Seperation Anxiety Psht

Last Thursday Dave and Riley left me for a family reunion in Minnesota, not to return till Monday. I know. Crazy, right? I have never been apart from Riley, and almost never from Dave, but last year during the reunion I was too pregnant to travel then as well and I didn't want him to miss it again. Reunions are so important - I treasure every time I get together with my family. Besides, with my due date approaching I decided I could use a little time to relax and get baby stuff in order. As fun as Riley is, relaxation and order are not her specialties. Partying is, so a fun family gathering was just up her alley!
    So we parted for four days. Don and Suzette were great at updating me regularly with pictures and texts so I always knew she was having a great time. My mind at ease, I likewise had a great time: swimming, shopping, visiting with friends, going to the movies, hiking, water aerobics, garage sailing, and getting everything ready to go for when our son arrives in less than three weeks. I didn't sleep in or nap, except for once - it was a packed weekend! Keeping busy kept me from dwelling on my babies being gone, and when I started to do that I reminded myself to live in the present and appreciate all the many blessings of the moment, which I would like to be in the practice of doing always! And now: pictures. Assuming you haven't already skipped onto them...

 Riley had some good cousin time - she is so social, that one - always loves being with other kids.

 Glad to see her tolerating a life jacket. A girl's gotta keep safe,
even if it does make you look like a chub-scout :)

 Riley in a...baby canoe? That's hard core.

Golfing with Great grandparents

 Exploring the cabin. Don't you love sunhats? I kind of want one for me! But on a baby, aw so cute! I want to eat her!

I'm glad they got some quality Daddy-daughter bonding in. Riley gave me a nice cuddle and smiles when they got off the plane, but she definitely is more dependent on her dad now - keeps her eye on him and appeals to him with toys and books and what not. Which is ok I guess since my attention is about to be divided with a newborn.

And one from my weekend - I hit 37 weeks on Friday, full term now! I am having contractions, but not regularly - just enough to make me think, "Is this one actually coming on time??" I hope so! I'm feeling pretty good, but just excited to meet our son. And for my parents to come out. There is much to look forward to! Trying to live and enjoy the present still, though.

PS: don't count on milk expiration dates: we gave Riley spoiled milk last night that wasn't supposed to expire for another five days and realized it'd gone off after she drank most of it. She threw up four times between 2 and 4 am last night - it was the saddest thing I'd ever seen. Dave got the lovely task of changing her sheets and ours before I wised up and got her a bucket and sat on the floor rocking her. Don't worry - she's fine now. She was up at 6:15 wanting to play, and we went to the gym/daycare as usual, and now she is taking a looong nap. I think I shall join her.