Wish You Were Here

Last night I told Bret that I was starting to get bored waiting around for this baby to show up. I said we should go do things we normally don't get to do during the week because of work and that we don't do on weekends because of crowds. I looked online and found out that the Imax Theater at the Pacific Science Center was showing a movie on elephants, which Bret loves. (Ok, so "loves" is a strong word...but it sounds oddly academic and unusual to word it "which Bret really enjoys" or "which are an interest of Bret's"...doesn't it?) So this morning off we went to the Imax movie, the Science Center, and the Planetarium.

































I want you to know, little baby, that this is fun event #4 that you've missed in the week and 2 days since your due date. Not that I'm keeping track or anything. On your actual due date we went to a corn maze.















And last Saturday we went out to dinner for Aunt Sara's birthday. And yesterday we went to lunch with Aunt Laura in Snohomish and had yummy pie and ice cream for dessert. See what you're missing??

Internal Memo

To: Our Son
From: Your Parents

You're late.

Ahem. I mean: Son, Mommy and Daddy don't understand the choices you're making. I know it's warm and cozy in-utero, honey, but you're getting to be a big boy now and big boys don't stay in the womb forever, they come into the world to be with their families and make friends, and your father and I simply don't understand what is taking you SO long!!!

Ahem. I mean: Buddy, your Dad and I know that a due date is just an estimate, and we know that every child develops at their own pace. I don't expect you to be walking at 9 months old (although think of how much faster you'd get everywhere) and I don't expect you to be potty-trained at 18 months old (although think of how fabulous it'd be to not have a wet diaper against your bum) and I certainly don't expect you to date. Ever. Or until I want grandkids. Then I'll give you the green light on talking to girls, and then your father and I will screen contenders for an acceptable life mate, and then you can marry her, and then you can provide us with grandkids.

Ahem. I mean: We know you're going to grow and develop and learn at your own pace, and that we can't rush that. We're really just trying to understand your point of view here so we can meet on middle ground. Can you help us, buddy? From our point of view, we're thinking you must be cramped and running out of room in-utero, and probably really water-logged, and you've gotta be tired of being upside down and having all that blood rush to your head. And look, these are pictures of your room. Notice anything? You're not in them!!

Ahem. I mean: See? That entire crib is just for you! And don't worry, we'll be taking the bumpers out as soon as you get here and putting breathable bumpers on so you don't have to worry about smushing your face against the fluffy bumpers when you're too little to hold your head up. See how Mommy and Daddy are thinking about your safety?

And this is a cozy glider from Mommy's friend Marilee, who used it for her daughters. And they're happy and healthy and running around OUTSIDE Marilee's womb, and that couldn't have happened if they'd stayed inside, like you're doing.


Ahem. I mean: ...and see the blanket that Grandma Myrtle crocheted for you? And the puppy dog stuffed animal that Mommy's friend Leslie got you? A lot of people besides Mom & Dad are excited to meet you!



And WOW! The crib bedding even came with a matching valance! If that's not enough to make you want to come out and see it in person, we just don't know what we can say to motivate you...

Listen honey, the bottom line is this. Mommy and Daddy love you, and we really feel like we've waited patiently for you to get here. Remember when you were only a few months old and Daddy was saying "I just want my son to get here already!"? Well that was 6 months ago, and we went ahead and let you have that 6 months to finish growing your organs and limbs and now we really just feel like this extra few days you're taking is testing our patience.

Why don't you spend a little time (a very little time, please) thinking about the choices you're making and how they're affecting Mommy and Daddy, and then come out of the womb and be a part of this family in person. Ok?

Love,

Your parents

5k Run

I love that the title of this post is "5k Run", something I wouldn't even be able to do were I not pregnant...

A couple weekends ago Bret, his mom, & his sisters participated in a 5k run in Kirkland: the Race for Fetal Hope. Before the race they had a moment of silence for kids that had been affected by fetal diseases. Holy cow it took about 2 seconds of them reading kids' names for me to be teared up. I mean really, that's emotional enough of a topic anyway, but add my own hyped-up-about-to-have-a-baby anxieties and there wasn't a chance I could think about those other kids with anything remotely resembling stoicism.

These are the Fab Four, posing at the starting line. Notice how the girls are all smiles but Bret apparently is already in race mode!We were taking another group shot (below) and a gal from the organization asked if she could also get a picture for the publicity info. Nice!
I went along to cheer them on and take pictures...but my picture taking skills need a little work. I missed Sara completely! And I saw Bret coming from several hundred feet away...and tried to follow him in the camera screen to get a good close shot. But this is what happened instead:I was better when Mary and Lisa came by:
Finally, I got a good picture of the Fab Four at the end: And here's me and my big belly (apparently so big that Bret needs to help me hold it up!)

Rafting the Tieton River

Last Christmas my parents gave the family gift certificates for river rafting. Ah, the excitement! Which river would we choose to tackle? Would we all be brave enough to conquer a class 3/4? Would those of us who've gone river rafting before and been bounced out of the boat have to be talked into anything more than a class 2? (Yes, that was an autobiographical statement).

Well it was a moot point, because I got pregnant...and a few months later Paul & Mandy moved to Hawaii...so in the end it was the five intrepid rafters pictured below who braved the class 3/4 Tieton River near Mount Rainier last Sunday. There were extra spots in the boat so they put a couple of co-workers from Mini Cooper in the raft with the family. The guy was a sport about all my picture taking. The girl was camera shy.

The river runs mostly along the road, so I was able to drive ahead and get to a few good picture spots (the one below offered the option of either climbing a 7' fence gate or climbing through the barbed wire fence itself...I opted for climbing the gate. In my flip flops. At 8 1/2 months pregnant. I'm pretty sure if Bret had been with me, instead of on the river, I would've gotten in big trouble.) But isn't this picture worth it?

It's Three, Three, Three Posts In One!

I have been remiss. I've had pictures to share and yet have not shared them. Bad, bad blogger Cheryl! So to make up for it, I'm doing a MEGA post. Pull up a chair, and try to stay awake!
First: Baby Showers & Birthdays. The weekend of August 8 and 9 I had two baby showers - one with friends and one with family. Baby, Bret and I are so blessed to know such generous folks!! We came away from that weekend armed with a plethora of baby gear and it was definitely a mental milestone for me in terms of the reality of having a baby. Here are a few pictures:
Marilee & Jane hosted the "friend" shower, which we held at my parents' house and mom got a chance to show off her newly remodeled kitchen! They took down the wall that separated the kitchen, dining room and living room, and now there's a big granite island with counter seating. I told mom that if it were my house, I would pretend to host my own cooking show.

The next day was the "family" shower. Remember this post, where I talked about my mom's cooking craftiness? Well take a look at this:

Oh that's right, it's a watermelon baby buggy fruit salad! My favorite is the blueberries on the lemon slice wheels. Seriously Myrtle, how *do* you do it ?!?

The Monday after the shower extravaganza weekend was my 35th birthday. Funny how normally I would anticipate my birthday for weeks as a big event to look forward to, but this year even though it was a milestone birthday, it just got swept up in the general excitement of all the goings-on of the weekend. Several people told me "get used to it, what used to be big things for you will forever be eclipsed by your kids". Sounds a bit ominous...but really, I think I'll be okay with more excitement and attention focused on my son turning five than on me turning forty!!

Second: Mother-Daughter Weekend on the Olympic Pensisula. Ok, let's get this out of the way now, because I have a confession to make. Calling this a mother-daughter weekend was just a cover up so we could visit Forks without feeling like Twilight groupies. Here's how it happened...Last Fall I started reading the Twilight books, then Laura started reading the Twilight books, and then we got mom to read the Twilight books. Somewhere along the way Laura suggested that she and I take a road trip/weekend visit to Forks this Summer, since we're so close (relatively speaking) to it, but of course I said "We can't do that, everyone will know we're there because of the Twilight books and we'll look like groupies. We need to invite mom and call it a mother-daughter weekend!" To make the cover up complete, Christina came too (and incidentally, also started reading the Twilight books). Funny thing is, Paul has also read through the books by now...but I think if he were in WA and had been able to come, we might've been stretching our cover a bit to try to play it off as a Mother-Daughter-Son weekend trip to Forks (and honestly, I don't actually think we pulled off the Mother-Daughter weekend excuse either!)

On the jetty at First Beach in La Push. This is where I discovered that the 10 seconds provided by my camera's picture timer are insufficient when I'm pregnant.

Beached whale - I mean, me and my belly, at Second Beach in La Push.

Kite flying at Second Beach.

On the Hall of Mosses trail in the Hoh Rain Forest.

Third: My friend Angela's wedding at the Woodland Park Zoo Rose Garden.

(wow, are you still here, reading this? I'm impressed! You deserve a treat - go get yourself something cool to drink and give yourself a pat on the back for hanging in there! I can't promise that I'm almost done (we all know how I tend to go on) but at least you'll be well-hydrated for the remainder of this journey!)

We took advantage of the beautiful setting to get a belly shot. It was a little awkward, since the other wedding guests were focused on getting seated for the wedding (what? you mean we're here to watch someone else get married and not to take pictures of our first child in my belly?!?)Bonus: because you stuck around so long, you get this tidbit of information! At my 36 week doctor appointment this week, the status is that I am 2 cm dilated and the baby is head down. Will he show up before October 6? Will I do another post anytime soon so you can see pictures of our baby before he's a year old? Or (more likely) once he's born will I increase my rate of posting so much that you think to yourself "jeez Cheryl, cool it on the kid pics!" ? Stay tuned to find out...