Family Time and Big Belly

One of our family goals for this year is to have a family outing (or vacation) each month. Last month we took our trip out to visit my mom and step-dad and we had a blast. This month we decided to take a Saturday and, instead of doing chores and running errands all day, went to the zoo as a family and afterwards we had a picnic in our backyard (we would have done it at the park, but it was too windy). As we walked into the zoo, Noah turned to Nate and said, "Daddy, why are you here?" That made me feel a little sad, but also proud that we had already set this goal for ourselves in an effort to make family fun time less rare. After we finished eating our picnic, Noah said, "I just have one more thing I need to do... Play!" So, we stayed outside a while longer and enjoyed watching Noah play in the sandbox. We had a really fantastic time together and I can already see the benefits that making an effort to have more fun together has on our family.



It's hard to believe that in just about 7 more weeks our family outings will include a little baby boy. The baby's presence at the outing to the zoo was certainly felt, at least by me, but in just a couple of months we'll have to plan more around what we can do with a newborn in tow. It'll be nice to have a baby in the house again and I'm excited to see Noah in his new role as BIG BROTHER. Noah is very excited to meet his little brother and as the due date approaches we're trying to talk more about what he can expect when the baby arrives. On Sunday we took a tour of the hospital where we'll be having the baby that was geared toward the sibling-to-be. The tour, I think, was very helpful for Noah (although he was a bit grumpy since he no longer gets a nap on Sundays and we went there right from church). Noah got a coloring book that tells him all about what to expect when the baby comes and a badge that says "Certified Big Brother" that he can wear when he comes to visit his little brother for the first time.

(I was hoping to get a more recent pregnancy picture on here with this post, but I haven't gotten around to having Nate take one just yet. I promise to do it as soon as I can)

Meanwhile, I'm feeling pretty large these days. One of Nate's favorite things to say to me is, "You can't even tell you're pregnant from behind." and other things like that... Thanks, sweetie. I find I am a lot more anxious for the due date this time around than I was with Noah's. I'm sure it has a lot to do with the fact that I was due the same week I was finishing up my student teaching, but I just never felt like I had to get the baby out or I was going to die. I still don't feel that way, but I just really, really hope for 2 things: 1- I hope I don't have to be induced this time, and 2- I want April to just get here already! I also feel a lot more of the "nesting" instinct I hear a lot about. Again, with Noah, I think I just didn't have time to think about all the things I needed to get and do to prepare, beside the fact that I didn't even know what I would need to be prepared. This time I'm going nuts every day trying to figure out what I can do or have Nate do, what we need, etc. and I'm pretty sure I'm going a little overboard. Right now I'm working to just do the basic stuff and I'm trying not to worry so much (easier said than done). The hardest part for me is that I'm trying to do everything I can to make d-day as normal and easy for Noah as I possibly can. Since I don't know when the baby will be coming, not the day, not the time, it's especially difficult because there are so many scenarios to consider. Again, I know I'm worrying too much. Of course Noah will survive and do just fine, but I can't help but at least try and make it a good experience for him too. Here's to hoping the next 7 weeks go really fast!