This past weekend, we went to Kenwood winery for a wedding. The weather was perfect for an outdoors ceremony and reception. It was nice to see how well the children from both families got along (together, the couple has 4 kids.) And James got to socialize with some of his high school/college friends.
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Congratulations Radford and Danielle! 
James’ dad babysat Zachary while we attended the wedding – and of course, Zachary had a great time with all the model trains.
During the week, I’ve been taking Zachary to some free trial gym classes. I want to take him to class once a week when baby #2 is a few months old. The nice thing is that since Zachary is already 4 yrs old, he can take classes by himself, so I can watch him from the parents’ bench area while holding/nursing #2. Trial class recap:
Tricks swimming: 4-5 yr old beginners class. There were only 2 kids in the class, so I felt each child received a lot of attention … almost like private lessons. The room was kept at a steamy 93 degrees (too hot unless you’re in the pool), so in the future I would just wait outside. On the positive side, Zachary would be able to take classes in the winter. I wasn’t sure Zachary liked it because a few times he had trouble listening to directions, but at the end he told me,”I like swimming SO much” and the instructor thought he did fine. This is probably our top choice despite being the most expensive ($69 for 4 classes.) I still have this dream that Zachary will learn to swim, then sail, and one day be able to charter a yacht when James and I retire.
Tricks gymnastics: Another 4-5 yr old class. The teacher was very encouraging, and Zachary really enjoyed the obstacle course. This is also one of my top choices. We’ve done the free trial class, and I also paid $15 for an hour of open gym. Even during the open gym, there were instructors to lead and help guide the kids. Both times, Zachary seemed to really enjoy it.
Tricks ballet: Disaster! Class was for 4-5 yr olds and there were 3 girls plus Zachary. Zachary would not do any ballet moves and at a low point, licked the mirror. After 30 minutes into the class, he was walked out by the instructor since he was disruptive and clearly not disciplined enough.
Little Gym sports gymnastics: Little Gym is a bit further of a drive from our home, and the age range for this class was 3-6 yrs old. There were more kids per class, so there were times I felt Zachary was lost in the crowd. The older kids in the class tended to have more fun and dominate the activities. The biggest issue for us though, is that the classes are in semesters and you commit for 20 weeks at a time.
But it’s not all about Zachary … this Tuesday, I treated myself to a spa day with my friends. It was great! We ate lunch in poolside cabanas, swam, and relaxed with spa treatments. I feel lucky that we can do this on a pretty regular basis. And I can’t wait until I partake in more/longer treatments!
On Sunday, right after getting back from the wedding, we went berry picking with a group of friends. We had a potluck picnic in the shade and then picked berries for dessert. The fresh berries were delicious – yum!- but the actual picking of the berries gave me an appreciation for supermarkets. It was pretty hot and dusty, although I probably would have fared better if I weren’t only a few weeks from my due date!
My other weekly activity with Zachary is taking him to the local library. Each week, we pick out a few books and DVDs and play on the computer for 30-60 minutes. Once again, I think nature wins over nurture. I try to encourage imagination and creativity, but Zachary is a huge fan of non-fiction books and videos. His shows remind me of school videos – the ones were the teacher turns off the lights and I fight to stay awake. Yesterday, he watched an experiment involving the growth of brine shrimp in various concentrations of salt water.
And can you tell? I got a haircut! I went back to Hoshalls and got at least 5 inches chopped off. My hair was just getting too long/heavy for this heat. I usually get my hair cut once a year in the fall/winter, but thought it would be way easier to do it now.
38 weeks! Baby has dropped. Weight is 175lbs (up 1 lb from the previous appointment for a total weight gain of 32lbs.) Baby’s heartrate was in the 140s. I’m 1.5 cm dilated and 50% effaced. My mom is coming up next week (7/22) and the doctor seems to think the baby will stay in until then! I hope! I’m pretty tired – in the best case scenario, I “only” get up 3x at night … 2am, 4am, and 6am. In the worse case, I hardly sleep at all. 
Off to take a nap …
I’m still 50% effaced and between 1-2 cm dilated … so no progress from last week. Baby’s heartrate was in the 130s.
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