34 Weeks & 33 Years

Okay, so much for that more form-fitting outfit I was set to wear for the next documenting photo. What can I say, these dresses are just too easy to pass up, even if I look like a whale. So yes, here we are at a bit over 34 weeks. It's getting more and more awkward to move, sleep, walk, concentrate, you name it, it's more difficult. I am getting so utterly excited to meet this little one who is usually rather gentle these days, but his hiccups sure are STRONG and frequent! He occasionally stretches out and my ribs get a kick or two but otherwise, he's pretty mild. He seems to sleep when I sleep but his sisters scare him, I think. He certainly reacts to loud noises and their shrill voices, but the girls can't seem to hug him enough and tell them how much they love him already. We all just can't wait to meet him!

We toured the hospital this week and it was nice to meet so many moms who were carrying boys. Boys, boys, EVERYWHERE, I swear! I didn't meet a mom who wasn't having a boy. It feels like you're part of a club when everyone around you is pregnant AND carrying a boy. Anyway, the hospital staff seemed nice. It's not quite what I would want if I had every say in the matter, but it should suffice. I guess part of me wants things a particular way since this is my last time to experience pregnancy and part of me feels that since this IS my fourth baby, that I shouldn't sweat the smaller stuff. I guess with this much experience, I know what I want and do not want but I'm afraid to be a pest. Ultimately, as long as we get a healthy baby, I will be happiest, of course.

On another note, yes, today is my 33rd birthday. Wow. We celebrated with a family dinner, some cake, and great gifts. It was a lovely day and I really appreciate the attention and kindness, but not the age, of course :). And now, I'm dead tired so I will head off to bed. Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes! Next stop? Thirty-eight weeks, maybe? I guess we'll see what I come up with. I take it day by day now, and I just never know what's in store in the way of blogging.

Happy Father's Day, Eric!

It was a relatively lazy day. Eric and the girls swam in the pool early on. Later we went to dinner and gave him a couple of gifts that were more baby-oriented than Eric-oriented (sorry, no fun gadgets). He got a new baby carrier and a cute little t-shirt that the new baby will look adorable in and says, "My Dad is rad." Afterwards, as I documented down below, he and the girls enjoyed their bike rides. A simple but nice day for the great man in our life. Happy Father's Day, Eric! We love you so very much!

Someone's getting quite the number of freckles!

I swear, this is NOT the only t-shirt Imogen owns

The girls have been taking bike rides with dad lately and here we are today. They have to take turns, as I am not going near a bike right now, but everyone seems happy with this arrangement. One plays in the yard, while the other rides. They love it.

Spike Lives!

Spike

Proud owner

Okay, well, the story behind Spike is an interesting one. Hadley was selected to take home a caterpillar on the second to last day of school. The kids had a blast learning about the life cycle of butterflies this year in the classroom and Hadley was always incredibly excited to share stories about them nearly everyday after school. Once the caterpillars became butterflies she helped named them and, knowing Hadley, you know she gave these butterflies human-type characteristics and described their personalities in great detail constantly.

Anyway, the teacher, seeing Hadley's enthusiasm for these creatures, honored her with a lovely, spikey caterpillar, whom she named, Spike, of course. I asked the teacher if there was anything special we needed to do for Spike on the last day of school and she said, no, that he would become a butterfly in about ten days, and we could set him free. Hmmm..... Well, it didn't go that way at all. About five days in, I knocked Spike off the counter. I was speechless and Hadley was hysterical, to say the least. I said I was so very sorry and that if things didn't work out for the little guy, I'd go buy her one of those butterfly kits from the toy store. It ended up being enough to calm her down after awhile and we hoped for the best concerning Spike. Days go by, and no butterfly. Spike's cocoon looks lifeless and dull. We gave up after eighteen days and made our trip to the toy store, but left Spike on the counter, just in case. We get the kit home, fill out the form for butterflies excitedly, and put it promptly in the mail. That same evening, as we're getting ready to leave our house, I see movement in my peripheral, and call Hadley. Spike is a butterfly!!! We were all so excited for him. He was HUGE! His little container was not even big enough for him so we rounded up in the backyard to let him go. He took off immediately high into the sky. It was perfect and I got a few pictures just before the big event. Now we await our Painted Ladies to start the process all over again....

Hadley Swimming

Swimming Lessons @ the Y.

Fun Runs & Hadley's Clam

We've been enjoying the local fun runs, as some of you know. It's been HOT here though so it adds an extra challenge, but the girls have really been enjoying their time at the beach. Imogen is a GREAT runner but it was Hadley who beat her at this week's run. She was very, very proud of herself. So now, we've got ourselves a REAL competition going on for these mile runs. I don't take pictures at every race, as it's hard to carry a camera around, but I'll try to get more soon.

Summertime Fun

Immy covered in sand

Hadley looking for clams, as usual

Running away from the waves, as usual

Smiling for the camera

Due Date Correction

Had an appointment with the doctor today for a 30-week check-up and turns out, we are keeping my initial due date. So, therefore, my due date is not August 8th, like they have been indicating, but August 5th. Sounds good in theory, right? Well, by my calculations, my due date should be August 10th, or later. For some reason, August 12th was my calculation initially when I found out I was expecting on December 1st of last year, but now, actual dates have gone from my memory. So yeah, I'd love to believe the baby could come sooner, but I am not counting on this at all. I DO predict that he'll be BIG and he'll likely be late, maybe VERY late, especially when you compare it to August 5th, but who really knows?