We’re almost there! As the weeks roll by and the appointments become more frequent it couldn’t feel more real that a new little baby will be gracing us with her presence in what could be just a few weeks. Among a few mini house renovations and baby prep we’re trying to take advantage of the clear and warm weekend days getting ourselves and our little girl out before baby arrives. Sure this makes for busy weekends and an exhausted Mommy but these moments with my little girl are so special and I wouldn’t trade them for anything.
So in my 34th week we signed ourselves up for a lot of work around the house, some cleaning and washing of the baby gear that’s been stored in our basement, planting flowers and our vegetable garden, swimming in our blow up pool (well this one was really only for our smallest family member), and best of all a trip to the Popcorn Zoo. My little girl LOVES animals so we always know a great day trip idea is a trip to the zoo and as season pass holders for our local big zoo we try to make these trips as frequent as possible. With Mommy larger now and getting more and more uncomfortable with quite a few Braxton Hicks contractions creeping in though, we decided to take it easy on the walking and went with a smaller but just as fun option that week. The Popcorn Zoo is filled with rescue animals that you can see up close, some of which are even fans of popcorn that you can feed to them, a huge win for my little one. So thankfully we picked a mild morning that wasn’t too unseasonably warm like the rest of our days have been and headed down to the Popcorn Zoo. Our little one couldn’t have loved the adventure more and it was right up my alley too without too much walking but certainly not short on the fun.
We decided to start off my 35th week with possibly one of our last beach visits for a little while. Traveling too far and really taking it easy are must dos on my agenda these days so some of these trips are going to become fewer and fewer as the weeks pass so we wanted to take advantage of one of my better days and hit the beach for some fun. The weather was perfect for this mommy-to-be without it being hot at all, especially since the water is a chilly 58 degrees still and off limits for cooling off if needed. It was really a perfect morning for some sand castle building, sea shell searching, and crab scavenging, all of which are favorite activities of my little girl. So we headed out early and made our way down to one of our favorite beaches and while Mommy trudged through the sand carrying an almost 20 extra pounds with a little one gripping my hand, Daddy made his way down resembling a pack mule with all of our beach equipment. It was a fantastic morning, especially for our miniature beach lover who can’t get enough of the sand and eventually the water too when it’s warm enough. So after some successful digging in the sand, building some sand castles, finding some perfect sea shells, and one of the highlights, digging up some tiny crabs that our little one couldn’t help but tell us were “so cute,” we wrapped up our morning with lunch on the beach, a stop at a torturous bakery that offers the most delicious looking non-gluten free treats that are perfect for Dan and little one, and a little afternoon nap before a pre-baby dinner out that I’ll share later.
We’ve had so much fun this pregnancy with our little girl, packing it full with adventure after adventure and watching her blossom and grow into the fantastic big sister that we know she’ll be very soon. She’s got the biggest heart we’ve ever seen and shares all of her love with everyone around her, a feature I can’t wait to see put into action when her little sister arrives. But one of my favorite features that kind of shakes me into reality that our little girl is growing up is her growing personality and vocabulary. She’s a chatterbox that’s for sure, always asking questions, counting everything around her, and being Mommy’s biggest helper always offering “here, help Mommy.” She’s the love of my life, next to Dan and our furry baby of course, that’s for sure and I can’t wait to share our love with our little one coming along very soon.
Sincerely,
Lindsay (35 weeks)