Quality time

Jesse's had several very long days away from us this week, including a HOPE board meeting that will last much of the day today, so Josiah and I have been enjoying some one-on-one time. A week from now the baby will be here and everything will change, so it's been nice to have this special time together (although regrettably I have to admit that I'm exhausted and frequently in a lot of pain, so there's been more video watching than I'd prefer). Anyway, a few highlights...

On Monday we packed a picnic and spent the evening at a nearby park. Sorry, no photos. We ate our food perched inside the engine of a wooden train, pausing every few minutes to pretend to shovel more coal onto the fire and blow the whistle. Josiah kept stopping to say emphatically, and with a big smile, "Mommy, this is so nice!"

We stopped at a roadside farm stand the other afternoon and bought some great produce, including a tiny pumpkin Josiah wanted for his room. Here, later on, he's thoroughly enjoying our corn on the cob (he ate two complete ones). The best quote from this event? "Mommy, did you know I love corn on the cob? I love it. And Mommy, did you know I love you?" Josiah's nothing if not a sweetie, and a verbal one at that! :) As Jesse can affirm, rarely a meal goes by where he doesn't say, "Mommy, thank you for making this delicious dinner for us," or something to that effect.

We've been doing plenty of slow activities and projects, since chasing and crashing are 100% out of the question for me right now. He really enjoys painting. And a few days ago we made a paper chain with the right amount of links to remove one each day to count down to Baby Will's homecoming. That hasn't worked out quite as planned as Josiah won't let us damage his chain in any way!

This morning Josiah and I attended a sibling class at our hospital and had lots of fun. We learned all about babies, the special water bubble they live in, and where belly buttons come from. We practiced holding babies (dolls) the right way and putting on diapers. We even got to have a tour of the maternity ward and nursery, so we saw real babies plus found out where all of the cool big brother spots are -- including a playground! They took every child's photo; these get posted on a bulletin board in the maternity ward until the sibling goes to collect it at the time of birth in order to put in the baby's hospital bassinet. A snack and some art activities rounded out the morning. Josiah really enjoyed it!

Oh, and check out Josiah's new specs in the photos. It's the first time we've changed frame styles since we first had to choose a pair when he was 11 months old!