Trick or Treating - Round 1

Gabriela and I went for Halloween story time at Tot Tank downtown in Alameda. It was an afternoon kind of deal.  Afterwards, we went trick or treating at some of the businesses downtown on Park Street.  Gabriela was really shy and quiet, hardly saying "trick-or-treat" in an audible voice. But she thanked everyone and each time we left, requested that we go to another place for more candy.

Here we are at storytime. It was fun - other kids were dressed in costume, the storyteller was in costume, and she gave out tons of treats to the kids!

 After trick-or-treating for quite sometime, Gabriela gave her first compliment to someone else about their costume. She liked it so much, we took a picture!

 She also totally loved this lady in her mask!

 The best treat she got this afternoon?  An ice cream cone at the ice cream shop!  Gabriela was quite pleased!

 We met up with Rowan the Vampire and Thomas the Burger (and their parents too!)

 And here I am. TWO people asked me if I was really pregnant, or if it was just a costume.  A costume?! No.  It's the real deal, people.

Getting ready to go trick-or-treating with Daddy.

Our Jack-o-Lanterns

We carved our pumpkins with Uncle Nate, Auntie Liss, Chaney and Beau.  The weather here has been absolutely amazing.  Gabriela was very excited to start on her pumpkin.  She drew a jack-o-lantern face and I carved it out for her.

 Unfortunately, our camera is still broken.  We are such slackers. Because of this, it was hard to get a good shot of our masterpieces all lit up.  Lane's is the fiery face, and I (mostly) carved the ghosts.  I just love the little face Gabriela designed for her pumpkin.

 See, the nighttime shot didn't really work.

 And then we had to add Baby Brother's pumpkin to the mix.  After all, he's going to be here before we know it.

Halloween at Preschool

 I made 16 of these little babies last night. Didn't start until 10:30 or so. Thought it would be a fun treat for the kids.  Rice Krispie Ghosts (and pumpkins too, I just didn't get a pic of those ones)

 And here's my little elephant.  More than a month ago, Gabriela randomly announced she was going to be an elephant for Halloween "with big, fluffy ears, a long trunk, and ... those white things".  Girl knows what she wants. I tried showing her other costumes, just to make sure this was really what she wanted and to make sure she knew her options. She just got frustrated with me and said, "Mo-om!!! I already told you, I want to be an elephant!!!!"  I loved the idea, and immediately searched the internet for her costume.  The 3T/4T size was waaaay too short. Thank goodness Nana helped make the legs longer for her!!

 Here she is at preschool wishing us all a Happy Halloween as she paraded around outside with her classmates, it was cuteness overload.

 The kids recited a few Halloween rhymes after their parade and trick-or-treated from all the parents. Gabriela and I talked a lot about how we'd have to change out of her costume and I would have to keep her candy safe for her.  phew, no meltdowns at go-time.

And after an afternoon rest (for us both), she picked out a lollipop and requested a photo shoot. Here are the pics.

Busy Busy

Today we did just about everything I hoped we would, and it was a lot (at least for a pregnant lady).

We visited the midwife.  I love how Gabriela says the midwives are really careful with babies.  She told me she was the midwife and asked what I wanted her to do. She checked my blood pressure and then left the exam room for a minute and then returned, you know, like the midwives do.  Baby is doing great. He is scrunched up in my uterus and, while he is down low, he's not engaged in my pelvis yet. Midwife says squatting and walking will help him get there. His heartbeat is nice and strong and I'm one whole cm dilated. 

We rushed home to have a snack and pack lunch for a playdate at Fairyland. It was a gorgeous day and I felt so proud for actually being out and about enjoying the weather and having Gabriela romp around outside with her friends. Because, let's face it folks, I've been exhausted. Who wants to play outside or go to the park when you can take a nap? This leads me to feel like a total slacker mommy. So running around at Fairyland was great for us both. 

Gabriela and I totally passed out after that for a few hours, and then we picked up a few items at the market to make pizza. My friend Kiera was so sweet to share a batch of her homemade pizza dough with us. It made our job much easier. So we ate heirloom tomato, basil and goatcheese pizza for dinner.

And then we hopped in the car for an evening hospital tour. I was beginning to think we might not make it there before the delivery. It was nice to acquaint ourselves with the facility, and I think we are going to have a very good experience there. Gabriela was a total champ.  We told her it's her job to tell Auntie Liss that they need to go to the third floor. I sure hope she remembers.

After we got home, Gabriela and I finished reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Lane put together the co-sleeper. Then I made a bunch of ghost and pumpkin shaped rice krispie treats for Gabriela's halloween trick-or-treating at preschool.

I really wanted to sew Gabriela a trick-or-treating bag with this darling halloween fabric I have. I am still toying with the idea of putting it together tonight. Not sure if I have it in me, but I really wanted her to have that bag for tomorrow. sigh.

The Pumpkin Patch

We didn't want to bother the new momma and daddy for too long, so we decide to make a pumpkin patch trip while we were up in the Sacramento area for the day. We found one in Citrus Heights. Gabriela jumped her little heart out in the bounce house, and then we headed out for a train ride through the pumpkin farm. 

Let's just say that the train ride was a little too bumpy for someone who's 9 months pregnant.

First pic - Apparently, it was too sunny for Gabriela

  

Take two

 We spent most of our time by these giant tower slides. There were four of them and Gabriela couldn't get enough. Check out how fast she's going trying to do it all over again!

 Gabriela and Daddy went through the corn maze. Lane says it was more of a corn path - just one way through. Last year, we went in a serious maze that took forever for us to find our way out of. This one was probably more age appropriate for Gabriela. She still had fun!

 

She climbed to the top of this hay bale pyramid several times, and went down some more slides and ran around some more. We also saw goats, pigs, turkeys, geese, and ducks, and she ran through some tunnels made of hay bales.

 

Then we went to pick out a pumpkin. We thought we'd just get a tiny one and then stock up on some more at Trader Joe's or something. Is that cheating?

 Showing off her winning pumpkin

 Gabriela passed out after all this fun.  She woke up for a little while after we got home.  Very alarmed she exclaimed, "Mommy! We forgot to get a big girl pumpkin at Trader Joe's!!!"

Today, Gabriela carefully placed her pumpkin on the doorstep just INSIDE the front door. She doesn't want anyone to take it, you see.

She told me she was going to show Baby Brother how to make a jack-o-lantern when he is born. When I asked her how to make one she explained, "Yeah, you scoop out the slimy seeds, then you cut a round top, and you make a biiiiiiiig grin and two triangle eyes and a triangle nose too!"

I guess she *does* know how to make a jack-o-lantern.

But the weather has been so warm here, we are going to wait until Halloween weekend.

Gabriela says

G: Like how I brushed my hair, Mama?
Me: Wow, it still looks kind of messy
G: Okaaaaaay, I will go brush it again. This time, I think I will use the brush.

...
G: I want to play with another kid. Someone who walks and talks...
Auntie Cynthia: Well, Gabriela what about Jolly?
G: (huge sigh of frustration) Jolly isn't even a real person!

...
"Mommy? Are we driving on 880? It's bumpy!"
This kid knows her freeways.
...

Me: Gabriela, please don't do that anymore.
G: Okay, Mommy. I won't do that when you are looking.
Me: What?!??!
G: (quickly correcting herself) I won't do that anymore.

...
G: Daddy, I want to read this book (Huevos Verdes con Jamon)
Daddy: Okay, let's read it!
G: (snatching the book out of Daddy's hands) I want Mommy to read it. She's a GREAT Spanish reader!!

...
As we are having a conversation with the pediatrician
G: I just don't care about the doctor because she has lots of dirty germs!"

...
Daddy: What's the matter, dude? (to Easton)
G: Maybe he's crying because you called him dude

...

Meeting Nolan

I am so glad we were able to make the trip to meet Baby Nolan this weekend.  If it didn't happen this weekend, we would have had to wait until after our little guy is born. 

Nolan looks way tinier in person for being a 10 pound baby. He was so precious. Gabriela was super sweet with him. The morning of our visit, she leaned over to me in bed, and not even having opened her eyes yet, sleepily asked if we were going to see her cousin, Baby Nolan today. When I told her we were, she replied, "oh, goodie" and drifted back to sleep. 

As soon as we arrived, she washed her hands and got right to work giving Nolan a little massage on his feet. She comforted him, hugged him, gave him kisses, and was happy to have her turn to hold him.  

 So nice to meet you, Uncle Lane!

 Kisses for Baby Nolan

 Aww, can you tell he likes me?!  ;)  

It was so weird to be nine months pregnant AND holding an infant.

Baby Brother gave Nolan some kicks while Nolan sat on him. 

I could have held that little guy all day.

The happy and proud parents with their precious little baby.

 checking out just how tiny those little fingers are

 I mean, really, they don't come much cuter or sweeter than this.  

We love you, Baby Nolan!

Our weekend

I remember clearly the last weekend that Lane and I had as just a couple before Gabriela was born.  We made a yummy bbq dinner, and thought we heard fireworks outside. So we went up to our rooftop to finish dinner, watched what seemed to be our own private fireworks show, he gave me a foot massage and we wondered together if it was our last weekend before our baby arrived.

I still technically have 19 days left until my due date.  So we might have a few more weekends as a family of three still, but this was sure a good one.

First, Lane stayed home on Friday morning so we could all take family photos together. I am so excited and can't wait to see how they turned out.  Late that afternoon, Gabriela and I took a trip to Lincoln Park together.  She wanted to play "chase" with me.  When I told her I couldn't run around, she suggested we play "slow chase". How could I refuse?   We ended the day with an impromptu potluck dinner with the neighbors.

Saturday morning we made pumpkin spice muffins and smoothies for breakfast.We were excited to take Gabriela to this kids Halloween carnival in Alameda, but Gabriela was super grumpy and we had to skip the carnival for family nap time.  It was a gorgeous day and we ended up meeting Heather and her family at Crab Cove for a late afternoon picnic, some frisbee, and beach fun.

Sunday morning Lane and Gabriela made pancakes together. Gabriela ate hers on a special Halloween plate and gobbled down ghost, witch, and pumpkin shaped pancakes. We hopped in the car and drove to Sacramento where we met our sweet and precious little nephew, Nolan.  After oohing and ahhing and snuggling that little cutie pie, we drove to a nearby pumpkin patch. Gabriela tired herself out in the bounce house and going down the slides, climbing pyramids of hay bales, a train ride, a corn maze, and picking out a pumpkin.  The sunset on Sunday was amazing. Gabriela was thrilled that it was made up of her favorite colors, pink and purple. She passed out around 6:45 and slept through the night.

It was a lovely family weekend together.  pictures coming soon.

(not quite) 37 weeks

So, today at the midwife I asked her to check me because I have been feeling like things are getting started. I wanted to know if my body was telling me something, or if I was just totally paranoid.

She says I'm 40% effaced, starting to dilate - not quite 1 cm, but almost there, the baby is positioned very low, and my cervix is changing from posterior to anterior - currently about midway.

It's hard to tell what this means. My body is definitely preparing for the birth of our little guy, in fact, I'm pretty sure I was having tiny contractions all last night, but I could stay like this for a while still. 

I'll keep you guys posted.

gabriela says...

G: Auntie Cynthia, are you four?
Me: Gabriela, your friend Olivia is four.  How old do you think Auntie Cynthia is?
G (after much thought): A hundred????   ... Can you drive?!??!

....
"Are Nana and Papa going to have a piñata at their birthday party?"

...
"Okay, I'm going now but I'll be back in a few whiles!"

...
"But I don't want Auntie Cynthia to go to Switzerland because then I won't be able to cuddle with her!!"

...
"Mommy, I want to be a kid forever. I don't want to grow up because then my dresses won't fit me anymore"  (for the record, she hardly ever even wears her dresses!)

...
(as we are laying in bed trying to fall asleep)
"Actually, how about we talk about mammals in the jungle"

...
"But Mommy, I don't have a lot of cards in MY wallet, so you need to share"

...
"I super, duper, really want to cuddle with you!!!"  (how can I say no to that???)

...
As we were walking into Costco, I asked Lane to take his AmEx out, G explained:
"And we ask 'do you take american express' and the workers always say no!"

...
"Do workers sleep?"

The activities

Between munching on yummy snacks, admiring the beautiful decor, chitchatting with the ladies and watching the sweet little babies, there was plenty to keep the guests busy at this shower :) 

Here is the block painting station. Meliss had nontoxic paints out and a set of blocks so Baby Brother can have his own personalized set.  The blocks turned out so cute, I need to take some close up pics of some of them. Gabriela really got into it and ended up having to change out of her dress and into an old white t-shirt that somehow turned completely green. hmm.

 People wrote sweet wishes for the mama to be on this beautiful wishing tree.  There was also another area where people could write little notes just for Baby Brother.

 

Here are some of those sweet wishes.  But you want to see the one that really, truly made me cry??

I am so glad I asked cousin Chaney to write a note to the baby. He really worked hard on it.

Dear Baby Grover, 

I just can't wait for you to enter the world.

I hope you'll become best friends with Nolan (who was born that very morning).

Even though I'm 10, we can still be friends.

Love, Chaney

 You can bet I'm keeping this one forever and ever.

This is Baby Brother's very own ABC book. Everyone was asked to draw a little picture so Meliss can put it in the book for baby. Claire was so sweet. She went through all the drawings, made sure we had pictures for every single letter and drew a ton of pictures to complete the alphabet drawings. The book was darling before it even had anything in it, I can't wait to see the finished product! What a special treat for Baby Brother!

 And then there were the games!  

Guess how many birdie eggs

 This was a really fun one that I hadn't ever seen before.  Everyone sculpted a baby with play-doh. And I had to pick the one I liked most for the winner. We all had fun constructing our little babies.

We also played a couple other games - listing baby items from A-Z, which was more challenging than I thought it would be!  And, a complete the baby phrase game.  So fun!!

Oh, the Handmade Goodness!

There is so much to say about how amazing my baby shower was, but I thought I'd start with some of the best parts - the handmade gifts galore. Baby Brother and I are so lucky!  (Some of these pics I took this morning, not the best light, but Gabriela was asleep, and this was my chance to document.)

Check out this adorable hand-sewn soft baby book!!!  Isn't it unbelievable??

 Thank you, Auntie Liss!! The details on this are amazing.
Baby Brother is going to love it!

 Nana, the crochet master, made this darling sweater and a matching hat. I just love the colors and can't wait to see our little guy all snug and warm inside them.

 Auntie Kristie, in addition to sewing me several wet-bags to hold dirty diapers, and a couple of sweet little bib/aprons, made me a ton of cloth diaper inserts.  She is sew awesome, just like the baby onesie she made for Baby Brother :)

 Auntie Theresa shared how excited Andrew (Baby Brother's 6 yr old cousin) was when he found some Sesame Street fabric at JoAnn's with Grover in it.   She used it to make a sweet lovey for the baby.

She also made her first quilt ever with the same fabric. I love the bold rainbow border around the edge. 

 Isn't that the cutest little pumpkin hat you ever saw?!?!

Thank you, Nana!

 Nana also made this beautiful baby blankie. 

This baby's coming to the hospital with us!

 The Grover cousins all drew sweet pictures that Auntie Liss sewed into a play mat for our little guy. Check out Chaney's Hercules drawing!  Totally bad-ass.

These are the little baby bib/aprons Auntie Kristie made, so cute!

But that's not all, even cousins Beau and Chaney got in on the handcrafted gift goodness.  Check out these loveys they made for Baby Brother!  Chaney actually sewed the dinosaur, himself.  so special!!

 

Even Auntie Cynthia, who at my last baby shower swore she would never be able to make me a handmade gift, rolled up her sleeves and learned how to use a sewing machine so she could make a cutsie shape book for Baby Brother, complete with little ribbons. We are so lucky to be the recipients of her first craft project. ever.

Cousins Natalie and Claire sewed us some beautiful burp cloths and Natalie even made a little pillow for baby brother, with only help from Claire.  How cute is that? 

We also got all sorts of other extremely generous gifts - a mad cloth diaper stash, a brand new ergo carrier, tons of sweet baby boy clothes, awesome toys for baby brother, baby food prep gear and books, a new selection of parenting reading, the works!

We are definitely feeling the love over here and feel so lucky that our family has taken time to make us these extra special gifts.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!