Continued Pregnancy Has Its Upside

A craving for tart frozen yogurt by a still-pregnant Lara is not a bad deal for Mia, who happily serves as sidekick for a late afternoon snack.

An Elephant Seal, Toddler and a Princess Walk Into a Room...

... we're still working on a punchline, but in the interim, here are two Corey cuties who may or may not realize their numbers are to double in the near future. The Elephant Seal comes courtesy of the Marin Mammal Center, where we viewed some rehabbing seals en route to a French lunch. C'est bon.

Waiting Game

As we enter the last week of Project Baby #2, Otter and Mia have tired of waiting. With Grammy here on standby and Dad working from home in case something happens, we have a lot of navel gazing (quite literally) going on. We'll keep you posted!

Hola!

(A slightly creepy) Dora made an appearance at a birthday party today. Mia was all smiles, although that could be the enormous sugar rush of a giant piece of chocolate cake working its magic.

At a Snail's Pace

Lara is suddenly feeling very slow and sluggish, no doubt due in part to the lovely insomnia that cruelly takes over pregnant women just as they need the most sleep. But the show must go on and so after helping out on a class art project this morning, Mia and Mama headed to the Academy of Sciences. The weather has ranged from sunny to rainy to even hail-filled today and at the Academy, it turns out there was also snow, albeit of the pretend variety.

Back at home, the snail has now transformed to a couch potato.

She's Got The Whole World

Here's Mia, modeling one half of her Valentine's Day present from her fashion forward and very sweet Dad. Apparently, fancy frocks are meant to be used for chasing in the yard after large inflatable globes. Otter, also frolicking about, wonders where his dress up clothes are:

Theater Junkies

Mia and her go-to theater companion, Colton, enjoyed a production of Sleeping Beauty this morning (the second and third photos feature members of the cast, a cat and the bad witch). Forever enthralled by anything involving dancing actors and a stage, the two sat spellbound even when the rest of the audience seemed a bit restless. I can't wait until we take her to her first Broadway show, although her head might explode from the excitement.

One On One

Mia and I are trying to cram in some quality one-on-one time during the day before the baby arrives. Today after swimming, at her request, we went to Rainforest Cafe and walked around the dreaded tourist trap, Fisherman's Wharf. Speaking of swimming, Mia acquired her fourth "button" today, which means she has proven four of the six skills she needs to master before getting her white ribbon. So far, she can pick up rings from the floor at a six foot depth, tread water for at least a minute, swim without goggles, and today's accomplishment, swim across the very big swim class pool doing proper "up faces." She needs to conquer a dive into the deep end (hey- I even find that one scary!) and swim at least 16 feet on the bottom of the pool. Speaking as somebody who was pretty terrified of the water at her age and who couldn't do more than splash in the shallow end, I'm pretty proud of our little mermaid.

A Notable Quote

Perhaps one of my favorite Mia quotes ever was uttered last night over dinner. "I just want to play with you Mommy and the reason is simple: I love you." One to treasure, don't you think?

Today, Mia helped me pick out special hospital outfits. One for the baby to come home in (I figured Baby #2 has a lifetime of hand-me-downs to inherit, so let's give her a new one for her first venture out into the world) and one for Mia to wear when she comes to the hospital to meet Baby #2. I don't want to give anything away, but let's just say it involves butterflies and some serious ruffles.

Three weeks to my due date -- I am full term today. Let the official countdown begin...

It's The End of The World As We Know It

Well, it wasn't looking my days club hopping were returning any time soon, so why not go all the way? And by that I mean we've become minivan owners. My back and Mia (who loves the "magic" doors) are grateful for the change.

Graduating to Big Sister

Mia completed her "Sibling Celebration" class this morning at CPMC, the hospital where she made her debut over three years ago. The only girl among several boys, she learned how to put on a diaper, swaddle a baby (giving Mom and Dad a much-needed refresher), how to determine if a toy is too small for a baby and how to express her feelings about her little sister. We also got to visit a Recovery Room and see the nursery, where three little swaddled newborns were available for viewing. For her efforts, she was awarded a certificate and a pink "Big Sister" hat. Looks like Mia's ready for Baby Girl #2's arrival ... that makes one of us!

Friday Morning Snuggle

Before we headed off to swim class, Mia insisted Otter needed a few snuggles. He might not look like it, but he was wagging his tail on the inside.