Whatwhat?

So, I've been sitting on the news that my cousin (and fellow blogger) is pregnant for, like, at least a week. Once she announced it to her family this past weekend at her son's first birthday party, I was allowed to tell family members. But I didn't, because I wanted to know how far along she was. She was guessing about 15 weeks, and was excited that she might be all the way through her first trimester (because she was so sick with her son).

She called me yesterday with the results of her ultrasound.

Turns out she's SIX AND A HALF MONTHS PREGNANT.

Bet I can't tell the story like she can!

Full-term and feelin' it

I'm now 36 weeks pregnant... WOW.

When I got off the elevator at the mall yesterday, this little girl (accompanied by her younger sisters and mom), saw my stomach, her eyes widened, her mouth hung opened, and she gasped, "Oh my... oh wow... wow, look at that!!!!!!!!!" Gently, her mom said, "Yes - she has a baby in her tummy, just like Mommy did!" (Good save, Mom!)

I'm the kind of woman who carries ALL FRONT. So I often get that kind of response, especially when someone has only seen me from the back and then I turn around and they say, "WHOA - look at that baby!" I've definitely seen women who end up like actress Bridget Moynahan - she could have balanced a tray of coffee on her stomach in the last month of her pregnancy. I'm not at that point, but strangely, I still have a waist!

My sciatica is still acting up, but Colin has been so sweet and generally helpful - not that he doesn't sometimes still drive me crazy. I mean, he's only two-and-a-half years old! But if I'm sitting on the sofa, using the heating pad, he'll say, "You 'kay, Mommy? You 'kay? Here, Mommy. Warm and cozy." And he tucks a blanket around me. Nice!

Colin's vocabulary has exploded over the last month. He still applies some developmentally-appropriate phonological processes in his speech, which makes understanding him a bit of a challenge on occasion. Some of my favorites:

Nehkis: music
Tafa: pasta
Keenee: zucchini
Wawa: Kira (his aunt)
Nahnah: Naiya (our neighbor)

We've been prepping him for the birth of his baby sister. He tells people, "Baby sister in Mommy tummy. Baby sister move move move, Mommy back owie hurt. Baby sister seep in kib in Caudin woom." (Did you get that last part?)

Meanwhile, I'm glad to be on maternity leave! What a relief! And I'm milking it for all it's worth, because the doctor is "hedging her bets" that the baby is coming January 15-22, instead of January 26-ish. We'll see....

On a totally, completely different note: I just saw that People put out a "Gone Too Soon" edition that celebrates the lives of performers who died young (young-ish?). They had freakin' PAULA YATES in there - who is mostly famous for the more-famous men with whom she slept (Bob Geldof, Michael Hutchence), the weird names of her children (Fifi Trixibelle, Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily, and so on...), and the fact that she killed herself, rather than her career as a talk show host or whatever. And yet, may I add... NO JEFF BUCKLEY? Puhleeeeeze.

What I'm listening to right now: The sound of the football game on TV in the other room
I just: Talked to our friend Ben on the phone
Now I'm gonna: Do a little online browsing! (Shopping-wise.)

Countdown

Baby #2 is on the way!

And in no way do the stories coming out of my moms' group freak me out.

Most women are having their second kids with three pushes, while the nurse screams, "Don't push - the doctor isn't here! He's at Chevy's having taquitos and a margarita!"

We've had one get in the shower when her contractions started, only to deliver the baby in the tub with her husband.

We've had another deliver in her living room with her husband, her mother, her mother-in-law, and two firefighters. One firefighter kept telling her to get into the "proper birthing position, on your back," while she screamed, "That's not the proper birthing position!!!" So when her son shot out into the firefighter's hands, the baby immediately sprayed everyone in attendance with pee... including into the firefighter's mouth. Aw.

And yet, I'm still remaining positive. No pun intended.

Meanwhile, Colin has been practicing his counting and alphabet.

Colin, counting Cheerios: Two, fee, five, sick, seben, eight, nine, ten... eight, nine, X, Y, Z!

Colin, doing his alphabet puzzle: "R, T, double-oo, X, Y, Z!"

It's a start.