Monday thoughts

How is it that a week has gone by since I have been here last? Did Daniel and Bridgette really get married 10 days ago? It feels like yesterday.

Still no baby. And every time I get an inkling of a wish to have this little one, something steps in the way and I am grateful to be still pregnant.

We closed on our new house on Bainbridge Island on Thursday and immediately started ripping up two layers of carpet upstairs with the intent of refinishing the original fir floors underneath. But, as with any old house, you peel one layer of the onion back to find another and another that needs dealing with. In this case, it is nothing too overwhelming, but a few little setbacks feel monumental when you are simultaneously trying to fix up our current house for rent, building a busy photography career, having a baby, moving houses and taking care of little ones. Nick and I have divided and conquered this past week, and barely have a moment to say I love you before diving headfirst into a deep slumber at the end of the evening.

Which is why we haven't properly planned a two-day scout trip that Nick needed to make to Glacier National Park in Montana, a 9 hour drive away. (For the non-photographers, a scout trip is the necessary precursor to a commercial advertising photo shoot where the location is researched in person and all the angles, light and landscape studied in advance so the photo team and models etc can just show up to the exact location(s) and the shoot gets done).

So this morning, after several minutes of deliberations and complicated statistical analysis of when this baby may or may not make his or her debut, Nick hopped in the car and drove just far enough away to make both of our hearts skip a few beats. He is nine hours away from my call, and that is if he has cell service. Which as of this moment, he doesn't.

Before you pity me or us, I have to add, that we chose this life. I chose to marry a photographer, he chose to become one, and we chose to have a big family. And mostly life looks (and is) pretty amazing. We love our life and wouldn't trade it away, even if that means we have to take risks like him missing part of our third child's birth (for the record, I don't think he will, but ask me in 23 hours).

And, in all honesty, we couldn't do this without the huge network of people around us who are so willing to help when we need it. Today, for example, my dad took control of the contractors at our new house so I could stay in the city and take Inca to the vet, who is getting spayed tomorrow morning thanks to brother Ben who is taking care of her for us, while I commute to Bainbridge tomorrow AM so my mom can take Finn to preschool and my Dad can watch Poppie while I meet some more contractors at the house, so Nick can complete this scout trip and be back in time to help me welcome this baby into the world. Our friends are incredible and supportive, our family is sleeping with their phones on loud, and we have amazing neighbors who would drop anything and take the kids or come to the rescue day or night.

It takes a village and we certainly have one right now.

Daniel & Bridgette

On Saturday we celebrated the marriage of Daniel and Bridgette. It was a supremely beautiful wedding with lots of tiny details well-thought-out and carefully curated to make it magical. Bridgette and Daniel are a stunning couple and she looked like a princess. Finn, Poppie and Nick were all in the wedding, as pageboy, flowergirl and groomsman, respectively. And as if that wasn't cute enough, Poppie was a flowergirl alongside a look-a-like named Makella. They were adorable. 

Daniel and Bridgette's wedding marks the end of the wedding season for us, which is bittersweet. This year Nick and I have seen all of my siblings and many of our friends get married, 10 weddings total. It has truly been a season of love.

But the excitement isn't over yet! Baby three has made is safely through three weddings and the countdown begins for his or her arrival! As of today, Monday, I am 40 weeks, 2 days with no big signs of labor. But unlike the other two pregnancies, I am in no rush. I am used to these late babies and he or she can come when she wants. 

'Ah, nuts,' says Mama.

Still pregnant. And thankful to be, in all honesty.

The day after Finn's asthma episode we tried to lay as low as possible and let those little lungs recover from the barrage of breathlessness followed by steroids. Our quest for mellow was only part-way successful as yesterday evening was Daniel & Bridgette's wedding rehearsal dinner and Uncle Nick and Auntie Casi and Duke the dog came over so we could all go together to the dinner.

The dinner was beautiful and poignant and amplified by the silhouette paddle-boarders riding the waters of Puget Sound against the backdrop of the Olympics. But by late Thursday evening, a slight back ache had turned into sharp stabbing pains in my right kidney that could only be relieved by laying in certain positions. By this morning, I was in gut-wrenching agony that felt like a tiny sharp pen knife was being jabbed into my kidney repeatedly, with a twisting motion.

After a day of tests, and doctors and ultrasounds, every serious pregnancy-related disorder was eliminated (thankfully. I had no idea there were so many and that they were so serious) and the only conclusion we can come to is that I had (and passed) a little kidney stone. Which everyone says is more painful than labor, and if indeed that is what happened over the past 24 hours, I agree, wholeheartedly.

So, no baby yet, and thank goodness. Passing a stone and a baby at the same time would have pushed my pain threshold to an unbearable level. And tomorrow morning we wake up to the wedding day of my darling little brother, so another 24 hours of pregnancy would be nice. Please.

'Ah, nuts' says Finn.

I thought it might be a baby night, but everything was put on hold for this little chap. His virally-induced asthma kicked into full gear and we spent a few hours at the hospital getting his breathing under control and his oxygen levels up. We were successful, but it was kind of scary how quickly his breathing became challenged. I was very physically active today and having lots of painful Braxton Hicks contractions until it became clear that our firstborn was priority for the evening. Amazing how quickly my body shut down any signs of labor to accommodate our situation. 

Finn is fine and sleeping soundly, breathing normally for the first time all day   Tomorrow will be a better day!

Preschool!

Today was Finn's first day of his new preschool here on the Island. We came over last night so we were well-rested and ready for the big day. He was thrilled to be starting school and woke up extra early in anticipation. The preschool is a sweet little school in the teacher's house and there are about 8 or 9 kids in his class, mostly boys. The school is very open, with little 'academic' structure and a focus on art, play and friendships. It is only two days a week, in the mornings for a few hours, just enough time to give him a taste of school, but not too much to be overwhelming with all the other changes we have going on around here (new house, new baby, new location, new friends). 

happy sunday evening

Happy end-of-weekend! We had an incredibly productive weekend of cleaning up the garden, getting some house projects done, friends both near- and far, and lots of mischief. Such as finding hot pink lipstick somewhere and applying said lipstick to one's face while mother was otherwise occupied. Which I suppose is a glimpse into the future of mother-being-otherwise-occupied-with-a-new-baby, so I better get used to it.

Last night included lots of uncomfortable cramps, but not enough to be regular or productive enough to produce a baby. Hopefully tonight will be productive in the sleep department.

Post-birthday

For those of you who may not be on Facebook, here is my favorite shot from yesterday. We were on our way to Finn's preschool orientation (a walk down the road from Nana and Papa's, how wonderfully convenient) and Finn was feeling so excited and loving. He gave his sister a big birthday hug and kiss before bounding off the stairs and calling for us to catch up, guys!

As expected, Poppie ended the day 8x richer in baby dolls. And she loves each and every one. From the minute she woke up, she has been tending to her babies, periodically giving me one of the octuplets to hold and comfort. She now has a stroller, crib, some baby doll clothing and a myriad of coucous (pacifiers), bottles and blankets. She is in new mama heaven at the moment.

I am pleased that this new (real) baby doesn't have to share a birthday with a tragic event (9/11) or a sibling's birthday (9/12). With each passing day, I am more achey and feel closer to meeting him or her, but I don't think we are going to have the baby today. Happy Friday!

Happy 2nd Birthday Popps!

Poppie turned 2 today! She had a wonderful day, starting with a trip to the bakery for a cinnamon roll, a balloon in Winslow, taking Finn to his preschool orientation with Nana and Mama, walking home, a long nap, taking the ferry back to Seattle to celebrate with Daddy and having birthday dinner with Uncle Ben and Uncle Molly. 

The birthday was complete with a pineapple upside down cake that the kids made with Nana this morning. They were so proud of their cake and Finn asked for three slices and Poppie asked for more salmon. 

39 weeks

We went to the midwife's this morning and baby has dropped (engaged) and is in a great position for labor. Everything looks good and baby is measuring at 40 weeks, ready to go. I don't think it is going to happen for another week though.

It is a record-breaking hot day here in Seattle and the kids and I are heading to Bainbridge for the night. Nick is going to stay in the city and catch up on work and hopefully a little sleep, both of which have been interrupted by the mania of our life at the moment. Finn has a preschool orientation tomorrow morning on Bainbridge, and should we close on the house next week, he will start going there. Poppie is getting ready for her 2nd birthday, which is tomorrow. I have a feeling we are going to be 10+ baby-dolls richer by the end of the day, but they will be great when mama has an actual baby and Poppie can mimic mama's mothering. 

Finn's photo shoot

Finn borrowed my camera phone the other night and this is his first installation in 'A Natural Gallery of This Boy's Life'

My favorite one is the last one, of Poppie. She wouldn't smile for me, but Finn walks up and tells her to say 'cheese' and she happily complies.

Nick & Casi, married September 7th, 2013

Nick & Casi's wedding was absolutely stunning. In the setting, in its beautiful simplicity and mostly in the abundance of love between these two and the love that we all feel for them. Their union is one clearly destined by the universe and held aloft by the truest, most magical love. They are both old souls, and it is clear that this is not their first match with one another. Celebrating their wedding with them felt like a privilege.