The Facts

1. According to Babycenter's pregnancy calculator my due date is April 4. That's right-- 3 days after N's due date, who coincidentally, ended up being born on my birthday March 28, much to my own disbelief. Especially since the first thing that came out of my mouth when I found out I was pregnant with him was,"I just hope this baby is not born on my birthday". So I am not even going to think down that road. Besides, if this baby is born at the same time-gestationally speaking- as my other two, it will be born 4 or 5 days before the due date, about March 31.

2. I made this announcement insanely early, so not only do I feel OK (for now), it will be a long, long time before I am due. Although I must admit I feel pretty tired mid-day and need a nap pretty regularly. Is this pregnancy or am I indulging more than usual because I have a good excuse?

3. Yes, we'll find out what this baby is. We didn't with the first two, and I am ready for a little change. Besides, logistically, we need to figure out bedrooms, paint colors, and all that.

4. E's response was a little underwhelming. Besides the fact that she has been praying for this for months, she didn't show much excitement to the news. "We're going to have a baby?" End of conversation. Hopefully as the time approaches, she will get into it. As for N, I haven't even bothered discussing it with him yet. Even if his mind could grasp the concept of a baby in our house, other than him, it is so far away it doesn't make sense to even go there yet.

waiting

we wait, two pink lines
reveal the secret within
expectant, we wait

Island Fun

We just returned from our yearly vacation in NH. We were on the island with Cara (who rode up and back with us), and the Lowery family (Katherine, Rusty, TJ, and Teagan). It was a lot of fun, and exactly what I needed... family time with my sisters who I don't usually see on a regular basis (even though Cara now lives around the corner), great long stretches of quiet reading, playing with my kids in the lake and on the sand, and playing Rummy 500 every night after the kids had gone to bed. It might sound funny, but one of my personal highlights of the trip was taking a little trip down to Portsmouth to shop at the Hanna Andersson outlet, a store I have been wanting to go to for years. Another benefit was that some of our cousins live in Portsmouth, so we had lunch with them and caught up a bit. E loved fishing and also really did well in the water, swimming underwater for a few strokes at a time. N liked going in the boat "Boat, Fas-ser?!" (faster) he asked everytime we got ready to go to town. He also liked playing with TJ, who is 4 months older. It is always a little sad when we leave, knowing that it will be another year before we return, but I am also glad to get back to modern conveniences like bathroooms, washing machines, and dishwashers.

E fishing on the dock

10 Years

The time has passed so quickly, especially since we've had children. Looking back, it feels like a blink, but the girl I see in those pictures is someone different. From another time and place.
I tried to find a picture from our wedding day, but our album is impossibly buried somewhere in a box. So this will have to do until I uncover it.

Having Fun with Friends

Finally, after months of waiting, our CA friends have arrived. This morning we had a fun time together, along with the Lehman boys and Jonah.
The kids enjoyed water sports and running around the yard while the moms caught up with each other. After the others left, Jess stayed a little longer and Alice enjoyed playing dressup with E's collection.
Then Grayson and E spent the rest of the afternoon together. It is so neat to watch them,
they have a genuine affection for each other and play together very easily.

little birdie

Yesterday as I was sitting at the computer I heard a thump against the sliding doors that leads to the back yard. At first I thought it was a ball thrown by one of the kids, but then realized they were all inside. I looked over, and saw a flurry of tiny down feathers floating to the ground. Afraid of what I'd find, I cautiously went to the door and looked out. Seeing nothing, I opened the door to further investigate. By now I was convinced that it was a bird, but was puzzled that it was not in sight. I took one last look around before turning to go back inside when I spotted it standing, mouth wide open next to my potted plants, a tufted titmouse. I quietly stepped closer and when he didn't move, I called to E and Grayson to come see. E was delighted that she could come that close to a bird, Grayson not so much. E asked if she could touch it. I wanted to see if his wing was hurt anyway, so I picked him up. He let me hold him, his mouth still wide open, but he did adjust his wings a little and they didn't seem to be hurt. I inspected him while E petted him, and Grayson watched from a safe distance. I didn't see any obvious injury, and even got him to clutch my forefinger. I could tell he was feeling better, as his mouth closed and he started to look around a little. All of a sudden with a hop and a flutter, he was off. He safely flew to a nearby pole where he collected himself before disappearing into the trees.

Preschool Graduation

E graduated from preschool a couple of weeks ago. Here are some pictures from the event.



E's graduation


E and Miss Kate
And here are two pictures from either end of the year:


First Day of School


Last Day of School

And of course N needed to have his picture taken after he saw me take E's.