This is how Kei kept Thomas occupied while I was out yesterday. Ok – this could be more Kei than Thomas. The Japanese characters in the middle say “Ishida” – and that right there is pretty much the extent of my knowledge of the Japanese language.

A couple of my good friends threw me a baby shower. It was very low key event – just seven of us – but a lot of fun. We basically sat around and shared birth stories which I realise might sound like a day in hell to some.

Seems the baby bug is going around – I have four close friends who are pregnant and about 5 who have had babies in the past 6 months. All but one are on their second child. It’s crazy! So this means a lot of baby showers, a lot of gifts and a lot of post-baby meal deliveries. Good thing I’m next because I am running out of meal ideas. 🙂

I got some lovely gifts for the baby and a VERY nice spa gift certificate for me. The best part – they have short-term childcare at the spa so I can go while I’m on maternity leave. Somehow I think I’ll need it. Part of me is looking forward to being in the hospital for a few days for a “break”. Is that bad?

Just four weeks to go…

Today was errand day. We started with a trip to the optometrist for Kei. Thomas and I kept ourselves occupied by visiting a children’s bookstore nearby. As soon as we walked in – a full display of books about dinosaurs and then a full display of books about Pirates. These people know their target audience. We even found a book about Pirate Dinosaurs – Genius!

Next up – Babies R Us and Seagals Baby store for a few essentials followed by a stop at Beaverton Bakery for a cannoli (yum!). I bought half an apple pie and then left it there. Unfortunately the apple pie craving I had at 11:00pm when we realized we had forgotten the pie did not justify the 30 minute drive back to pick it up. Sigh!

Then off to a hardware store to choose doorknobs and REI for new non-leeching stainless steel water bottles. Kei has been doing research and now we are afraid of all things plastic.

We got home at about 5pm and were pretty exhausted. I’m not sure how we found the energy to watch Into the Wild. The movie was close to three hours but very good. Kei and I both read the book a long time ago and it was interesting to see it brought to life. And also very depressing. Don’t want to spoil it for you but it doesn’t end well. Not the sort of movie you want to watch right before you go to bed. Speaking from experience.

Oh, and I put Thomas’ backpack through the dryer with a crayon in the pocket. Let’s just say that we now have one very crusty backpack. I feel terrible aout it because he loves that bag so I’m definitely going to have to buy him a new one.

So a very long, but productive day. And a VERY long post. Sorry about that.

A new friend. Kei’s work colleagues threw us a happy hour baby shower on Friday after work. It was really fun to get to know the people Kei works with and they were so generous with the gifts. The best part is that they bought a little package of presents for Thomas so he wouldn’t feel left out – VERY smart. His favourite? This little white dog which instantly became his best friend. I feel a little sorry for George though.

Time Out and time for a new strategy. The Time Out chair is no longer working – he likes looking around too much and spends most of his time looking at us, asking questions or laughing. This is Kei’s solution – standing facing the door with his hands behind his back (even the door can become a toy if you are allowed to touch it). Two minuted of this and Thomas is incredibly cooperative. Most of the time we don’t even get to Time Out stage. Just the threat of it is enough. How am I going to deal with it when Thomas finally works out that there is nothing holding him there and that he could just walk away. I am a little afraid.