Catching Up

I am now a month behind on the photography challenge, mostly because I was hoping our little girl would arrive to be the subject of some of these topics.  After weeks of trying to keep her in, now she apparently does not want to come out.   That's fine, we are happy that she will be full-term (maybe more than full-term) when she decides to make her grand entrance.

Photography Challenge #13 is: Let's Go Small.

Jack is tall like his big brother.  Once again he is outgrowing his clothes.  I try to wait until the seasons have really changed to go shopping. That doesn't always work in New England where the seasons do not have a definitive beginning and end.  We stopped in at Kohls on Friday to pick up some new jeans and shirts for him.  We are no longer shopping in the toddler section.  While he is only three, he is so big, we've moved on to little boys, sizes 4-7.  The clothes in that section have lost their "baby" appeal and are designed for little guys at least a year older than my Jack.  Between his new clothes, his height, and his haircut, he looks way more grown up than I'd like.  When you see him every day, he grows in small increments so that you really don't notice; that is until I put some of his clothes next to some that we've purchased for his little sister. 

Here is a pair of Jack's new socks next to some baby booties. It is amazing just how little the booties are; especially when you consider that Jack is still wearing toddler size shoes (though barely since he is an 11 1/2).

Photography Challenge #14 is: New.

I was hoping to put a picture here of Nick getting his permit or maybe even practicing driving.  We went to the DMV yesterday for him to take the test, but the line was so incredibly long that the testing hours would have been over by the time we got to the counter.  Word of advice: don't go to the Wethersfield office on a Saturday.  There are only a few main hubs you can test at now and Wethersfield seemed to be the closest.  We are going to head to one of the other ones on a weekday that Nick has off from school. 

Instead, here is a picture of something new to Jack.  Uncle Brian and Aunt Gina got him a giant sock monkey.  His grandmother had given him the normal sized sock monkey a year or two ago that he usually sleeps with.  He loves the giant one that is almost as big as he is.  Last night, he fell asleep on the couch next to it:

Photography Challenge #15 is: Texture.

Last weekend we visited the Connecticut Science Center.  They are currently hosting a traveling exhibit of life size animatronic dinosaurs, entitled "Dinosaurs Unearthed."  This is an amazing exhibit and I encourage you to go if you have little ones that have any interest in dinosaurs.  They are huge and they roar.  I was a little worried that Jack might be afraid of them.  He wouldn't get too close to the exhibits, but he keeps asking to go back and see the dinosaurs.  Here is a picture of one of the exhibits.  The amount of detail that when into creating the dinosaurs is incredible, and you can see the texture sculpted into this one's head and neck.

Other than the temporary exhibit, the Science Center has various floors of hands-on activities to explore for all different age levels.  One of the rooms has legos where you can build your own cars and then race them down a ramp to see which are the fastest.  Jack enjoyed that part.  Here is a better picture of texture from that part of the Science Center:

Photography Challenge #16 is: Play.

The Science Center also has a room with various water tables designed mainly for preschool play.  This is another area that Jack really enjoyed.  In these particular pictures, Jack and Nick are experimenting with building walls out of legos to control the rate of water flow.  Jack really loves playing with his big brother.

That gets me caught up for now.  Maybe next week we'll have some pictures of a newborn.  Enjoy your Sunday!

Thankful Grateful Blessed

When I first found out I was pregnant, I logged on to the What to Expect When You're Expecting website to chart the baby's growth and development.  Even though its my third, I am still amazed at how much changes in any given week. There are forums for each month of each year that babies are due.  Some of the forums form secret Facebook groups for more privacy and less censorship.  I joined a group for women due in May 2012.  There are about four hundred of us from around the world, all with different backgrounds, different socioeconomic status, different marital status, various ages, but all with the common goal of bringing our little ones into the world as safely as possible.  It has been an interesting journey.  Sadly, some women experienced losses in the beginning of their pregnancies, some a little later.  There have been some babies born extremely prematurely, some doing well, others not so well.  We are getting to the point where although its still early, it seems like there is a baby or two born every day.  One of the women in the group recently posted a picture of a bracelet she ordered:

This is exactly the reminder I needed right now: I am thankful, grateful, blessed.  I understand these are available online, here.  I have not ordered one and cannot vouch for the store, but I wanted to at least give credit to the artist. I am not sure I would wear the bracelet, but I have found a similar design in a locket that I might order.  I think A ring would be ideal, though I have yet to find one.

Gratitude is important because it changes your perspective.  It changes your focus from what you don't have, or what you can't do, to what you do have and what you are able to accomplish within the confines of a given situation.  Without gratitude, happiness is fleeting.

My favorite story about perspective took place in the Spring of 2010.  I was one my way home from one of several trips to New Orleans.  It was very early in the morning, I think the plane took off around 7am.  The way that airport is set up, there is really no where to get coffee that early once you've gone through security.  I was exhausted, grumpy, I hadn't had my morning infusion of caffeine, and I just wanted to get home.  As I was boarding the plane, the guy behind me was talking about how New Orleans does everything big, especially the size of their beers.  I bitterly replied that everytime I leave New Orleans I gain five pounds and go home with a hangover.  He replied that it sounded like a good trip.  He was right, it had been a great trip.  It was productive in that I had resolved several cases, and it was fun.  New Orleans is a city I really enjoy.  I didn't have to change the facts at all to see my situation in a more positive light, I just had to change my perspective.

It is easy to take the everyday things for granted, especially when life gets crazy. Life with me on bedrest has been hard on everyone in different ways.  Bernie has been taking care of everything without being asked and without complaining, but I know he is exhuasted. Nick has been great about helping with Jack.  I think the person it has been the hardest on is Jack.  He knows things are changing, but he really isn't sure how.  Everyday he asks me if we are going to go somewhere fun, and I have to keep telling him that I have to rest for a few more days.  To say that Jack has been a challenge lately is an understatement.  In the blink of an eye he goes from a sweet, caring, charming little boy, to a defiant, uncooperative, immovable force.  Some of it is just being three and trying to find some independence, but I think a lot of it is him trying to process what is happening.

The good news is that we've made it to April and I am still pregnant.  I am 36 weeks now, and babies born at this stage are very often "take home" babies, meaning they can usually leave the hospital when mom does.  One more week, and we'll have made it to "full term," which is of course, the goal. At that point, the restrictions are lifted, I can come off the couch and the nefedipine (medication normally used to control high blood pressure, but also used to lessen the effects of contractions, which gives me terrible headaches).  I am thankful for a lot of things, but I am especially thankful that we've made it this far in the pregnancy.  It was a pretty scary proposition when we thought little Vivian might arrive at 32 or 33 weeks.

I am grateful that I have a job that has allowed me to work from home while being on bedrest.  If I had to start my leave early, it would have affected how much time I can take off once the baby arrives. Additionally, without work, I think I would be going even more stir crazy.  Work keeps me occupied and productive.  The alternative: daytime television, is definitely not a good option.

I am blessed in more ways than I can possibly count, but especially, that I am surrounded by such a wonderful, supportive group of family and friends. I don't know what we would do without all of you.

I am once again a few weeks behind on the photo challenge.  Photo Challenge 11 was: Black and White. Photo Challenge 12 was: Song Title.  I am going to cheat a little here (what else is new?) and use one picture to catch up:

Obviously the picture is black and white.  This was taken at the Colchester Dog Park Easter Egg Hunt. The song title is "Sweet Child O' Mine" by Guns and Roses, which is applicable, at least most of the time.

I am looking forward to dyeing eggs with Jack as we get ready for Easter.  Enjoy the rest of the week!