Pumpkin Patch

 Boy is it tricky to get Luke to smile AND look and the camera

 35 weeks

Preschool

We've been talking up preschool for months now and Luke has never really bought into it. By his first day he had resigned himself that it was inevitable. He had to go to preschool because it's what big boy's do. His school takes 3 and 4 year-olds so for some of the kids this was their second year. Alan took the day off of work to come with us.... that's the kind of dad he is (he hasn't missed a single Midwife appointment either). Luke was shy once we got there and curled up on my lap until the teacher came out to greet everyone. He got down and his teacher made a joke about his name which got him smiling.

That's all it took. He went with the rest of the kids, smiling and didn't look back or say good bye. Which is when I started loosing it. I felt a little lame since I was the only parent getting teary-eyed. I guess I'll blame it on pregnancy hormones.

We're now on our second week of school. Luke is excited to go and we're falling into a routine. His outgoing personality is now on full display and he says all on the 11 kids in class are his friends.

Big Brother Class

Wearing his big brother crown

I signed Luke up for a sibling class designed by Penny Simkin, a  famous birth educator. Luke has been saying he already a big brother for about a month now. He tells every kid he meets at the park and points to my belly. It seems to elevate his status in his mind, like having the latest toy.

Watching a video about what babies do.

 Putting clothes on the baby

The class covered birth and newborns. They changed the dolls diapers and swaddled them with blankets. His teacher read them a book about how hard it is to be patient with a new baby around. 

 Luke was VERY participatory, which was fun to watch. It's this first time we've seen him in a classroom setting. He is a ham and fearless in the group setting. His teacher noticed as well. She asked us to return to a class after the baby is born so Luke could tell then other kids what it was like to be a big brother. (Proud mama moment)

The Fair

Alpaca wood carving! Awesome.

Wood carving in action. Now that Alan has a chainsaw he's been joking about trying to carve creatures out of tree stumps... I'm pretty sure he's going to lose some fingers.

Bigfoot

There's a pretty impressive section in the botany area dedicated to carnivore plants.

 Waiting for mommy outside the bathroom

Petting a pig held by farmer John

Sheep... these two were very vocal

Baby goat... so cute

Cheese

Alpacas have the best hair cuts

Baby Alpaca

Feeding some pellets

It tickled

I told Luke he could go on two rides. He opted for the fun house and...

Carousel ride (which he was tall enough to go on by himself)

Moo

 Luke won this doggie playing some type of mechanical fishing game.

And here's me at 28 weeks or 7 months. I have a midwife appointment today and Luke has his 4 year well-child visit. As a side note, if you plan on being around the new baby before he's 6 months please consider getting your DTaP vaccine/booster. Whooping cough his serious business up here with our current epidemic going around.

6 Months

This was taken a few weeks ago. On Monday I will be 28 weeks (with only 12 to go!) . I'm feeling myself slow down. My weight, which I'm actually happy about since it has come on nice and steady, is starting to make me uncomfortable. My back and feet hurt by the end of most days. Getting is a good sleeping position is tricky and as soon as I do I have to pee.

Anywho... I'm pretty excited for Halloween this year. I always wanted to dress-up while pregnant. I only have a few requirements: no painting my belly and it should be slightly offensive or at least funny. These are my favorite ideas: 

Juno and Beaker... Alan loves wearing short-shorts and it would pretty easy to pull off.

 Cross dressing as trailer trash

Bloody zombie baby trying to escape the womb

Baseball

We need to work on his pitch :)

 Slightly terrified

Luke mostly rolled around in the grass during the game.

 Spinning so that he could turn into Super Luke

 Wa-wa

 My little man

Baby Essentials

There is soooo much baby crap available these days. Having been through Luke I know that much of it is unnecessary. What you need:

• Car Seat
• Clothes... everyone wants to get you the 0-3 months outfits since they are so tiny and cute but honestly... they don't get worn very much. Luke grew out of clothes every 2-3 months for the first year and then every 6 months (still does). Luckily he has a summer birthday and then Christmas so it has worked out.
• Baby carrier: I loved my sling especially when traveling or grocery shopping. Creepy, germy strangers are less likely to try and touch your baby when it's strapped to you plus it's nice to have your hands free.

• Someplace safe for baby to sleep- I had plans that Luke would sleep in his beautiful crib or sometimes in his bassinet in our room but in reality it was much easier (meaning more sleep for everyone) if he stayed in our bed. Eventually he was put to bed in his room and would wake up at some point and join us (still does). Before Luke, the idea bed sharing horrified me but it really has been the best solution for us. I imagine this baby will be the same... we need a bigger bed.
• Receiving blankets: Probably the most useful baby item there is. Besides keeping the baby warm, it worked as a nursing cover or to wipe up spit up. I did not leave the house without one.

• Diapers/wipes: duh. I'm going to give cloth diapering a chance. They are pretty cute and will probably save some money (but I don't think much as I was always able to find some sort of diaper deal). Plus it will save on a ton of waste. It really is amazing how many diapers you go through for just one baby.
• Bottles/ breast pump: Even though we breast feed 90% of the time, I did have to go back to work and leave Alan to fend for himself. We did a little bit of formula but not much which was fine with me. 

• Chair of some sort: we had a high chair that attached to a normal sized chair for Luke but it didn't last. Our kitchen/ dining area is tiny so I think we'll opt for a bumbo.

• Odds and ends: nail clippers, mittens(or socks on the hands), baby Tylenol/ motron, diaper cream, baby soap, lanolin cream (for me), nasal aspirator, pacifiers (Luke wouldn't take one even though we desperately tried) and a thermometer (I like the digital one). 

Optional items (in my option):

• Changing table: we used ours but I know lots of people that just changed the baby where ever they were. For use it was convenient to have all on the diaper supplies and clothes in one place.
• Swing- I wouldn't call this necessary but it was a goddsend when you have a screaming baby that isn't hungry or wet and your arms feel like they are going to fall off.
• Nursing pillow: I used my Boppy in the beginning but then mostly used it as a seat for Luke.
• Stroller: We had the fancy big stroller that came as part of our "travel system" with the car seat but it is so heavy and bulky that it barely got used. I did however use my cheapo umbrella stroller especially when traveling in airports.
• Toys: Babies are easily entertained. Everything is a toy... a cup, my necklace, cell phone. You don't need to spend a bunch of money on them. 
• Baby bath- You obviously need a safe place to wash the slippery baby but that could be the kitchen sink or a big plastic container of some sort. Don't waste a bunch of money on something.
• Diaper bag: any big bag will work, you don't need anything expensive. I carried around a change of clothes, diapers, wipes,a big ziploc bag for messy clothes and a receiving blanket.

Totally dump items:

• Diaper genie: we had one (I had given many to friends) but it was just another trash can than often was forgotten about (think moldy diapers). And the refills are pretty expensive. The diaper smell wasn't that bad to justify a special diaper trash can.
• Wipe warmer (another gift I gave pre-Luke)- it destroys wipes, drys them out and the last thing you want is a baby that can't have anything on it's bottom but a wipe at the perfect temp.
• Infant shoes: though I can't blame anyone for buying them... so cute.
• Exersaucer: This is just my option, but it takes up a ton of space and is pricey. My friends have jokingly called it the circle of neglect. If you already have a swing or baby chair of some sort why would you need this ugly thing? 

That's just my 2 cents. We have adopted the "whatever works" policy when it comes to parenting and don't begrudge anyone that has different needs or uses for these items.