November fun

Along with purchasing a new lens (Canon 50mm f/1.8) for my photography class this coming Saturday, we decided to also sell our old camera body and upgrade to a slightly newer one. They both arrived about two weeks ago and I have had fun playing around with the settings and the new lens. The lens is absolutely amazing in low light, which is perfect for Seattle winters. I haven't used the flash on the camera once. Here are some pictures of the fun we've been having.

happy about something!

the cutest dog ever

Nick's hat

Oliver loves to wear it

and it's a slight struggle if Nick ever wants to borrow it back. The problem is, Oliver has like 15 hats and Nick has a few, but this is the only one he can currently find.

on top of the slide I snagged for free on the side of the road

he loves it!

more Penny

not completely in focus, but it looks like Penny is trying to eat Oliver's face

he loves it when his daddy builds a "new track" as he calls it

since the lens has a fixed focal length my arm isn't quite long enough to fit us both in

my cutie

outdoor fun

ready to dig

in his dog hat

toddler rides dog

Oliver is slightly obsessed with riding Penny and crawling through her legs. He asks me nearly every day if he can ride her, and usually the answer is "no", unless I'm prepared to shell out a bunch of treats to Penny for putting up with him.She has no idea what's ahead when there will be two little boys around!

outfit of the day #5

Here is Oliver's Saturday outfit of the day (or lack thereof :) ) He promptly removed all of his clothes after he got home from family coffee, and put on his boots and Nick's gloves. The accessories only lasted a short while and it was 4pm before I could get him to keep any clothes on. It's a good thing we stayed indoors.

bumbo

I came home after running some errands to find Oliver sitting in his old bumbo seat at the table. The seat is supposed to help infants sit up before they are able to support themselves on their own, but Oliver has been having a bit too much fun playing with all the baby gear that we've been washing and getting ready for his little brother. He apparently got it out and said "please" to Nick, who couldn't resist letting him play with it.

37 weeks

I'm full-term today, which means my home birth is a go! Yay! I'm pretty sure baby is still a few weeks away, but it's nice to know that I don't have to worry about where I'm going to deliver. I'm treating myself to a pedicure this afternoon to celebrate (thanks to Groupon) since I have a feeling it will be a while before I can make it out of the house by myself again.

A few days ago my friend Jess and I attempted to take a few maternity/last belly shot pictures before our little ones arrive. We picked a cold and rainy day, so we rushed through them quickly, and Oliver spent most of the time inside. Here are some of my pictures:

Thanksgiving pictures

Here are a few pictures from our delicious dinner last night:

Oliver dressed for the occasion!

we decided the chicken hat could be a turkey for the day

cheers with Jim!

family

about to be tickled

and tickled some more!

our table - loving my new camera and lens

Oliver wanted to sit in a high chair during dinner, and chose to push it up to the table with all of the food on it!

brussels sprouts

We made a roasted Brussels Sprouts dish (with shallots, bacon and chestnuts) to bring to Thanksgiving dinner last night. Jim Baer always has special requests, and for us, he wanted to make sure the Brussels Sprouts were shaved. We put Oliver in charge of that since he loves the food processor.

I need to be more careful when I give him instructions. I told him to just throw them in to the food processor, and he took me quite literally. Oops.

showing off a sprout

peeling, an extra step that Oliver decided to add in

And his favorite part, using the food processor. We had the slicing disk in. Notice how he can both hold the "on" button and press them in at the same time.

signing Jim Baer. he was very excited to show off his work.

Happy Thanksgiving!

art class

I signed Oliver up for an art class at one of the community centers nearby this fall because some art projects, like finger painting, are one of the last things I want to do in my house. Plus, we don't have a huge selection of art supplies and I want to make sure Oliver is exposed to as much art as possible. I wasn't sure what he would think of the class, but it turns out that he loves it. He and is friend Rachel are the youngest in the class (it's for 2-4 year olds) yet he has the longest attention span of anyone for doing artwork. He is often the last one sitting at the table, still painting away, while the rest are up and playing. He is so proud of his work and loves to bring them home to show his daddy. Here are a few of the pieces he has made so far:

36 weeks

36 weeks today! Seriously, where has the time gone? I'll be full term in a week, which is the earliest I can have my home birth (any earlier and I would end up at the hospital). My stomach looks humongous compared with two weeks ago, and the midwives are happy that my weight gain is up to 10 lbs. I've made a lot of progress on the home birth preparations. There was a long checklist of supplies that needed to be purchased, and I think we have everything now. I also ordered the labor tub and froze a batch of brownies for everyone to eat while I'm in labor. I just have a few more loads of laundry to make sure everything is super clean for the baby.

We have also figured out who will be present at the birth: Nick, of course, one of my midwives plus a backup midwife, my friend Kaila (in charge of video and Oliver) and Sarah (my photographer). I've been thinking a lot about whether to have Oliver present or not (Jim and Cynthia can always pick him up) and I think we're going to let him stay as long as he is comfortable. I have watched three home births (two water births) on YouTube with him, and he didn't seem bothered by them. He actually asked to see more after the first one. I think he has somewhat of an understanding about what will happen. I also know several other toddlers who were present at their sibling's birth and did just fine.

Here's my 36 week belly. I like the picture of Nick better, which I took while checking the camera settings. Love the new camera/lens and I'll post more about that later.