A beautiful fall day

Before A's baby brother arrived, we took A to the Fall Carnival at our church. A dressed in what else? A Seahawks' cheerleading outfit! We saw her cousins, S and A, at the carnival and stopped for a photo.
We also went to a new (to us) park, and A and her friend R spent some time on the play equipment. More and more each day, it seems she is becoming a big girl, which, for me, included when she graduated to the "big" swings.

Impatient . . . yes

After a perfectly beautiful weekend of playing with J and A, I was disappointed to wake up this morning to no contractions, no broken water, no pain. Just another day in paradise. One reason: I don't really want to go to work anymore. My students have been fine. That's not the problem. I just want to be home for a while. Reason #2: I'm ready. So, why wait? The longer I wait, the more grading, phone calls, etc. that I have to deal with. My sub is ready, and so am I. So, I say bring on the contractions. My friend S says to be careful for what you ask for.

J doesn't understand why I am quite so vocal about my desire for pain this time. Reason #? why men do not have babies. It's not that I WANT pain. I just want to go into labor naturally this time. I want to know what actual contractions feel like, not Pitocin-induced contractions. I want to know my own threshold for pain. I want to experience labor. J has said more times than not that if he was the one having the baby, he would arrive at the hospital announcing, "Bring on the epidural," or something to that effect. Not me. This time, I want to know how it feels, and frankly, if I can't take it, THEN I'll say, "Bring on the epidural." But, not before. My friend's reflexologist says if I'm feeling anxious, then why would the baby come. He can feel my anxiety, she says. I don't know about that. All I know is that I'm not afraid, so how could I be anxious. Impatient, yes. But anxious? No. Bring it on!

Pumpkin Patch

We went to Bi-Zi Farms pumpkin patch again this year, and A had a great time. This year, she was much more outgoing with feeding the animals, running through the corn maze (thus the muddy knees), climbing the hay bales, picking out pumpkins, and riding in the wheel barrow. It was a beautiful day, and we took advantage of it before the rains set in. I have about 2 1/2 weeks left of my pregnancy, so hopefully the next picture you'll see of me will be with our new little guy! J thought A needed a ride in the wheelbarrow, and she was all grins as she rode with the dirty pumpkins. Two years ago, she wore a pumpkin costume for her first Halloween.
A and her cousins climbed the hay bales for a fun photo. It was probably the only time all afternoon when they sat still!