I have lots of pictures to share this week, we’ve had a fabulous weekend of fun. Before I get to that, I have to share the link to the sneak peek of our maternity photo session with Justine. We absolutely LOVE these pictures! Check them out here. Thank you, Justine!

I’m now 35 weeks pregnant, baby girl weighs about 5.25 pounds and is about 18 inches long, about the size of a honeydew melon.  Her major organs are nearly complete and her liver is functional. I’m still feeling good, my hips are sore in the morning but other than that I’m very happy to not have any major aches and pains. Here’s this week’s belly photo:

We have had a weekend of fun! Yesterday Max and I went to a birthday party for three very special triplets who are turning one. There was pizza, cake, and rides and a farm to explore. Maxwell loved the cake, of course:

We rode a train, which was a huge hit. It went through a tunnel that was pitch black, and when we came out Max immediately said, “More!”

Ready to ride:

We rode with our friends Brent, Justine and Isabelle:

Max really liked the tractors:

We “drove” an antique car with our friends Collin and Jenn. Max was sitting too close to me to get a picture, but here’s Collin driving in the backseat. I think he’s a natural:

After our day of fun at the farm, today the celebration continued with a cupcake party with our friends Angel, Eric and Emmeline. Angel had purchased a discounted cupcake decorating session at Seattle’s Cupcake Royale, and we were lucky enough to be invited to join them. As you might guess, Max was thrilled to see a table full of cupcakes ready to be eaten. He helped put some frosting on and then focused most of his energy on eating. Emmeline was much cleaner about the whole process and enjoyed licking the frosting off her cupcake. Of course many pictures were taken:

This is the expression you get when you ask Emmeline to smile. I love it!

Here’s what the table looked like when we were through:

All cleaned off and cute as ever:

The kids giving each other a good-bye hug and kiss. So precious!

On the way home we decided to make a stop at Seattle institution Dick’s Drive In. Max enjoyed his first visit:

What a wonderful weekend together. I love spending time with my boys, and it will be so fun to spend time as a family of four before too long. My theory about Max either sleeping past 7:00am or taking a nap isn’t holding up these past few days…we’ve had three days in a row without a nap, including Friday when he woke up at 6:45. But we’re not giving up hope, and if nothing else he happily does “quiet time” (which involves a lot of talking and singing) in his crib for a good hour and change, so we’ll certainly keep that up.

We’re looking forward to the coming week, Oma and Opa arrive on Tuesday!

May is flying by! I am now 34 weeks pregnant and our baby girl weighs about 4.75 pounds, or about the size of a cantaloupe. Her nervous system and lungs are continuing to mature. Some wonderful friends of mine threw me a shower today, and we were blessed with lots of wonderful things for her. I can’t wait for her to wear all the cute clothes she got, I am lucky to have such generous friends. I have a feeling that the next six weeks (give or take) until her arrival are going to go by very quickly. Here is the belly picture from last week:

Max continues to be his amazing self. Jeff and I were commenting the other day about how cute everything he says is. Having gone through speech therapy, I am thrilled when we hear progress on word pronunciation, but at the same time there is a little part of me that sighs as he moves from saying things like “Sawbabies” to “Strawberries.” Lately he has been double-pluralizing things…”Shapes-es,” “Balls-es,” etc. We always say it the correct way in response, but it’s still really cute. He’s very good at saying “Excuse me” when he brushes by something, including inanimate objects…the other day at the park he said, “Scuse me, tree.” Max has added two new shapes to his repertoire–trapezoid and pentagon.

Some of you may be familiar with Mo Willems’ “Pigeon” books (“Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus” etc). We’ve been reading these to Max since he was a baby and a friend who is a children’s librarian introduced us to them. They are Maxwell’s current favorites and we read “Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late” on a daily basis. He can narrate most of the pages and is prone to exclaiming the line, “I’m not tired!” at random moments throughout the day, and often at bedtime as well. Speaking of bedtime, naps continue to be hit or miss at our house. I think I’ve determined that he either sleeps past 7am OR takes a nap, but not both. While I admit some jealousy at the three hour naps friends’ kids his age regularly take, I fully realize that we have been so lucky with his nighttime sleep, and I really hope he keeps that up!

I have a random assortment of pictures to share. First, I know Easter has come and gone, but a couple weeks ago I was putting away the Easter stuff and I got Max to wear the bunny ears for a few pictures. They are too cute not to share:

Checking out his reflection in an Easter egg:

Last weekend Max and Daddy put together a side table for the nursery:

And played with Play-Doh:

Max tried on Grandma’s shoes:

Friday our friends Oliver and Eva came over to play. Max needed a few reminders about sharing and taking turns, but what else is new when you’re two. We had a great time with them and Max has been talking about it every since.

Here’s Miss Eva, isn’t she just too cute?

Max and Ollie playing puzzles:

Last weekend when we were taking the weekly belly picture, Jeff got in on the action:

And then both my wonderful boys:

If you’re a regular Just a Minute Moore reader, you know that we are big fans of Justine Shelton, she of J. Shelton Photography. Well, Justine is doing a giveaway and dear readers, I would love to win! With a new baby on the way we will have lots of opportunities for photos in the coming months. Plus I would also win some really cool things from other mamas I know who make wonderful baby and kid items. If you too would like to enter, head on over here to check it out!

I sorted through some of Max’s old clothes last week. I didn’t cry, but these weren’t the teeny tiny newborn clothes, so all bets are off when I get to that bin. I did find myself feeling a little emotional though, looking back at things he wore a year or more ago and remembering those times. Now, I’m not one of those moms who bemoans how big her child is getting and longs for the days of babyhood. I loved the time when Maxwell was a little squishy newborn, but if it’s possible I love now even more. To interact with him, hear him talk, see him grow and learn new things, is priceless, and I wouldn’t rewind the clock if given the chance.

At the same time, it reminds me just how fast the time really is going by. I’ve heard this from several fellow moms and I think it’s so fitting:

The days are long, but the years are short.

It’s so true….when you’re stumbling through the worst of sleep deprivation and you hear a cry in the middle of the night when you swear you just fell asleep, or you remember at 9pm that you never brushed your teeth that day, the days are long. When you’re trying to make dinner and a tired, hungry toddler is clinging to your pant leg and asking you for the 847th time for something you’ve already said “no” to, the days are long. But oh, those months and years are so short. I was just pregnant with Max and here I am pregnant with another little one. My baby is a three foot tall little boy who speaks in sentences. Before we know it, he’ll be a teenager shrugging off our hugs and replying “Yeah” when we say “I love you.”

I don’t know how we got so lucky as to be blessed with Max, but believe me when I say we do not take it for granted. Sometimes I just want to fall to my knees in can’t-catch-my-breath gratitude that he’s ours. And while sometimes I wish I could freeze him right now, when he loves Mama snuggle and wants nothing more than to spend time with us, I also can’t wait to see what the coming years bring. And I will remind myself to treasure the baby times with our daughter, for they’ll be over before I know it.

I love you, Maxwell.