Baby Bucket List

I've had the feeling lately that this baby is going to come early -- like before August early.  I can't remember if I had this same feeling with the girls (neither of them were early -- they were right on time, so if I did I would have been very wrong...).  I don't know if this "feeling" is wishful thinking, anxiety over NOT knowing when he is coming and NOT being able to plan everything out for his arrival, or true "mother's" intuition.  There certainly aren't any "hard" signs that his arrival is closer than four weeks away -- any symptoms that I've had are simply end of pregnancy symptoms that can signal birth is coming in days ... or weeks (and well, even my due date tells me that it's only weeks away!).  The girls have been a little more clingy and we've had some regression in the area of sleep (despite our early optimism) and there has been a LOT of "baby" play/talk of babies being born, etc with both of the girls becoming quite attached to specific baby dolls.  I often wonder if they are like animals and can "sense" the upcoming arrival of their little brother or if they are just feeding off of my energy as I get together last minute things for the baby.  Regardless of the origin of this feeling of not having much time left as a mother of two, it seems to have prompted me to increase the amount of activities with the girls. 

Despite being very pregnant and content to not do much at all during the days except laze around and study up on labor and birth, I also realize that "lazing around" all day does not work for preschoolers.  The girls are content to play for a couple of hours around the house, and Millie certainly enjoys staying in her pajamas as long as possible, but a completely unstructured day at home is just a recipe for disaster.  This past week we didn't have any scheduled activities, I didn't have any sewing projects to get done or parties to plan -- just lots of open time day after day.  By Wednesday, I knew I did not want to spend my last days of freedom with the girls breaking up arguments and disciplining behaviors caused by too much down time.  There are going to be plenty of days ahead (whether they are immediately ahead or a few weeks ahead) when it's going to be hard to spend time with the girls doing fun things.  They are going to be headed to school right after the baby comes and I'm sure it's going to take us all a while to fall into a routine that allows for time out of the house.  So, I guess I've kind of been going through a mental "bucket list" this week and trying to get through some fun activities with the girls before that time comes. We went to Faust Park on Wednesday for Olden Days, we went to a free showing of "The Chipmunks" at a local movie theater on Thursday, went to the zoo for a play date and to see the new sea lion exhibit on Friday, and went out to my parent's cabin with Scott this past weekend.   The girls now think I'm the most fun mom in the world :).  Hopefully they remember that when Little Peep makes his arrival! 

This week may not be quite as full of outings as the girls both have scheduled activities -- Millie is going to art camp  everyday in the mornings and Merrill is doing a trial week of school everyday, also in the mornings.  The girls are both excited about camp/school and I'm happy that I'll be able to spend a few hours in the mornings packing my bags and re-doing some of the home organization I did earlier in my pregnancy/nesting days.  Nesting early in pregnancy with two preschoolers in the house -- maybe not the most productive thing ...  Though taking a nap during those hours also sounds pretty nice!

Some pictures from our fun:

At the movies!  Merrill's first time at the theater.  She thought the movie was a little scary and ended up on my lap for the whole thing (though that was also because she couldn't hold the seat down with her body weight and I didn't think to ask for a booster ...).  She's at an age where any kind of suspense or "naughty" behavior is cause to be anxious/scared.  Millie seems to have moved passed that stage now.  She really enjoyed the movie and had LOTS of questions afterwards!

 At the zoo

 The girls and I made it to the zoo just in time for the last free carousel ride -- we were very excited!

feeding the sea lions

I think the heat got to Merrill

friends

at the cabin for time at the beach, a boat ride, and a concert

Concert at the Farmhouse -- the concert started at 7:30.  Merrill was ready to go back to the cabin before it even began ;)  She perked up eventually though.

Millie enjoyed dancing in the field

 Millie was very serious about her "moves" :)

So, anyone else want to make a prediction as to when Little Peep will make his appearance?  Early, on time, or (heaven forbid) late?