9 months

Since we last checked in, not much has changed.  I'm slightly more miserable, as to be expected.  Gunnar is getting more and more excited for baby brother.  He likes to give him kisses, and says "I love you".  Although I think he is becoming more and more aware that there will eventually be an end to baby brother's existence in my belly.  When we talk about baby brother coming, he now gets very concerned, and responds with, "Mommy I don't want you to break".

Yeah, me neither kid!  But seriously, isn't that sweet?  I love that little man.

And here we are, in our latest (and hopefully last) photo shoot:

Also, you may notice our sign says 9 months, and no, today is not my due date.  I still have a long 4 weeks to go.  How does that work you ask?  Well, because it's a dirty rotten lie when they tell you you're pregnant for 9 months.  You're pregnant for 40 weeks, which works out to be 10 months.  It was probably a man that came up with the "9 month" gestational standard.

This past month was also exciting because Gunnar started swimming lessons!  He goes twice a week, and he absolutely loves it.  He's very good at floating on his back, and kicking with his kick board.  He also "duck dives" under the water to get toys that are on the bottom… very impressive!  We got him a pair of goggles, but he prefers to go "au naturel".    

Which brings me to the next fun thing… He also started French lessons!  His school offers them on a day of the week he doesn't usually go, but we are still invited to attend the lesson.  It's especially fun for me because I get to see him in "school mode" where he sits with his legs crossed, hands in his lap, and actually pays attention!  The teacher sings a song about the French flag at every class, and he's remembered it and sings it on our walk all the way to and from the lesson.  He knows some colors, and numbers, and the difference between petit and grand.  We are working on animals, and she talks about a new one in every lesson.  As a self-proclaimed francophile, who took French for 10 years, it makes my heart melt!

8 months

So this past weekend we hit the 8 month mark.  It was an exciting month, full of mini holidays to make Gunnar feel special.  We took him to the zoo, to see a new exhibit, with one of his new favorite animals, the alligator snapping turtle (thanks to his new favorite show - Turtle Man).  We also went down to Gold Coast for the very first time.  And although it was quite rainy, we still managed to get a little beach time.  And then it was on to Wet 'n Wild water park.  We spent two, soaking wet days there, and Gunnar loved every minute of it.  By the time we were finished, he had lost any fear of the water he may have previously had.  He was going down every slide, by himself, standing under high pressure showers, putting his head under water to swim under "obstacles", and running into the wave pool to get pulled around by the waves.  While I wasn't a fan of being in a bathing suit at my size, it was all worth it to see the joy on his face.  Our tickets are good until the end of February, so I think we may have to take another trip down there.

We also took Gunnar on his first camping trip, which included his first real lessons in fishing.  He even caught the first fish of the trip!  And he caught 2 in all, and if you ask him how big they were, he'll throw his arms out as wide as they can go.  Typical fisherman.  We also got to see lots of wild kangaroos.  And since we went over the 2 hottest days this summer, there were lots of them jumping into the lake to cool off!

This month also marked an achievement for Patrick.  When I was pregnant with Gunnar, he deployed when I was 30 weeks and 4 days.  And it's nice to have passed that mark and still have him around.  I honored the momentous occasion by making my one and only ridiculous pregnancy request when I hit 30 weeks and 5 days.  It was about 7:30 at night, Gunnar was asleep, and I suddenly needed a banana smoothie.  Where we live, things tend to shut down around 5, so the time in and of itself was a challenge.  But I remembered a cafe down the road that made smoothies, and they were also open late for dinner.  So I asked Pat if he would go get me, not 1, but 2.  When he got home, I asked if he told them it was for his crazy, pregnant wife.  He said he most definitely did.  Who cares, because they were delicious!  Thank you, honey.  But I'm pretty sure if you can get out of 2 pregnancies with only that 1 silly request, you're doing alright!

And last, but CERTAINLY not least… Gunnar start Junior Kindy.  And he started scooting to school.