week 31 - coconut

Hazelnut is now the size of a coconut! Well, at least this PARTICULAR coconut which just HAPPENS to weigh exactly 3.5lbs (trust me... I checked). We took this photo in Edmonton at Uncle Sid & Auntie Marge’s (Dan’s parents) house. I’m pretending to drink the coconut milk whilst coconut aroma assailed our senses (as Auntie Marge was coinkidinkally toasting coconut at the same time). I've also been liberally treating myself to mocha coconut frappaccinos, so coconut has very much been a theme in my life!

According to my sources, all 5 of Hazelnut’s senses are now in working order. FUN! Also, my uterus is starting to suffocate me a little bit (as- surprise surprise- it's still growing). After climbing 2 stairs (not 2 FLIGHTS of stairs... just 2 individual stairs), I find myself clinging to the wall for support as I huff and puff in an attempt to catch my breath and regain my composure.

Now the list.

1. DAILY I receive comments about how large I am and how crazy it is that I still have 9 weeks to go. The other day a man asked me how many DAYS I had left, then he just about fell off his bike when I told him I had almost 10 weeks to go. “Good luck with that!” he called as he biked across the street.

I DO feel large, and I DO feel quite like a house. Lowell so eloquently assured me, however, that I AM a house… for our little Hazelnut! That guy really does have a way with words, doesn’t he?! It's a gift.

2. Glass after glass (or jug after jug) of cold, cold, ICE cold refreshing milk. That’s where it’s at. And, of course, popsicles. And just plain ice.

3. This week we attended the most intense half birthday party ever to be thrown on earth. We sang half of 'half-ty birthday', there was half of an extremely impressive cake, and there was a 'half' themed quiz where the winner got half of his meal paid for by having HALF of the answers correct (that was Lowell by the way). I feel shamed that in all our years of celebrating half birthdays (as we grew up celebrating such things), the most creativity I've mustered up is to make a cake. And not even half a cake. I think it's time we pick it up a notch. Thank you, Joelle, for the inspiration (and the great party!)!

4. Hazelnut attended his second wedding (although it was the first wedding attended by INVITATION as his mama crashed a wedding in June… but that’s another story for another day). My cousin Ben married the lovely Katie (and my Uncle Morris officiated)...

The bathroom signs at the reception were rather amusing. I think the creator of these symbols was a leetle optimistic about proportions. One might be hard-pressed to find clothing that fits...

It was great to see my wonderful G relations again, and see how big my little cousins are getting. Much more G family fun to come this next week… FAMILY REUNION!!! In SOUTH DAKOTA!

5. Hazelnut witnessed his Dad start and finish a half marathon! Lowell ran 'the Moose is Loose' which goes through Edmonton's beautiful river valley. He finished in an hour and 49 minutes... GO LOWELL!! Zabu also did the half marathon and Ruth did the 10km. I sat on a curb.

Here he is about to start. "Good gracious what have I gotten myself into..."

In the following picture, Lowell's about to cross the finish line as I'm jumping up and down yelling "He's the father of my child!!" (Kidding kidding... I would never do that... but I wanted to).

All done!

And he scored a fabulous (and free!) massage out of the deal...

Yeay Zab & Ruth!

6. My left side has taken a bit of a beating, and it feels AND looks like that of a 95-year old. There are the veins that we all know and love, I am regularly getting nasty Charlie horses which keep my calf in a continual state of soreness, and I’m pretty sure my left hip-bum has fallen out of its socket. (Good thing I like 95-year olds.)

7. Baby hiccups are CUTE! And Lowell got to feel them for 5 solid minutes (in fact, he was the one to point out to me that they were probably hiccups. I had felt them before but just didn't know it.)

8. Profile shot sans arms...