It’s been a wild week around here – one of those weeks that begs of cliches about juggling balls in the air, keeping the wheels on the bus, treading water, and all sorts of other things that pretty much means that we’re having a messy, short-tempered, things-not-quite-getting-done, everyone is sick kind of week. Or rather, that’s the way the week started and now I’m happy to report that things are running a little more smoothly. It was a rough start, but we seem to have kept the wheels on and, as Clare sings, the wheels on the bus go round and round.

I convinced J to actually take my picture at 37 weeks. This is a pretty typical evening look in our kitchen – me in PJs with hair and makeup done from the work day, random mess including a pumpkin on the stove (just because), random mixing bowl and cookbook on the counter for the pizza dough that J is making tonight, a chair pulled out into the kitchen so that Clare can watch J make the dough, and a package on the table behind me from Grandma T (Thanks for the curtains!!).

Our usual bedtime ritual includes brushing teeth, bath, putting on PJs and reading books with her blanky. She usually requests to read books with Dad so this is a common evening sight. I tease J that he reads an extra book and that’s why she prefers him at bedtime, but I think it’s because this has turned into their special time together.

A few weeks ago Clare saw a bunch of pumpkins at the grocery store and was fascinated by them. I told her that we were going to go to get our pumpkin at the pumpkin patch in a few weeks. She hasn’t forgotten and every now and then has mentioned “the pumpkin patch.” Well, a sunny weekend without a trip planned was just the time to do it. So even though Clare has been fighting a cold and was up and down a lot last night (and so were her parents) we set off at the crack of 9:30 to the pumpkin patch. After a quick stop to collect Grandma and Grampa, we made our way to the pumpkin patch.

This particular farm is not just a pumpkin patch but also a harvest carnival and activity area. Clare immediately wanted to ride the horses in the pony ride area. She was very excited about it up until the point when J put her on the pony. Then she informed him that she was “scared” and “don’t like it.” J stayed with her, and Grandpa took the other side, so by the time they had completed one lap she was feeling much more confident. Grandma and I even got a few smiles out of her by the end.

Besides the pony rides, Clare got to go down a hay slide, watch other farm animals (her favorites were the ducks), and helped us pick out the perfect pumpkins. She also got to ride in the wheelbarrow like the little queen of the patch.

Finally, a few pictures from the last few weeks around here.

A couple of weeks ago we did Race for the Cure with the family and friends Carrie and Leah. It was a fun morning event that we’ve done almost every year for 8 years, first in Phoenix and now here in Portland. We just walk in the 5K, and with 40,000 people along the route it’s more like Stroll for the Cure (or, in my case, Waddle). As you can see we accumulated some balloons and pom-poms to entertain Clare during the walk.

Also in the last few weeks was my 33rd birthday. I kept telling people I was turning 32, until J finally corrected me at the end of the day. Whoops – guess the memory is the first thing to go! Adam took this picture of J and I before dinner. He was impressed by our unintentionally color-coordinated outfits.

This picture also shows my 33 week prego tummy. I’m pretty sure I’m bigger today than I was when I delivered Clare, and while I claim I’m even more tired and sore then with her J corrects me and says I complained a lot more in the last pregnancy. Hmmm… Maybe I just have less time to complain or pay less attention to myself these days. Regardless, I am definitely feeling the discomforts of the third trimester and I’m torn between being done with being pregnant and not feeling ready for the new baby. Good thing I have 6 weeks left… really, a good thing… yeah, maybe if I keep saying it then I’ll believe it…

Lastly, a few serious pictures of Clare as she plays. The picture above she’s playing with Legos after a busy day of painting (which most of it seemed to have ended up on her shirt). She’s painting again below, which is a common request these days. Our arts and letters child has really been getting into art projects.

Besides art, Clare’s music appreciation continues to grow. Just about every day she’ll start singing a song and I’m like “I didn’t realize she knows that song!” Between Adam and preschool her repertoire is growing. Her latest favorites are the “Sleeping Bunny song,” “Baby Bumblebee,” “The Wheels on the Bus” and “If You’re Happy and You Know It.” A few days ago we were in the car and at the end of a song on the radio Clare suddenly says “That was a GREAT song! I liked it!” J and I cracked up.

I’m now eight months pregnant and have been waiting and waiting for that nesting urge to kick in. Finally a few weeks ago it started, but before that I kept looking at messy closets and a messy office and thinking “I’ll tackle that when I’m nesting.” Uhhhh, yeah, then I started to realize that the baby is due in less than eight weeks (!!!!!!!) and that if I’m going to actually have a room to bring him home to then I better kick my nesting butt in gear.

As for the nursery, I’ve decided to keep it fairly simple and with a nice, straight-forward balloon theme. My inspiration is this funky old lamp that JP and I had in our bedroom as kids. It has this great shade that’s made up of balloons. I was looking at it one day and realized that bright, basic shapes are what infants like to look at. By keeping the theme fairly simple it will be easy to change out as Lil’ Guy grows up and develops more of his own tastes. Until then, this is what I’m thinking with the decor.

I bought this mobile a few months ago. I’m excited to put it over the crib – or maybe hanging in a corner… I’m not sure.

Mom and Dad bought us this rug (Thanks guys!). It’s super-soft underfoot so it’ll be great for the baby and I to hang out on. It also has a bunch of colors in it – soft greens and browns, bright reds and blues, very versatile colors that we can use in a bunch of decorating themes in the next several years.

Lastly, the big decorating “focal point” in the room will be a bunch of paper lanterns (like the ones pictured) arranged in the corner of the room with strings coming down like a bunch of balloons (high enough where the baby can’t reach).

And no blog post could be complete without a picture of Clare (or, at least until the new guy comes). In the picture above, Clare and I were waiting to have dinner and J snapped a pic with his iPhone. Doesn’t Clare look at least three with her hair pulled back? She has a bit of a pony tail obsession right now and requested “two pony tails” on Saturday morning. So she rocked “two pony tails” all day along with a “grass” hula skirt she found in a drawer. It was quite a look, but Clare pulled it off nicely.

Our pediatrician recommended that I keep a little notebook to write down the cute things that Clare says and the fun conversations we have. Since this is my baby book I figure I’ll write them down here along with some pictures from the last few weeks (some of which coincide with the pictures).

I took this picture a few days ago. Clare was not happy that I picked her up at nannyshare that day (she wanted to stay and play with G) – I asked her if she was sad to leave G and Adam. She said, tearfully, “yes Mama! I want to stay and play!” When we got home I started dinner and she packed her play phone into her purse, tucked her lion under her arm, and went out into the backyard. When I tried to follow her she told me “No! By self!” She and Lion spent about 20 minutes playing on the climber, chatting (no doubt about how mean Mama is), sliding together, and generally having a good time.

This is a family picture that my mom took of the family over the weekend in Bend. I like this one because the belly has made an appearance in family photos! It’s the first sighting of Our Baby. As for Clare’s quotes about the baby, we talk a lot the new baby coming. Clare talks about “baby coming soon… in a couple of days” “baby in Mama’s tummy” and “baby will cry, but it’s OK.”

The picture above is Clare on her new tricycle. My parents bought it for her, and darned if she didn’t immediately start pedaling. It took her an additional day to figure out the whole pedal/steer at the same time thing, but she’s got it and is now the sassiest thing on three wheels. She woke up from her nap and I told her “There’s a surprise for you downstairs.” She looked at me and said “is it my birthday?” I told her no, it wasn’t her birthday. I don’t think she believed me and sang “Happy Birthday to Clare” the whole way down the stairs.

One day, after a particularly yummy Mexican lunch with a fair amount of guacamole, J said to Clare “You’re so messy!” Clare looked at him and responded “you’re so lucky!” This cracked us up, because this is something that Aunt Donna and her husband Mike say to each other jokingly. We didn’t realize Clare had noticed it, but she filed it away and I’m pretty sure even copied Donna’s Southern accent.

A fun little game that we’ve started playing together is Clare will look at someone (usually me) and say “Hi Daddy!” I respond with saying “Hi G!” She giggles and says “Hi Grandma!” I’ll respond with “Hi Sadie” and back and forth with calling each other the wrong names. Those silly little intentionally-wrong games are popular around here – like Clare walking around the house, pretending not to see me and calling “Mama! Mama – you in the kitchen? You in the living room? Where you go Mama?” Silly girl…

Today, on the way back from the store, Clare pipes up from the back seat “Do you have wings Mama?” “No sweetie. Do you have wings?” “Yes!” She then flapped her arms like little wings. I have no idea where this came from but it was incredibly cute!

Lastly, a couple of months ago we went to the zoo. Clare seemed to have fun but didn’t seem to love it as much as J and I thought she would. Suddenly, last week she walks into the dining room and says “I brushed a goat at the zoo.” Yes, yes she did brush a goat at the zoo. “And I see lions and elephants and zebras and giraffes.” That’s all, just a zoo memory from weeks ago that we haven’t talked about lately. Those little wheels are always turning!

Hooray! More Adam pictures from July and August! We love Adam for many reasons but I LOVE that he does such a great job of capturing the day-to-day toddler moments. Literally, each month he’ll take 400 photos of the kids in their various activities. Between the pictures and his daily naptime email updates, it keeps us very informed and involved in Clare’s activities even when we’re not with her all the time.

One theme for the summer has been “toddler” Clare becoming “kid” Clare. At the playground she’s able to pretty much play with all of the equipment (sometimes with some spotting) and has been enjoying the teeter-totter, big slides, bid-kid swings, monkey bars, etc.

She’s pretending to put her foot over the edge of the climbing structure and saying “careful!”

Clare’s first big-girl art projects – glue sticks with supplies. Glue sticking is serious business, as you can see.

I’ve decided this picture is called “underdog pease!”

Clare reading a book to her baby. We got her this baby a few weeks ago to practice being a big sister on, and he’s a very loved baby already. He’s read to, given his binky, rocked, put to sleep, wrapped in blankies, burped, and given bottles. He is, however, often naked since Clare likes to take off his pajamas. I guess I shouldn’t be to surprised. If you look closely you can see that Clare’s pajamas are actually on backwards. This isn’t an accident. Clare likes to take her pajamas off too, especially when she’s supposed to be sleeping. This is an issue because she doesn’t stop at her PJs and will take off her diaper and then pee in her crib. So far we are still smarter than our kid, so the solution has been putting Clare in backwards pajamas for naps and nighttime.

Sprinkler day! Clare loves the “sprinkle” – though sometimes she prefers to run in it, and sometimes she prefers to wave at it.

Sand box time with our happy girl!