Third Trimester!

Hi, Simon!

Today we're in our third trimester. That means you'll be here in 84 days, give or take. Just three months left! You weigh about 2 1/2 pounds right now, and I think you're still head down. (That's good! Stay like that.)

Last week, we traveled for a wedding (and to visit your Auntie Jill and Uncle Luke), and I was pretty exhausted by the time we got home. That's the last of our traveling for a bit, because no one wants a pregnant lady to give birth on an airplane. No one. This week, Maddie and I are recovering, relaxing, and getting ready for a couple of visitors! Your Granny Jill is coming on Friday, and your Memere will be here a week after that! It is going to be a fun and busy couple of months, and then it'll be time for you.

This is the view from our bedroom window this week.

Pretty, isn't it? When you arrive, those colorful leaves will be gone, but the evergreens will still be green. (Hence their name.)

Next week is Halloween, and your sister is very excited about it! We've been reading Halloween stories, and she runs around saying "How-eeen! How-eeen!" She has two costumes this year: the first is Madeline of the Madeline books by Ludwig Bemelmans. She was named after that very Madeline!

I'll show you a picture of her second Halloween costume next week. Trust me - it's cute. It'll be her first year trick-or-treating, and I think she's going to have a blast. (Don't worry - I'll eat plenty of her candy. That counts as her sharing with her brother, right?)

We can't wait to meet you, Simon. We're in the homestretch, now! Almost there. My symptoms at this point include crazy amounts of exhaustion, heartburn (mostly at night), back and hip pain, and peeing my pants way more often than I'd like to. What are you gonna do. 

Love,

Your Mama

What A Week.

Hi, Simon.

Your mama has had a very rough week. I wrote an article that was unintentionally the most controversial thing since Miley's VMA performance (which will hopefully hold no meaning at all by the time you are reading this), and I received a lot of pretty terrible, hurtful responses. It was tough, and I'm seven months pregnant, and boy, have I been in a rough mood for a couple of days. The article was about some of the decisions your dad and I are making as your parents. Now, all parents have a lot of decisions to make. Some of them are harder than others, and all have consequences. For instance, I loved exclusively breastfeeding your sister, and I'll exclusively breastfeed you as well. There are some really great perks to this, like a.) it's free, and b.) I get to spend a lot of very cuddly, close time with my infants. But there are consequences to everything. With EBF, I couldn't leave your sister at all for months. She wouldn't take a bottle, and she ate every two hours for weeks, so I was practically hallucinating, that's how exhausted I was. We also passed thrush back and forth several times, because I was on a steroid inhaler for my asthma, and let me tell you - thrush is painful. Not for her, thank goodness, but for me. Ouch. I would go into detail, but I bet you don't want to hear about your mom's nipples. It was worth it to me, absolutely, but as with every decision, there were consequences.

Anyway, I want you to know that the decisions your dad and I make are made with you in mind. We make these decisions because we believe they're best for you, and for our family. We make these decisions because we love you very, very much. All parents make different decisions for their children, but all of those decisions are made out of love, and made because it's what those parents believe will be best for their children. Your dad and I love our children more than anything in the world, and that will never change. If you're ever having a week like I am, and you're feeling down and a little sad, I hope you will remember that, and I hope you will feel a little better.

Next week, you're going to take a plane ride to Minnesota with us! We're going for a wedding, and will get to stay with your godparents, Jill and Luke. This will be our last trip while I'm pregnant, because in just over a week, I'll be in my third trimester. That means you're going to be here VERY soon! Are you ready for that? I'm ready for that. (I mean, keep baking, obviously, but I'll be ready for you when you're fully baked and ready to come out.) After our trip to Minnesota, your Granny Jill is coming to stay with us, and after your Granny Jill stays with us, your Memere is coming to stay with us! We are going to have a great couple of months, and I will bake a great couple of pies, because that is exactly the time of year it is. Pie time.

I love you, Simon. I hope you know that already, and I will make sure that you know it every day of your life.

Love,
Your Mama

Double Digits!

Hi, Simon!

Today we are exactly 99 days from your due date. That makes it sound awfully close, doesn't it? 99 days! I am 26 weeks pregnant, and we look like this:

Today is a very, very rainy day, and your sister and I are hanging out in our pajamas. I'm sending out more query letters for my chapter book (a process that is kind of like banging my head against a wall for months at a time - but if you are going to be a writer, please don't let that scare you. There are some really lovely parts, like actually writing), and letting Maddie watch Blues Clues on my phone, which she is obsessed with. When she wants to watch it, she follows me around shouting "Clue Clue! Clue Clue!" Sometimes I worry that I shouldn't let her watch Blues Clues, and that we should be climbing a tree somewhere or sewing our own clothing out of organic cotton instead. But it's often raining this time of year in Washington, so all of the trees are wet, and I have no idea how to sew my own clothing out of organic cotton. Blues Clues will have to do. 

I'm tired these days, Simon. Part of it is growing a baby (that's you!), and part of it is Maddie waking up multiple times at night. And then insisting on getting up early in the morning. What's with that? Do toddlers not require a normal amount of sleep? Because while I feel very tired, and need a cup of coffee to function most mornings (don't worry - in moderation, it's fine), Maddie gets no coffee at all, and is wide awake at all times. The first thing she shouted at me early this morning was "Up! Up! Up!" Let me tell you, Simon, "up" is my new least favorite word. I hear it at 2:30am. I hear it at 4:00am. I hear it at 6:30am. I hear it when she's up from her nap. I don't want to be up, Simon. I want to sleep for about a week. But I will settle for a cup of coffee.

Back to the queries and the rain, little Simon. I hope you're cozy in there, and that you're looking forward to meeting us in (approximately) 99 days!

Love,

Your Mama

Fall, Frugality, Food

Hi, Simon!

It's October 3rd, and the leaves here are turning all sorts of beautiful colors. I'm so glad to see them, because changing leaves have always been an important part of my autumns. I wish you could see them too, but you are still in my uterus, and there just isn't a lot to see in there. A placenta. Some fluid. Your umbilical cord, I guess. And your cute little fingers and toes, which I can't wait to see in January!

This is Issaquah, where we live.

Maddie and I walk down here a lot, and before you know it, you'll join us! 

Your dad and I decided it's time to get serious about buying a house, which means we've begun a new budget with that in mind. Christmas is tough to do on a budget, but we've found some wonderful ideas about simplifying, and let's face it, Simon - if we want to have a big family, we're going to have to simplify around the holidays. One of the great ideas is intentional gift categories. For instance, rather than buying a bunch of random stuff for you and Maddie, we'll buy in adorable (and practical) categories, like "something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read." There will be a few others (something to watch, something to create, etc.), but that's the idea. This will make gift shopping easy for Maddie this year, but not for you, because while we know exactly what you need, we have no idea what you'll want! Please forgive us for guessing. 

You and I are eating some delicious sugar cookies that my friend Abbie brought from Montana. Don't tell your sister. She's napping, and as a very wise man once said, "you snooze, you lose." We'll share when she wakes up and when your dad gets home from work. It's Thursday, and you know what that means, Simon. It's taco night! Your dad is actually a world-famous, award-winning taco chef. I am a Cholula aficionado, and taco night has been a part of our lives since before we were married. (We did skip weeks when I was dealing with pregnancy sickness, but we're back in business now, because I'm feeling pretty great. Exhausted, but great.)

Happy fall, Simon!

Love,

Your Mama