The Second Coming

This pregnancy has been a tutorial for me in the Second Coming. I don't know when this baby is coming and so I have tried to make haste while I have had energy because I don't know when my next opportunity to get anything done conveniently will next occur. I think it is also ironic that this is the second kid, so the second coming seems appropriate, in the most inappropriate manner. Well, it turns out that my fluid levels are low and so unlike with the real second coming, I know the day and the hour when this process is supposed to begin - tomorrow at 6am. It is a little anticlimactic knowing when the party is to start. I think that Heavenly Father has it right to not give us all the details. I will say this though, my thoughts and efforts on preparing for this baby have been more focused today than previously.

This week my dad has been here to help out with Emma. It has been a life saver because my energy levels tanked this week I have been wiped out. Emma has loved to have someone else to play with. She follows my dad around the house. They go to the park, this morning they played at the mall, they have done puzzles and games and books. Emma loves it. My favorite thing that Emma picked up on was an evangelical twist on prayers. My dad tends to say "Amen" at the end of a prayer just like an evangelical would at a very passionate meeting. The grand-kids LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it. Emma is no exception so now at the end of prayers, Emma would fit into any congregation here in the south. She just smiles afterwards. It cracks me up.

This one on the playground my dad entitled "The Italian Hand Gesture for 'Don't Help Me.'"

Butterfly Exhibit

Grandpa Rich is in town to help out and this weekend we got to go to the Butterfly exhibit. It was pretty cool because they had all sorts of bugs and butterflies and information on the such. However, the creepiest was the 2+ inch cockroaches. We got to see cocoons wiggle around but no butterflies pop out.

Then after the information program you get to go in a greenhouse area where there are just a ton of butterflies all around. It was super cool. We got to watch them feed on fruit and nectar. Personally I was hoping they would want to land on us, but they apparently have similar personal space issues like I do. They would fly really close to us though - I have to give them credit for that. It made me contemplate putting out plates of fruit to attract butterflies in our yard.... and then I thought of all the other things we would attract, so that idea got nixed.

Afterwards we went to Aladdins for lunch and it was delicious. It is kinda like a Mediterranean burrito and they give you a side vegetable dish that is also delicious. The only problem is that you taste and stink of garlic for days afterwards. Socially, a small price to pay.... eventually friends will come back right?

Last Pre-Baby Hoorah

Aaron and I went on a date that was not kid friendly as a last hoorah before this baby is born. We went to the museum of fine arts and saw the King Tut exhibit and then went to one of our favorite restaurants - Houston's.

The King Tut exhibit brought out the intellectual differences in Aaron and I. Aaron made comments about the primitive nature of the art work and gave specific examples to compare and contrast ancient Egyptian art to various art periods around the world. Me..... I made comments about the 3 inch thick, small holed, stone toilet seat. In fact that was one of the highlights of the exhibit for me. Don't get me wrong, there were other cool things - like the replica of the body, ornate gold work, and other stuff, but there was something fascinating about their toilet seat.

Then we went to Houston's. They have the best ribs hands down and I am not a hug meat person. They also have the world's greatest vegetable plate. So we get one of each and split it. Both things are so good that it is really a challenge to walk away from either dish and actually switch plates.

It was nice to be able to visit with Aaron and do things that were not conducive to having a 2 year old around and to be gone for longer than 2 hours. It was a great date!

Compromise

Christmas Morning

We spent Christmas at our house because my doctor told me that I shouldn't be traveling for at this point in my pregnancy. So we spent our second Christmas here. The first one was when I was pregnant with Emma. We didn't attempt to explain Santa to Emma - I just didn't have the energy and knew it wouldn't quite sink in. Emma can however pick Santa out in a line-up, that is unless a snowman is also in the lineup and then it is a bit of a gamble as to whether or not she will get it right.

Aaron and I learned that Christmas with little kids is a lot of fun. Emma as way more into it this year than last. Last year she didn't care so much about what was going on. I think the wrapping paper was cooler than her presents and she got some cool presents. This year she got a fitness trampoline which has become an addiction for her at this point. Emma also received a mailbox gymnastics mat. It is a large mailbox shaped mat (read twice as large as we expected from the description online - i.e. not sure where this thing will live in our house). She can jump off of it, tumble over it, etc. She is also enjoying this one as well. 

Thanksgiving and Christmas

We went to Provo for Thanksgiving this year to spend it with the Russell side of the family. We had a great time visiting with family. Here are some of the pictures:

Emma decided to go explore a pine tree. She lasted longer than I would have guessed inside the prickly needles.

We went to the BYU gymnastics room which is just about my favorite place on earth with small children. At one point I decided to show Emma the foam pit so I fell backwards into the pit. It wasn't until I landed that it occurred to me that I would then have to get my pregnant self out of the pit. Fortunately Aaron pulled me out with the rope. Probably a good sign that he didn't just walk away because he could have and I would still be there today otherwise.

Emma loved to play with cousins and Grandma Marsha and Grandpa Keith. At one point she would kick me out of the room because she was concerned I might stop her fun with Grandma and Grandpa. Emma got her first taste of soda (Martinelli's) at Thanksgiving dinner.

Aaron got to play football on Thanksgiving morning and nobody got hurt. We also went to the Provo Beach Resort. It is a funny name for a business that caters to people who want to do stuff in the middle of the winter. They have a inside surf thing where you can pseudo-surf, play croquette, arcade stuff, golf stuff and other stuff that you could do outside if you lived in California. We played croquette with all of the adults. Aaron's finer moment was when he won the croquette game - this is after his club went flying out of his hands while attempting to hit his ball.

Then we flew to California for a pre-Christmas trip since we couldn't travel for actual Christmas. We took Emma to the beach. It was a bit of a novelty for her. I love Coronado island. It is my favorite beach mostly because they groom it and so there isn't seaweed to stink up the beach.

We also went to the park to feed the ducks and play on the playground. The ducks weren't all that interested in our food. Apparently these ducks live in the lap of luxury.

 We were able to see Nanny Great. Emma got confused and called her Annie Great and then got confused again because she has a cousin Annie who is not quite one years old and so she kept thinking Nanny should be a baby.

We went to December Nights in Balboa Park. They had some performers and ethnic food vendors to explore. Mostly they had all of the museums open for free but the lines were 2 years long so we skipped the museums. It was a bit sad since that is what we were really hoping for. Oh well....

Emma had a great time playing with cousins and aunts and Grandma Lindy and Grandpa Rich. She loved that Aunt Mary would feed her cookies, let her put on her makeup and jump with her on the trampoline. Aunt Emily's house was a hit because she has toys, kids, a dog and a huge trampoline. What more could you want in life? She also loved pushing a toy car around my parent's pool with Grandpa. Again she was afraid that I would interfere with her fun with Grandma and Grandpa and would want me to leave the room while playing with them.

So how good was our trips? Good enough that when we got home to our house, Emma took one look and asked to go home. I am not sure which grandparent's house she was referring to, but it was clear that home was not our house.