The big 3-0

We have made it to week 30, ladies and gents! Our baby will be born in 10 weeks, maybe earlier. (I don't accept the fact that it could be later. The kid will weigh 30 pounds if it stays in there longer than Jan. 27!) The third trimester is kind of uncomfortable. Back pain, leg cramps, trouble sleeping and this awful pulling in my lower abdomen, apparently caused by the little darling pushing on my ligaments. And I've never gone to the bathroom so much in my life. We keep joking that I should keep count, but then I wouldn't have time to do anything else. By New Year's, I expect to just move into the bathroom full time. Baby continues to amaze and amuse us with new tricks like sticking his/her butt (or maybe head?) out, making a hard lump appear on my stomach. Dear, darling Marcus Lane is now in charge of rubbing lotion on my legs, feet and abdomen every night, which is the closest thing to Heaven I can think of right now. Overall, we're both feeling pretty good. We got a LOT of gifts this week, about which we are SOOOO excited! Above, next to the picture of me in one of my new sweaters, you can see Marcus modeling our Boppy pillow. He really likes it when I take pictures of him.

The china cabinet is no more. The lovely and talented Daniel came over on Thursday and helped Marcus haul it to the curb. We threw a bunch of stuff away and put the rest in storage bins to go to Grandma Claudia's at Christmas. Neither of us can believe how much bigger the apartment looks with it out of here. Now we have room for the boxes containing the car seat, swing, pack n play, etc. After Christmas we'll put the bassinet together and prepare Baby's little area. There's even room for a wall hanging. ;) Last night, we went to Babies R Us and picked out a stroller. It was pretty comedic. They should post the instructions for how to fold those things up! Watching Marcus do "crash tests" to make sure the baby wouldn't fall out was my favorite part. We settled on the Maclaren Quest Sport, a sassy model in grey and green. That tidbit of information probably means about as much to you as it did to us 7 months ago. It's funny all the new things you learn with a little one on the way. My vocabulary now includes terms like "five-point harness," "one-hand fold," and "cradle cap."

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in NYC!! (I love Christmas, in case you hadn't noticed.) This week, we'll celebrate Thanksgiving with our NYC family, a tradition started 4 years ago. Kitty's mom, Sheryl, will get in on Tuesday from Michigan and the fun will begin then. Thursday will be a blast, as we all gather at Kitty's to cook, eat til we pop, then maybe play a little Uno. And I will win.

Today's my mom's birthday. Happy birthday, Mom! Wish I could be with you. We could eat chocolate. Your grandchild is doing the cha cha in your honor.