Gators, Elephants, & 39 Weeks... OH MY!

Today marks it... unseen territory for us-- all the way to 39 weeks! And what a week it's been. In a word, tiring, and in another word, precious. Such are my emotions lately, so that's no suprise. It seems Hope is a lot like her Mommy and would probably describe the week in almost exactly the same way if only she could.

After six+ months of peacefully napping at practically the same times every day, that has up and changed, which is affecting everything from sleeping to eating. After some final relief from all her teething, that has changed-- two sharp eye teeth have decided to pop through with the bottom ones to match. And in regards to change, she certainly has inherited my knack for just knowing when big ones are around the corner as she's been extra clingy to me often saying, "Baby!" and kissing my belly. She's also been clingy to many of her special things including Bobo her bear, her "pacis" (which was on its way out it seemed), baby dolls, snack crackers shaped like bunnies, raisins, crayons and chalk, lotions of any kind, and a few of her books. How's that for a list? Ha! Randomly when one of these objects disappears or is suddenly remembered she has a bit of a meltdown. To top it off, man, is she fast... those little legs almost always seem to be running and for some reason I'm just not as spry as I used to be. At least not this week, anyway... :)

Thankfully, though, that's only a part of the story. We've also been trying to savor the last of this time with Hope, which has made for some beautiful memories. One of our favorite times lately was taking a trip to the zoo, combining both Hope's love of the outdoors with her passion for animals. As you can see she spent most of the day grinning with her arm stuck straight out at all the new creatures just beyond her eyes and fingertips. From watching "all-gators" at feeding time in one of two favorite exhibits, to brushing farm animals (after first testing the brush on herself we reluctantly admit), to riding a big "ell-fant," to playtime just before closing... we ended the day joyfully tired. Note the break Baby M and I took near the end lest we gave birth right there in the Elephant Savannah!

The rest of this week has included trips to very nearby places like McDonalds Playland, the library, lunch with Daddy, Bruester's Ice-Cream (yum!) with more mechancial rides, the park, water works in the yard, and the like. I'm pretty much boycotting any real cleaning or other responsibilities that I can!


Should Baby M keep holding out, despite all we're doing to encourage a sooner than later arrival, we have a few more low key ideas up our sleeves to keep the week as fun as possible and moving by. After meeting with our labor doula tonight and our OB tomorrow, we'll keep you posted on the outcomes, especially if out comes this little face during it all!