Jack-O-Lanterns

Yesterday we had the neighbors over for our second annual pumpkin carving.  The girls loved it.  Sure, there was some distracted playing with the golf clubs and bowling balls, but they liked scooping out the seeds and drawing on the pumpkins.  The "big" girls, Ako and Miri (5ish) were able to use the little knife provided by these cute kits I got this time.  All 4 girls wanted cats, so we have three cat pumpkins in a row in our little neighborhood, but who cares, its for them, right?  We plan on going trick-or-treating on Monday.  Reina will be a fairy. We'll see how it turns out...its a costume I just happened to be able to put together with things she already had around, so we'll see how it comes together.

I'm almost 3 weeks away from D day!  Crazy.  I'm feeling really tired and seem to have quite a few contractions, as compared to my pregnancy with Reina.  This worries me a little, since delivering early is going to be a school-planning nightmare. I'm not quite sure what I can do about it though!  I have another appointment with the doctor when I'll be 38 weeks, which should be the week of the 4th.  Baby was head down last week when the doc checked with the ultrasound machine, and said, as usual, that all of my stats are normal.

Reina's First Haircut

After Chris and I both chopped off some hair this early fall, we decided it might be time to give Reina a trim.  We like her hair long, so we just took off a little on the bottom so it is straight across.  It sounds simple, but cutting Reina's hair was more of an ordeal than either of us expected.  At first she was excited, since both Mom and Dad had their hair cut....then she realized it involved scissors.  As soon as I pulled them out, after combing her hair she got quite upset and insisted on us NOT cutting her hair.  I think she thought it was going to hurt.  Finally, after much encouragement, and holding her blanket and Chris I got one small snip off.  After that, it was fine.  As a matter of fact, she wanted more hair cut after I was done.  Silly girl.

Our goya!

We are continuing to prepare for baby Kaiya.  Today we swapped out dressers, since Reina's dresser is much lower and perfect for diaper changing.  Reina has been great about all of these changes, but I've been sure to include her in the decisions.  Today she got to pick which drawer to put her panties and socks in, and even helped out with the transfer.  We also raised the crib back to its highest setting.  Aside from a couple of other small things, we're pretty much set.  I am trying to start Xmas shopping early, as I'll be swamped I fear, in the weeks approaching Christmas.  Two friends of mine have insisted on throwing a shower, so I've kept the guest list pretty small and we're just supposed to have a good time!  Its next weekend, and I admit I am honored that they have insisted, and a little excited!  

Go Kubasaki!

We've been to both Kubasaki v. Kadena football games this year, and Reina really enjoyed them.  At the first game, Reina started screaming when she saw the Kubasaki Dragon mascot.  I guess she still has a little bit of fear around dressed up people (hope she does ok for halloween!).  She got better throughout that game and then was ok for the next.  I think Reina most enjoyed the cheerleaders.  She has been dancing and mimicking them (including "go kubasaki" and "go dragons") whenever there is music on at home.

I had my 32 week visit with the doctor last week, and things are still very normal (weight gain, stomach size, heart rate, blood pressure, etc).  Kaiya is 7 weeks away from being born and is kicking up a storm in my tummy.  Reina is very excited about her, and even invited her to her birthday party.  I'm feeling pretty pregnant - hard to bend over, tired, back aches, etc.  But, as my mom reminded me, I need to enjoy this time, as I will never be pregnant again and will never get to have it be just the three of us.  Boy is Reina in for a surprise!