December

Sometimes something adorable happens and your camera isn't far away, and then you end up taking one of your favorite photos ever.  I love those times.

We had some incredible 70 degree weather in December and we decided to take advantage of it and head downtown to see monument circle lit up for the holidays.  Half of Indy was there too, but I think that actually added to the fun.  It was nice to be able to just hang out and enjoy it without needing to run inside somewhere and warm up.  Also, Jane LOVES "going to the city."

The snowfall of the season.

This is the only photo I have of our Christmas tree this year.  We bought it at Costco where they come all wrapped up, but they are always great trees for a really great deal.  We got even more than we expected when we untied it and saw just how full our tree was.  I trimmed it down a lot, but every time we walk in, we would laugh at how fat our tree was.  We loved it.  By far, the best Christmas tree we've ever had.

Jane's favorite restaurant is without question Panda Express.  She loves it and will eat an adult sized portion of Orange Chicken.  Peter usually likes it too, so every once in a while I have a little dinner date with these two while Chris works late.

Dinners a home can get a little casual too with Chris gone, but Jane and Peter keep me entertained.

2-year-old Peter

Peter is fun.  He's just really fun.  He talks a lot, runs fast, laughs hard, and cries just as easily.  He's really ticklish.   I inadvertently stumble upon new ticklish spots all the time. There have been a few times when he's stubbornly struggling against me and I pin him down to get his diaper on, only to have him burst into giggles because apparently I found the right spot.  It's nice the way be can diffuse a frustrating situation like that.

 I love this picture because it really shows off his pigeon toed walk.

He sleeps with a lot of stuffed animals and carefully arranges them when he goes to bed at night so he is completely crowded in by what he calls his "friends".  He takes roll every night and if someone's not there, he requests them individually.  He needs Paco (the penguin), Dinosaur, Bear,  Baby (the baby doll), Dog, and Mickey.  He also usually sleeps with Thomas the Train and small collection of other cars.  He piles them up around him and then, for the most part, goes right to sleep. He never seems to play with his friends, just needs the moral support.

Peter sometimes asks for things by chanting "More milk, more milk, more milk" etc.  When we tell him to ask nicely, his voice goes up a couple octaves and slurs the request in one long, high word "Canna-peas-ha-some-meelk?"  I love it.

Peter got a wooden train set for Christmas and EVERY morning for over a month, the first thing on his mind was building new tracks.  "I'mma build tracks and trains," he would say and then soon follow it up with, "Mommy AND Peter do it."  He would request it before breakfast and play with it all day.  I'm not even sure why we'd clean it up every night.

His sense of humor is developing and he likes to make others laugh.  He's started experimenting with different voices and the other night said his whole prayer in one of these variations.  I tried SO hard to keep from laughing, but I couldn't keep it together and he enjoyed the attention.  Fortunately, he hasn't tried it again since then.

He's just started to care about coloring and proudly shows off his finished works of art to us.

He loves to sing "Hello, Hello" (The Primary Welcome Song).  I think Jane taught it to him.  I hear them both singing that one from their room when they are supposed to be going to sleep.

Peter has a serious sweet tooth.  Nothing makes him happier than hear the words, "Do you want to have a cookie?"  And nothing, I mean NOTHING, is more devastating than the words, "No, Peter, you can't have another one."  Sometimes it's not even worth giving him a cookie at all because the lows are so low.

I got these giggling pictures by telling Peter to say "Team Umizoomie", but instead he said "pickles" and totally cracked himself up.  Jane thought it was pretty funny too.  

These two do everything together. They really are best buds and I love overhearing their conversations.  They aren't always so sweet to each other, but the following conversation on the way home from church, just melted my heart.

Jane: "I missed you, Peter."  (Jane goes to Sunbeams now)

Peter:  "I miss you too, Dane.  I color picture."  (Holds up his coloring)

Jane:  "Oh, I love it Peter.  It's so beautiful. Do you like my picture?"  (holds up hers)

Peter:  "Good Job, Dane."

Jane: "It has pink and purple.  Pink is my favorite color."

Peter: "Mine yellow."

Just a whole lot of sweetness.  I love it.

36 WEEKS

Ok, I’m ready.  I mean, I’m done with being pregnant at least.  It’s not like I’ve ordered newborn diapers or packed a hospital bag or anything, but I’m counting down the days.  In the mean time, I’m trying to use these last few weeks wisely (Date nights, go to the temple, get my hair done etc).  I probably should be making freezer meals or something, but I think that window has already come and gone since my desire to make dinner at all is pretty low.    

I had an ultrasound a few days ago to measure the baby because even my doctor thinks I look especially big.  They measured me at 37. 5 weeks, and estimate that the baby is about 7 lbs 12 oz RIGHT NOW!  I understand those measurements tend to run big, though, so it's hard to say.   Still, she's a big girl, and I was more than happy to set up my induction for February 26th.  This baby is coming in less than 3 weeks!  Hallelujah!

I’ve always been a good sleeper.  But my back pain and pea-sized bladder wake me up more than a newborn does (almost).   My upper/middle back pain makes so that I can’t sleep on my side, at least not for more than a half hour or so.  I sleep with six pillows (YES 6), propping me up like a hospital bed.   I do pretty well that way, but I still wake up sore and anxious to just change positions.  That means trying to sleep on my side.  So then I reconfigure the pillows to a side position (1 body pillow and 3 regular pillows).  By the time I get settled I am out of breath and huffing like I ran up a mountain.   It always seems to wake up the baby too and she’s a real mover, so I have to wait for her to settle down again before I can fall asleep.   Her most active period is at midnight every night.  She starts getting really wiggly and I can watch my by belly ripple and bulge and twitch.  It definitely feels like she's running out of room in there.