Aunt Meg and Uncle Ryan

Aunt Meg and Uncle Ryan came to visit a couple of weeks ago. Besides from being incredibly useful to the adults (mopping, painting, etc.), they also lavished the love on Desmond.

It's fun watching Desmond's sense of humor develop. He made "jokes" all weekend about "Aunt Meggie-poo" or "Uncle Rynee-poo." He also started picking up on when other people were making jokes more quickly than he used to. All in all, it was a really fun weekend together.

Sword fighting.

Angry Birds meets real-life.

Fun at the playground.

Gussied up for a baby luncheon at Sweetwater.

Cutie

Just a few more days left of our mom-dad-Desmond trio.

Fall Leaves

No autumn would be complete without some leaf jumping.

Aunt Katie

Aunt Katie stayed with us for a while a couple of months ago as she worked on getting all the appropriate visas for her far-flung life. (Seriously, she will kick your butt at the Sporcle country quiz.)

One of the most fun parts of her stay (other than having someone to do all the bending involved in unloading the dishwasher - THANK YOU!) was watching her and Desmond hang out. Katie reintroduced the love of a dance party into our lives. She played endless games, read endless books (especially Frieght Train), and let Desmond hover as she developed her new blog , CulturTwined, and did other "boring" computer work. (Although now he will ask, "Can I pleeeease help do some boring work on the computer?")

I've come to realize that whether our family is physically near or far, our lives don't often afford us a chance to just live life with one another. It makes me cherish these moments all the more when Desmond (and soon-to-be little sister) get to see family.

A Confession

I've been hiding something from you. For the past three months, Desmond and my average wake-up time has been around 8:15am. I didn't sleep that late when I was a "working" woman! It started somewhere in July. Usually I would adjust our schedule and try to get him back up on a 7:30-ish wake-up time. (It makes the day flow a little easier.) But then I started thinking...

In three or four months now five weeks I will have a NEWBORN. I will not sleep well for a year. I will be so sleep deprived that when I do actually sleep, it will be so deeply and desparately that I might dislocate my shoulder. (This actually happened when Des was a baby.) Neither riches nor chocolates will compete with the thought of a full night's sleep.

I would be insane to willingly give up sleep now, just for the convenience of some self-imposed schedule. As the discomforts of third trimester pregnancy try to rob me of precious sleep, I am zealously embracing my late wake-ups and secretly wondering if Desmond's natural inclination to sleep late seals his fate to be an engineer. And parents of newborns, don't hate me. I'll be joining you soon.