Pools and Showers

I would say the first part of the week had an animal theme to it. We went to Petco to get kitty litter which is of course like a mini excursion to a free zoo. Rhianwen loves it. Her life changing moment was when she got to see a ferret poop. Oh, the wonder. She talked about it at mealtimes for the next 3 days. "Poo poo, ferret!". If only Grandma Nanny Kim could have been there to keep up the conversation (we have this running joke with her that all conversations with her eventually lead to discussions about poop in some form.) Then we saw a bunny rabbit at the bottom of our deck steps eating some tasty grass/weeds. On Wednesday, we went to the Life Sciences Museum and saw owls, alligators, snakes, lemurs, various domestic animals etc. It was so great for Rhianwen to finally see a real owl b/c she hears them out in our woods all the time but hasn't seen one yet.

We also finally found a kiddie pool. We just wanted a boring hard plastic one that will hopefully last a while, be easy to clean, and won't require inflating/deflating. Rhianwen loves it and got in it for the first time on Saturday when Grandma Nanny Kim and Grandmama were here for Baby Alden's shower (it was a shower put on by my shepherding group at church so the only non-local invitees were the grandmas.) We were so glad they both could come! It's always fun to have them both together too, although I think Rhi was a little confused at the lack of the Grandpas.

Grandmama and Grandma Nanny Kim enjoying Rhianwen's pool fun.

The pink bathing suits with hearts and bows and skirt (no Thomas the Tank Engine) :)

Wally was the one who put Rhianwen's suit on, and being a man, he doesn't have much experience with swimsuit straps. He realized that crossing the straps in the back before he put it on was helpful but only after a first round of trial and error. I remember making the same mistake with my own bathing suits when I was young :) Funny. (Oh, and although we are under water restrictions to some extent, we actually aren't b/c we're outside the city and have well water. We still try to conserve though, and have been using rainwater for watering the garden etc.)

Baby Alden's baby shower was lots of fun. Although I have lots of pics, I decided to protect my friends from scrutiny, and am just putting pics of fat me and some decorations. So here's a semi good belly pic for those of you who have been curious.

The fun sheet cake that made everyone's lips and teeth blue...it's a must for a baby boy shower!

We also got to do a baby food tasting contest. It made me realize how babyies actually feel when we put that stuff in their mouth. I mean, I always tasted everything I gave to Rhi before feeding it to her (although we did probably 50/50 Gerber vs. mommy-made), but it's entirely different knowing what it is that you are putting in your mouth as opposed to trying it out with no clue to what it might be.

Once we got home with all the loot, Rhianwen enjoyed reopening all the gifts. Her favorite though was the clown bag with the squeaky nose that you can see in the background of the pic below. It's the first squeaky toy that actually is easy to make squeak unlike any of the infant toys we have that are close to impossible for anyone smaller than an adult to squeak.

Showing Grandmama a Winnie the Pooh bib.

Until Baby Alden comes, his Winnie the Pooh will have to serve as a fill-in in the new double umbrella stroller.

Rhianwen had a mixed time trying to roll that thing around the house. But she begged us to bring it outside for a spin too even though a thunderstorm was blowing in. We took a stroll around the cul-de-sac, and Wally said, "Well if the neighbors didn't know we're expecting, I guess they do now!" I think we'll really enjoy the stroller...it's nicer than just a cheap umbrella...taller, bigger wheels, canopy, cup holders, and side pouches for storage.

Some parting cutisms of Rhi's: We just have one changing table in Baby Alden's room now, so she gets changed in there too. Many times when we go in, she says, "Baby comes, have a nappy nap!" and points to the crib. She's also started kissing mommy's tummy, and at night when Wally prays "We pray that you will keep..." and Rhianwen finishes by saying, "Baby Alden safe in mommy's tummy". I'm also praying that they will really love each other throughout their lives!