monday miscellany- 36 weeks

1) Today I'm 36 weeks pregnant with the new guy. I've kind of dreaded this last month of pregnancy because I thought I'd just get more and more exhausted. But, in the last week I actually started feeling a little more energetic. Maybe that nesting instinct is kicking in? At the same time, I still wouldn't mind going into labor any day now because my belly is getting so big. I'm measuring right where I should be, but I'm still a relatively small person otherwise. People always think I'm due any day because the belly looks so big compared to the rest of me. I still have some reflux, and some sciatic nerve pain that's new. But overall I feel pretty good!

2) Celia really loves drawing and writing. I need to start saving samples of her work, so I'm keeping a few things she made yesterday. She did these by herself, so I think they're pretty good for a 2 1/2 year old!

She said this one was a person (on the left) and a funny costume (the pink).

      This is her name. She's really good at making the C, L, and I, but isn't as sure about the E and A.                                           

3) The November Cooking Light arrived last week, and I'm looking forward to trying and veganizing a few recipes. Having a new baby around Thanksgiving may prevent much Thanksgiving cooking though...

4) Speaking of Thanksgiving cooking, I've been making this Pumpkin Gingerbread Smoothie lately. Sometimes I don't have an appetite for lunch these days, and this is really good and very nutritious.

5) We had a birthday party for one of Celia's friends over the weekend and they had a bouncy house. Pita had the best time! She was the youngest at the party, but she had no fear jumping around with the bigger kids. It was Halloween themed, and she loved wearing her costume all day.

6) Speaking of birthday parties, we have to start planning something for Celia's. The only problem with a January birthday is that we can't predict the weather at all and can't plan on doing something outside. I'm not sure what kinds of indoor activities we could plan. Maybe a couple winter crafts? Winter themed snacks, and maybe set up some climbing toys or get a ball pit? Just put out toys and let the kids play? A sledding party would be fun, but we can't guarantee there will be good snow. Celia keeps asking about inviting friends for her birthday party, so we have to do something with friends this year I think!

7) I have big plans for baby-related posts coming up soon! Since I didn't start this blog until Celia was almost a year old, I never wrote about her birth or how we plan for birth, or any little baby things. I definitely want to document those things this time around.

8) Sometimes the house gets very quiet, and usually it means Celia and Chris are hiding in their living room fort, telling each other stories. The other day I infiltrated the area and got a picture.

9) And finally, we haven't had many leaves in our yard until recently so Celia hasn't really played in piles of leaves yet. On Friday we played outside and started raking some piles. Pita had the best time playing in them. She was really cute because she would ask me for permission every time she wanted to go in a pile. I think she was worried to mess up the work I did. This week I'll try to get the rest of the yard raked up so she has even better piles to jump in.