Big Brother To Be

Today is baby Clara's due date. No signs of her arrival today, though....James was born on his due date so I've been assuming she would have been born by now. So I'm trying to find the balance between walking a lot (to set things into motion?) and resting up for labor and delivery!
In the meantime I thought I'd put together a post of random pictures of the Big Brother To Be. James has been such a hoot lately. Mark and I find ourselves quoting him, too, because he's starting to say the cutest things! Two has been such a fun age so far!

I actually took this picture upside down, in the car, by randomly pointing the camera back there (while Mark was driving). Just thought it was a cute expression....

James is just starting to experiment with silly faces....this is definitely a suspicious look...

This is the latter part of a 'cheese' smile for a picture. Yes, he was eating Nutella on toast.

Last week I thought I'd have him 'help' me make pumpkin muffins. I figured it couldn't be too much of a disaster with only four ingredients (cake mix, water, pumpkin, chocolate chips). He loved pouring, stirring, and sampling. I also gave him the task of placing muffin papers in the cups....about three or four in, though, he started wadding them up, like the one above.

It turns out that I have three costumes James could wear this year. Until last Friday, he was terrified of all of them. Or at least terrified of wearing them. He liked seeing them quite a bit but simply refused to try one on. It was easiest to convince him to wear this one because he's seen a video of his cousin Jason wearing it. He's now worn it twice for an hour at a time! Looks like James will be Tigger this year. Funny thing is, he's never seen Winnie the Pooh!

We can't wait to see James love on his little sister. I don't doubt it will be an adjustment for him, but we know he'll adore her. He's been such a blessing to us, always keeping us on our toes! I just can't imagine our lives without James.

Favorite Fall Outings

Over the past two weekends we've enjoyed a few fall outings with James. We were really trying to squeeze them in before Clara's arrival because I LOVE fall traditions and would have been sad if we'd had to take rainchecks this year! :)

First, we went to a local Cider Mill for a weekend festival. While the events for kids weren't quite right for James, he was totally thrilled to climb on straw bales and a pumpkin mound for a while.

James also watched over and over as the apples were washed and processed to be turned into cider! The cider donuts were awfully tempting but the line was soooooo long that we opted for kettle corn instead!

The last time James was here he was only three or four weeks old!! A lot has changed since then!

Then we headed to a pumpkin patch this past weekend. Thought this big pig was pretty cute, but James was a little intimidated after he snorted once!

picking out our pumpkin...

James loved being on a 'real' farm!!

It was actually really toasty Saturday so we enjoyed cider slushes...they were really yummy!!

Won't be long before we add Clara to the family picture!! My due date is October 18th...we'll see if she decides to come early! I've tried to let her know she's welcome any time. :)

Clara's Nursery Complete!

Well, the nesting instinct has kicked in and I'm buzzing around, making lists, and sorting things, getting ready for our daughter's arrival. I'm so excited that it's October! Not only is it one of my favorite months, but our baby is due THIS MONTH! This picture was taken at 36 weeks. I am now 37 1/2 weeks, full term!

BEFORE: Here's our guest room as it stood at the beginning of August, right before we (Mark) started moving furniture around....Just about everything has moved to the basement, which is now one big guest room.

AFTER: Clara's nursery! It is SUCH a relief to have it pulled together at last. There are a few bits and pieces I'd like to change but most of the decor I've worked on for m-o-n-t-h-s is finished and finally hung up last night.

The duck-mirror-turned-girly-mirror...one of my favorite projects. I love the pink knobs.

These fabric pom-poms were totally time-consuming. I read on a blog that someone had made several for a party. A party!?! These need to be permanently hung and displayed, if you ask me. I spent hours cutting circles and then hours gluing circles. (not to mention hours trying to find two smaller paper lanterns...I ended up with one large lantern and two smaller foam balls). However, after all the work, I love the result. The next most tedious part of this project was deciding how I wanted them hung. Poor Mark. He was standing on a chair, moving them around, pulling them up and down for about 20 minutes before I could decide. What do you think?

I used a frame I picked up at Good Will and leftover quilt fabric to pull together a bow-holder. I've seen these on several blogs and really wanted to try it out. Now I'm itching to make more bows/clips!

Nothing too fancy here...I stenciled her name on some blocks that Mark cut out for me. Picking out the font took the longest amount of time....surprised? :)

My very first sewing project ever!! (since 7th or 8th grade) I picked up a stack of hand towels on clearance not long ago and wanted to use some of my mom's leftover fabric to make some girly burp cloths. I know, not necessary, but a lot of the ones I had already are decorated with cars and trucks and such. My mom very patiently taught me to use her old sewing machine! I'm hooked!

Fire Engines Abound!

As you can tell from recent posts, fire engines have been VERY popular with James at this age. A month ago, when my brother and his family were visiting, we happened upon a firetruck in the parking lot of a grocery store! Uncle Joel followed James around and let him check out everything.

This fireman was so kind, patiently showing James everything, letting him touch things, and even invited us to visit the local firehouse for a tour sometime!

As they pulled away, they gave James a big 'HONK!' He loved it.

Then, on James' actual birthday, we visited Uncle Chad at work. Chad is a firefighter at a different local station. James had never visited a fire station, but was pretty familiar with the concept from a video that we picked up at the library.

The ambulance has been newly intriguing to him....

fireman James

Chad helped Mark suit up in his own gear. Mark just couldn't believe how heavy, thick and hot it was!

James was a little nervous when Mark had the mask on, but felt better after it came off....
Thanks, Chad, for the tour!