Winding Down

This tweet just about sums it up. Life is pretty amazing right now. Not just in a "good" amazing way, but in an "I'm amazed by all of these massive changes" kind of way. An "I can't believe that this is my life" kind of way.

The above photo was taken last week, so the bump is even bigger now! I can't believe that this child has five weeks left of growing to do in there. I've officially started to waddle and I get tired just walking down the block to the mailbox. Because of these factors, I made the tough decision this weekend to put my gym membership on hold until I'm cleared by my doctor to resume exercising after the birth. I had hoped to keep going for at least a few more weeks, but I decided to listen to my body's cues (utter exhaustion) and take a break. I hope to still go for moderate walks everyday and squeeze in a prenatal yoga class once per week, but we'll see...

In other news, I have less than four weeks left of work before starting my leave (!) and I'm starting to feel ready for a break. (There is a lot of uncertainty about by job situation going forward, but I've started to adopt a very blasé attitude about the whole thing.) Work starts to feel less urgent in light of the whole impending childbirth thing and this feels like a healthy approach for me at this point in my life.

The diaper bag is all packed and ready to go to the hospital. I packed three little baby outfits (different sizes and sleeve lengths), two pre-fold cloth diapers, one diaper cover, a toy that Nate picked out, a swaddle blanket, a receiving blanket, little booties, and some nursing cream. I also plan on bringing our Boppy nursing pillow with us. I still have to finish packing our hospital bag, but I think that I've got everything now that I need to put in there.

We spent the weekend nesting (yet again) -- painting the hallway outside of the nursery, hanging some artwork and shelves on the walls, and finding the perfect baby album to take to the hospital for the little one's first footprints.

Happy spring!

Sunshine and Springtime

I'm so, so grateful for the spring weather. It feels like the really long, dark winter is starting to fade away. It rained a bit this morning here in Seattle, but this evening is looking sunny and beautiful. The magnolia trees and cherry blossoms are in bloom all over the city. Neighbors have brightly colored tulips and daffodils popping up in their yards. Although our little one's upcoming arrival is occupying many of my thoughts these days, I've tried to take some time to appreciate my own space and freedom while I still have it.

I've been:

* enjoying taking walks with Nate in the arboretum (where the above photo was taken),

* rediscovering the public library (the Seattle Public Library system is phenomenal),

* loving food again (especially food from here, here, and here),

* reading this (rather controversial) book about parenting,

* taking naps,

* and eating nightly lemon frozen yogurt cones (hey, I need the protein :-)

The belly bump is getting B-I-G these days. I'll have to post a picture soon...

Babymoon on the Oregon Coast

Nate and I spent a few wonderful, stormy days on the Oregon coast last weekend to celebrate some precious time alone together before our daughter's impending arrival (next month!). We stayed at a lovely bed and breakfast in the small, rugged community of Arch Cape, just south of the popular beach town Cannon Beach. Although it stormed most of the weekend, we had a fabulous view of the rough seas from our inn. Durning any breaks in the weather, we would head out to the shore for walks, photo sessions, and beach-combing. We got a couple's massage at the local spa, which was the first time we'd done that since our wedding weekend almost five years ago. We ate chocolates and salt water taffy. We collected stones and driftwood. I took my first bath in eight months (being careful not to make the water too hot) with these amazing new bath salts, made some progress on knitting the baby's blanket, and sipped sparkling cider from a wine flute. After all of the months of childbirth classes and preparation, coupled with some necessary home improvement projects, we needed this time together to relax and unwind. It was heaven.