We have had a busy last couple of months with a couple baby showers, lots of hours put in by Keith at his various projects and a trip up north. One of Keith's projects has been helping with some major work at our friends' cabin at the coast. He'll spend a couple days at a time out there as it doesn't make sense to drive back and forth. He's been pretty lucky with the weather and for one of the good stretches, I joined him out there for part of a weekend. The weather was gorgeous and I spent a lot of my time getting away from all the construction noise (there is a whole crew working out there) by lazing around on the beach with my rockhound. I know we've talked about her neurosis with rocks, but it is amazing how over the years this neurosis increases, bordering on panic. This is her latest, digging fervently around the rock - is she trying to bury it, dig it up, what? When we leave the beach it is littered with craters like these. I think she would do this until total collapse if we let her.
She does take some breaks, but notice how she isn't completely resting - just waiting to go find the next rock.
OK, that's all I can talk about that isn't baby related. Because, frankly, a lot of our time now is spent thinking about the upcoming arrival, which is now frighteningly close. Maybe closer than we think, there are predictions coming from our doctor that "Bubba" Caldera might come a bit earlier than expected based on his current positioning. So this last week has been spent working our way through a long checklist (this would be Keith mostly - he has been a champ).
I think I have mentioned that I now work at an outpatient portion of the hospital. So everyday I have new patients. There are definitely pros and cons to this. Recently, as it has become impossible to hide my pregnancy behind baggy scrubs, I have discovered a new con to this scenario. It's that every day I have to have the following conversation with at least two of my patients:
After spending about five minutes in the room, you see an awareness come over either a family member's or the patient's face as they take in my girth and then....
Patient: "When are you due?"
Me: "November 11th"
Patient: "Oh not long! Do you know what you're having?"
Me: "Yes, it's a boy"
Patient: "Ohhhhh, how sweet. Is this your first?"
Me: "Yep." (And then some comments about yes, how fun it will be and how our lives will change)
Patient: "Have you picked out a name yet?"
Me: "No, we're still working on that."
Patient: "Oh, you're waiting to see his face!" or "You'll know when you see him!"
Me: Smile and nod, but thinking to myself, "no, we're too practical for that, we're really just struggling on a name, and don't all newborns look all squishy and weird anyway, and why would I want that to be the basis for my son's name".
At least they don't all reach out and grab for my belly.
As of today, I am beginning my 36th week, and definitely looking the part. Any delivery at this point would be considered full term, but my official due date is a month from yesterday. I had two lovely showers thrown for me. One here in Eugene and the other up in the Seattle area. I can't believe how generous people are and how well dressed this little guy is going to be. We've done well gathering stuff, and the nursery is nearly complete, again thanks to the generosity of so many people. We even have a car seat installed in the car! So weird.
Corrine hosted the Eugene shower and made this darling cake which was a hit:
Corrine's wonderful daughter, Trinity. I cannot believe how fast she is growing up.
The aftermath of the first shower.
In the meantime we picked up our nursery furniture from our dear friends who flat out gave us theirs. If it can hold a 90 pound dog, I think it will be OK for the babe.
Then we headed up north for the other shower. Keith and his parents came along as well and along with his aunts we all congregated at my parents' house for a lovely weekend of visiting. My longtime friend, Amy, hosted this one, and it was again so touching how many people showed up and their generosity. I didn't take any pictures while there, but had this one emailed to me of all my old cronies from elementary school. I will be the very last one of this group to have a baby (I think I was the last one to get married as well...)
Here is the lovely quilt my mom made for her grandson. I just love the colors.
The rest of the weekend was spent at my folks' house, where we mostly just hung out, played games, and went for walks. Although a lot of the time was spent making apple cider as well. Our freezer is now jam-packed with this yummy stuff.
Since then, Keith has wrapped up his various work projects and is now working to become an independent contractor, while also quickly getting through his 'honey-do' list. When we first started talking about "getting ready for the baby", one of the first words out of his mouth was, "I need to build a shed".....and later....."I need to make beer". (I was thinking more along the lines of getting the nursery ready, finishing stuff inside our house, buying a car seat, etc.) I have endlessly teased him about this, as his rationale was because we'd have all this "extra" stuff in the garage, and that we needed a shed out at our property to make room for it. I was wondering besides a stroller, what 'stuff', but he couldn't quite come up with anything. We'll chalk it up to male nesting. Regardless, he is constructing a nice shed, and it will be nice to get some of the extra furniture that got the boot when the crib came in out of the garage and out of the way.
He's also made great improvements inside with his quick handiwork including shelving, making some bed frames and this little co-sleeper for Bubba.
In addition, my mom has spent the last week here keeping our house clean, keeping us fed, and forcing me to stay off my feet especially on days I work. It has been great having her here and we look forward to her return when the little one is here and we need the help all over again.
In closing, the bump watch continues....
Week 33:
And just taken this morning. The beginning of Week 36:
Finally, an updated picture of Bubba's playmate in waiting. Bea is now 6 weeks and growing like a weed. 10+ pounds and such a sweetheart (although I think she has an alter ego personality in the middle of the night). Is his name really going to be Bubba? No, of course not. We do however have a name picked out, but since it has taken this long to come up with it, we figure we'll just make you all wait until the birth to be enlightened.
