38 week updates

Apologies in advance for the weird formatting.  I can't figure it out and I need to go to bed!

Grown-up behaviors are time consuming.  Meeting a pediatrician, finishing up dog training, getting a guest room together, being the guest of honor at a baby shower, visiting with excited grandparents and aunts to-be, washing and folding baby clothes, and trying to be a good teacher: it's busyness every night of the week. 

Tomorrow will be 38 weeks, which means, baby could come any time now.  As overwhelming as it feels to have a real live baby, I simultaneously feel ready and anxious to meet this little one who has been with me for so long now.  It's also getting just a little uncomfortable... so really any day would be fine.  Of course, I have a feeling that he or she is really cozy in there, and is probably not in any rush to come out.  I'm committed to working up until the Friday before my due date, so I have a short Thanksgiving week, and then one more week after that.  If I get extremely uncomfortable or if my co-workers convince me to take off early, then I very well might.

The other day Nick mentioned that maybe we should look into some pregnancy photos, like from a pro.  Until now I really haven't been interested in having any pictures taken.  I mostly feel huge.  After looking at some of the websites, and seeing how tastefully done maternity photos can be, I really thought I might be interested.  And then I looked at prices.  It's not the photo shoot that is costly, its the prints!  To get several prints made would easily run our bill towards $1000.  I can't rationalize it in my head.  So, I had Nick take these two pics of me to share with my friends and family from afar, and I can see now that we have to work on lighting, wardrobe, and makeup before we take the next pictures, but I think we can get some good ones for less than $1000.

38 weeks of baby belly. 

Yep, I'm really having a baby.

My dear friends Kristina and Laura (and their husbands Paul and Laura), gave us the most lovely baby shower a few weeks ago.  I was so overwhelmed by the amazing people that came.  It was sort of like our wedding, having so many of our favorite people in one place.  So much love was flowing all around! 

This is how Nick felt. 

Lovely Sarah is exactly 10 weeks behind me!  And I was 10 weeks behind Kristina.  And now, Gus is the cutest thing around.  It was so great to see this cycle of babies continue! 

Remember this? 

Kristina and I in late August at her shower. 

The babies met :)

And now, Gus is a real, live, amazing baby.  (With some awesome parents to boot.)

Life just keeps happening.   And it's miraculous. 

Some little miracles are happening in my class at school: 

We have independent reading stations, that are actually working!

We are examining mineral samples and analyzing them!

We are doing independent research on Science topics. 

We are folding cranes for our assembly on Asia on Wednesday. 

And, we can read next to each other without talking! 

It's the little successes that keep me going! 

So long for now,  I'll leave you with Arnie, trying to get his dinner out of an orange juice carton (our latest innovation in challenging his brain). 

Don't even think of taking this away from me!