Waiting

I have been feeling every one of my 39 weeks of pregnancy these past few days, and keep expecting baby girl to make her appearance.  After a doctor's appointment on Thursday during which my OB told me to expect the baby to come in the next day or two, Matt and I have been on high alert.  Despite lots of cramping, exhaustion, and general discomfort, the baby is staying put.  She is taking after her big brother already.  Peggy arrives on Wednesday, and while most of me wants the baby to wait until she arrives, a growing part of me is ready to get this baby out and meet her already!  We're getting very excited. The doctor saying that she thought the baby was already bigger than Grady when he was born (he was over 8 pounds) also has me somewhat anxious for her arrival!

We've been having fun with Grady despite the aforementioned end of pregnancy aches and pains.  We've been spending quite a lot of time at the playground.  Grady has become quite the slide master.  Although he gets a bit nervous when older kids are around, he soldiers through and is always quite proud of himself to make it to the slide and then get back down to the bottom.

He's become pretty obsessed with basketball too.  He has been playing "basketball" at home - which, much like football, involves falling down on the floor and rolling around.  At the local elementary school, they have a basketball net and often there are kids there playing.  Grady is usually content to watch (although occasionally asks Daddy or me if he can "hold it the ball").  But last weekend there was an abandoned ball that he got to use for some practice shots.

He never got much more air than in the picture above, but he's working on it!

Last weekend we also got to make a special trip to the Convention Center for their model train extravaganza.  Grady was enthralled.

The highlight, though, was a little Thomas the Train that made a circle around a small portion of the exhibit hall.  It was just for kids, no parents allowed.  I prepped Grady about how he was going to have to be on it by himself, and was pretty nervous about how he'd do on the 60 second or so train ride.  I shouldn't have been worried about our independent little boy.  He was the last one off the train both times, and made quite a fuss about having to get off "his" train.

Grady has also been getting a big kick out of his newly rediscovered tricycle.  When we first received it at the end of the summer, Grady's feet didn't touch the ground.  They do now, and he has been having a blast scooting along the sidewalks with Daddy.

Grady has been doing lots of pretending lately.  He loves to offer me to "have a donut?" from his dump truck, and then when I say "yes please!" he runs away yelling "No!"  Yesterday his animals started eating the donuts from his dump truck, which resulted in them all getting time outs.  He'll take them one by one into the other room, saying "OH tiger!" or "OH goat!" or whoever has been bad.  Here they are, resting.  I love how he puts them all down to rest on their tummies, which is how Grady likes to sleep.
 

Also sticking with Grady still is seeing the snakes hiding in the tree at the desert museum in Tucson over Christmas.  Here he is at the playground today reenacting that one.

And one last shot, which just makes me smile.  Grady reading at the local bookstore.

So studious!

I'm hoping the next post will be to announce the new baby's arrival!