Weekend Update: pictures, a movie and contractions

We had maternity portraits taken on Saturday morning. That was something fun that I wish we had done before Caleb was born, but we didn't. We were able to do it this time because I got a coupon for a free portrait session and free proofs when I bought my camera back in May. We decided to put the coupons to use and have these taken this weekend. I had forgotten how swollen my face would be in all of these pictures, but I guess that's just part of the "adventure" of pregnancy. We went in for our session and I asked the photographer to take some of all of us together, some of me by myself (which I hate doing), some of me with Rudy and some of me with Caleb. For some reason, she could not keep that straight in her mind and for some reason, she kept wanting to take close-ups. Not the point of maternity pictures, but dangit if some of them didn't turn out good. I really wanted these photos to be more about the expectation of Nola and really (oddly enough) focused on my belly - which was to remain covered at all times. But - since they were free and since some of them turned out really good, I'm not complaining. There are a few shots in the bunch that I will cherish forever and it's probably best that they didn't all turn out great or I would end up spending a lot of money on them that I'd rather save for Nola's baby pictures. Click HERE to see the whole set. Here are a few of my favorites:

And here's the one I didn't ask for. For whatever reason, the photographer insisted on taking some shots of just the boys and got this one that I will love and cherish forever. (I think she was playing on my hormones...)

After we took the pictures, we came home to change clothes. I had promised Caleb that if made good choices while we were taking the pictures, I would take him for a special treat Saturday afternoon. He was awesome during the portrait session, so I took him to lunch at the mall and to see The Princess and the Frog at the movie theater. We enjoyed our lunch together, rode the carousel in the food court and then went to the movie. It was a cute movie, but had the scary parts that come with every Disney movie and Caleb got a little bored after an hour. I came prepared with some candy in my purse, so I used that to bribe him to make it through the rest of the show. The music in the movie was wonderful - very heavy on New Orleans jazz and even some Zydeco mixed in there. The best part for me was watching Caleb dance to that Zydeco music!

When Caleb and I got home from the movie, he was obviously very tired. He threw a fit because I asked him to wipe his feet. I ended up putting him in his room for some quiet time and he fell asleep after crying for about 15 minutes about how mad he was. He slept for over 2 hours - until Rudy woke him up. I read for a little while, then fell asleep on the couch. I guess we were both worn out from the day's activities.

While we were gone to the movie, Rudy went over to his grandmother's house to learn how to make the bread that she makes. The starter for it is about 30 years old. He made it this afternoon here at home and - oh my goodness gracious - it is delicious!!!

Last night was pretty interesting around here. After dinner, I took Rudy up to the hospital parking lot so that we could take his Aunt Kathy's truck to her. (She had driven herself to the ER Saturday morning with kidney stones and Rudy drove her home Saturday afternoon.) On our way home from dropping off her truck, I started having contractions. At first, I didn't think much about it, but they were pretty strong, so I decided to start timing them. They weren't regular and they were anywhere from 15-25 minutes apart. That let me know that it was either going to be a long night or they were false labor contractions that were going to ease up eventually and then stop. I hung out on the couch all night and tried to do all of the things that you're supposed to do when you're trying to determine if you're having real labor or false labor. I finally decided to go to bed and see what the night would bring my way. I slept off and on, waking up with the stronger contractions. I woke up a few times drenched in sweat and a few times because I was freezing. (Pregnancy is just so much fun!) Rudy played his trumpet at church this morning, so I got up when he left to go to church. Caleb and I stayed home because I as completely worn out from the night's unrest. We had a lazy morning here at home and I didn't have any more contractions. When Rudy got home from church, we ate lunch and I went in to take a nap. I read for about 5 minutes before I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore. I then slept for about 3 hours. I slept so hard that I woke up and my muscles were actually sore! I've had a few contractions tonight, but nothing regular or repeated, so I'm not even keeping track. I go to see Dr. Ford on Tuesday and I'll let her know about last night. I'm sure she'll tell me it's all normal and to be expected (which I already know).

I go back to work tomorrow after being off for 3 weeks. I figure I'll be exhausted by 9AM. I have 4 conferences scheduled this week and I have to reschedule the 9 that I was supposed to have last week. Anybody think I can do 13 conferences, write all of my progress notes, test 2 kids, write 4 reports and see a full caseload of kids in my 37th week of pregnancy?

On a happier and much less daunting note, my mom is coming up on Wednesday to go to the shower that the SLP's are having for me. That should be fun!