Keeping Busy

K and I finally got the baby's dresser assembled - it was WAY MORE involved than I thought it was going to be, but I actually enjoy assembling furniture, so I enjoyed the process and felt complete gratification once the dresser was standing in its new home in our walk-in closet. I also assembled the bassinet (thanks TA, DS & SS!), and it is just precious. Just a little more to assemble and we are set. I put away all the baby clothes, and the closet is really starting to look like Baby Central. Bouncers are powered and ready to go, and Brooklyn is fascinated (or horrified, I can't tell) by the noise the bouncers make, so I have to make sure to play it at least once a day so she will be used to it. My Mother is obsessed with the name Etienne (while a pretty, French name, and in keeping with my love of French, we are not naming the baby Etienne). She cracks me up!

Coming Together

I've washed all the baby clothes we have received, and looking at the collection, I was overwhelmed by everyone's generosity and support - I feel like we are truly sharing this momentous event with everyone, which is just beautiful. THANK YOU!!! It's been very chilly at night, so I've been a little obsessed with making sure the baby will have warm digs for when he comes home and for his first months of life out of the womb. I started to hang up his collection of sweaters and outerwear, and it just looks so cute in the closet, so small. I am just beside myself! I also put together his Rainforest Bouncer; I love doing that stuff. It's really coming together. Today, however, I am really tired, so I am going to listen to my body and nap it out, leave the screwdriver for another day.

Home Stretch

9 months! I am so excited!

Puppy Love

A few weeks back, K and I returned home to be greeted enthusiastically by our dog, Brooklyn. As she was running to me, front paws wailing in the air, her hind legs slipped from underneath her and she managed to catch herself by sitting down like a little person and then hopping up to rest her front paws on my knees/thighs, now standing up like a little person. And I think she was a little startled by her slip and I comforted her and pet her and she stayed like this for about 2 minutes straight. She's needing all kinds of love these days; she may be sensing a change around the bend.

Love

Beautiful!

Yes We Can

My son will spend his very first years under a Black US president. This will be his "normal" and it won't occur to him to think that this is unusual. If he ever thinks to himself, "When I grow up, I want to be President," he will see the face of a Black man and know that being President of the USA is a completely viable aspiration for him. Tonight, as President-Elect Obama gave his speech, I couldn't help but think of all the people who gave their lives over the past century so that tonight could be a reality, a reality for all of us, a reality for our children; God bless them. God bless us all.

Winding Down (Or Up)

So, our pregnancy classes are officially over, and here we are in the month of November, which means that I have one month left until my due date. And I am ecstatic and still can't even believe it, it still feels a bit surreal. K's and my life (and Brooklyn's) is about to change enormously!! I've made some headway in my preparations around the house - still lots to do, but they don't feel as insurmountable as before. If we could find our Phillips Screwdriver, that would be sweet! Oh well, guess it's off to Target or CVS or somewhere. Anyway, we are going to have the baby sleep in our room (thanks TAS for the bassinet!) and I've made space in our huge walk-in closet that we barely enter for a dresser for his clothes and as a possible changing station (although it does occur to me that having the stench of dirty diapers lingering in the closet may not be ideal). I've been trying to neaten up the closet in my office/guest room, which looks like it may end up being the baby toy room - I don't know that we'll spend a lot of time actually in there, but for now, it's where the baby gear will live (bouncer, swing, books). I did have an image of me reading to the baby in there, maybe it can be our reading room.

I was planning to leave the artistic fun until I got the manual, physical work done, but I just couldn't help myself, so I bought balls of yarn and started practicing my knitting. I am going to knit the baby a blanket (pretty straight forward for a beginner). I still have to paint my belly cast. I have an idea for it, but perhaps if I don't get it done before the baby arrives, he will inspire a different design idea for it once he is here. And that's about it for now.