fresh coat of paint on the walls and new hardware on the cabinets. Very small changes, but it makes a big difference, in my opinion. At the very least, it makes me feel like it's finally OUR kitchen, as we hadn't previously done anything to that room since we moved in. Two more rooms to put back together after this: our bedroom (can't wait to sleep there again!), which will probably happen this weekend, and our bathroom (really, really can't wait to use that again!), which will be another week or two. And then, of course, we have to START the baby's room. But at least 1 room is done!

Weekend Antics