Week 38: A little click, a little crack

This week has been a busy one! It included a baby party in my classroom, where the majority of my students think I am having a girl. They offered name suggestions and ideas of when the baby will be born, what it will weigh, etc. I just have to say, it’s a good thing second graders aren’t in charge of births because I’m fairly certain I don’t want to give birth to a four inch baby nor to a 25 pound baby. One student is so confident I’m having a girl and will name her Sophia that every time he leaves the classroom he now pats my stomach and says, “Goodbye, Sophia!” Adorable.
I also made two additional visits to my wonderful chiropractor (though, truth be told, I think I’d be in even better shape if I had made the effort to go three times). Between the visits there and the stretches recommended by some of my yoga-going colleagues, my backside is feeling better, even though you wouldn’t know it based on my gait.
I think my sister was embarrassed to be seen walking around Target with me last night because she suggested—on multiple occasions—that I just ride around in a scooter. Apparently that’s less embarrassing. I feel the worst in the middle of the night when I have to get up once, twice or three times to pee and have to sit on the edge of the bed for a moment while I gear myself up to take the three steps into the bathroom. But—I hope you will be thrilled to know—I was able to walk up the stairs with a semblance of normalcy the other night. Praise the Lord! The other excitement in my world this week was getting maternity photos taken. One of my sorority sisters reached out to me last week and asked if I would be willing to let her take photos for her burgeoning photography business. It is something I’ve been meaning to do during this pregnancy anyway (and I didn’t think handing my husband my iPhone and saying, “Just take some pictures of my tummy,” was fair to Baby P.), so I gladly accepted! We had planned to take some photos outside, but the always unpredictable Nebraska weather came with a cold wind. So, we ended up taking photos at our house instead.
God bless photographers who work with small children and animals. You would’ve thought our dog was a model, the way he continued to step into the shot and plant himself in front of me. And Olivia, sweet darling girl, refused to smile until the very end of the photo session. Luckily, our photographer brought along Starburst jellybeans, and Olivia, being her mother’s daughter, thoroughly enjoyed her first, second, and tenth tastes of them. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to freeze these moments in time and am looking forward to showing the pictures to Baby P. someday. Especially the ones where Olivia is kissing Mommy’s tummy. Too precious for words.