35.5 weeks (1 month from my due date!)

We're getting closer...

Side note: Livia was being particularly bad today. That sounds harsh, but it's true. She hit me, on purpose, in my stomach at one point. It didn't really hurt me, but apparently startled the baby quite a bit, because she. went. crazy! And that did kind of hurt. I reacted as though Livia had really hurt me though, so as to get the message across that we do NOT hit (and she never really does, which just goes to show how bad today was. She also bit me, which got her sent straight to bed), but at the same time it was kind of cool to feel the baby react. She kicks all the time, but somehow it just made her seem more like a real person to have her respond to something. Do you know what I mean? Anyway, it was just kind of cool. And it was weird to be upset with Livia's misbehavior and at the same exact time thrilled by this little baby inside me. Very conflicting emotions.

This and that

• I've become sufficiently large and uncomfortable enough to shop at Costco in pajama bottoms. And not even care.
• My daughter is obsessed with The Little Einsteins. All of her make believe play now includes events and characters from this show. To be honest though, I'm glad it's her favorite. She's learning all sorts of things about music, art, and geography, at least!
• Livia's vocabulary astounds me. I know that kids are programmed to soak up language, but it still catches me off guard when she uses words like "ominous," or when asked what she wants for dinner responds "no preference."
• Liv is also going through a bathroom humor phase. I'm hoping that since she's a girl this will be the LAST time she goes through this phase. It's not too bad...but when someone asked her the other day to say something funny she said "poo-poo!" and started giggling hysterically. Nice.
• Baby Baldwin is super active. I haven't even thought about doing kick counts with this pregnancy because she is always moving. Or at least it seems that way. It's gotten hard to write in my journal in bed, because I have it propped on my belly and she moves so much I can't keep the journal still!
• We are officially cursed when it comes to vacuums. The belt on our vacuum broke, and when I took it to a repair shop they estimated $70 to fix it. Since we've had to have this one fixed before, I'm thinking we should just buy a new one. If we do, it'll be our fourth in four years. In the meantime, our carpet isn't looking too hot (since, you know, it was when I went to vacuum it that I discovered it was broken...and that was a few days ago now. In a house where lots of children play. yikes.)

Lately

The other day Livia wanted to paint, and after finishing all her paintings began carefully "painting her nails." Funny girl. Ü Here I am at 7 months. I don't feel any bigger than I did at 6 months, but all my measurements are right on, so I must be growing! Last week I got an email from half-off San Francisco for $8 tickets to see Disney on Ice. They had a matinee performance on Friday, and since we had no plans I just went ahead and bought it on a whim. (I do wish I had known that parking was going to be $25 though. Does that seem excessive to anyone else??)
In any case, Livia was positively enthralled. She's only seen Beauty and the Beast and some Mickey Mouse shows, so she couldn't fully appreciate all the other characters and scenes, but she was still on the edge of her seat the entire time! It was a fun mother-daughter activity, and she's been talking about it ever since. Her favorite part was a scene from Fantastia, where all the brooms were skating across the ice.

Last weekend Livia got to stay with her cousin Ella while Chase and I spent Friday night and all of Saturday together, just the two of us. (Can you tell I'm trying to get in lots of fun activities and time with my current family before the new baby arrives and I become crazy??)

One of my favorite things to do is eat out at really nice restaurants. The only problem is, of course, that it's not easy for us to drop $200 on a single meal. But Chase really enjoys it too, so we decided that we can make it a once-a-year type of deal. And so that's what we did on Friday night! I always like to try something new at restaurants like this, because I figure if there's any chance of me liking something, it will be at a place where it's been prepared extremely well. I have never liked seafood, and my current quest is to find types of seafood that I can enjoy. I discovered on Friday that I do, in fact, like scallops! Shrimp however, is still a no-go. I've tried it nearly a dozen times now, in various preparations, and I just don't like it. I also gave veal sweetbreads a shot, and they were good, but probably not something I'd order again.

On Saturday we attempted to sleep in and both woke up between 6 and 7 a.m., as usual. Seriously? This was probably our last chance to sleep in for the next year or so! I was so annoyed with my internal alarm clock.

I dragged Chase to the Winchester Mystery House, which we both ended up finding rather interesting. The people who took the tour with us were almost more fascinating though. A few were so focused on the "haunted" aspect of the house, it was almost comical. The only picture we took all weekend was outside of the house.

The rest of the day was spent eating out, walking around, going to see a movie, buying some new books, and just generally enjoying each other's company. Livia had a blast with Ella, and is anxious to play with her again soon (which is good, since we'll be watching her on another weekend so they can have a weekend away, too!)