Two Monkeys: Nicholas & Joshua Read

Baby Nicholas and I were treated to a fantastic shower hosted by Jean yesterday afternoon filled with well wishes, delicious food, and great friends and family. It was wonderful to see everyone all in one spot and there were so many nice gifts that will set us up. Nicholas' wardrobe is definitely twice or even triple the size of Cam's! I think they'll be fighting for closet space. Here are some pics to highlight the event - thank you everyone who made it out as it was a fantastic time that I'll remember forever. I have lots of pictures that my papparazi mom captured - a lot of them are crooked because she was looking through the wrong hold for the viewfinder on the camera.

Cam and I were showered with so much fun tonight at a shower that Kirsten & Sue threw for us at Kirsten's new house. It was such a memorable night - surrounded by friends who came to wish us well, made us laugh and were so generous with so many gifts for baby Nicholas! I'm shocked that I didn't leave there going into labor from laughing as Dave kept me giggling the whole night. Cam showed off his bbq skills and cooked some yummy burgers on the grill. Kir did an awesome job with decorating her new place - loove the house!! Mark was fantastic as the baby whisperer, taking good care of little Liam so that Mary could enjoy some catch up time with friends. Cupcakes from Laura and Sue were amaaazing!!! Roberta - those cookies were delicious. Pam and Jason brought their little Livia - but I'm told that we can't formally set Nicholas up with her until she's 25 as there is a formal process that she'll have to go through.  The Laura's came out - miss you gals

Our friends Dave McDuff and Mark Morton shared their time with us last Saturday and took some maternity shots at our place and at a park nearby that turned out amazing. They were so patient - making sure that the lighting was right and smoothly gave us great suggestions for poses that were just 'us'. It was a wonderful experience and we now have captured some moments that will be remembered forever. When Nicholas is old enough to ask what life was like before he was born, we can show him some proof of moments captured in the belly before he entered our lives. Here are some of the pics from the photo shoot. Thanks again Dave and Mark for a wonderful gift of your time and talent! You can see more pics on my Facebook Profile - the ones Mark took are posted there. The ones below are from Dave's shots - the rest can be seen here:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcduffs/4001657686/in/set-72157622437617881/

Here are some pics of the baby's room so far. Slowly, but surely, we're getting things ready. Basically, we've dumped everything that we had in the room into the hallway for now - hahhaa. Grandpa Read graciously setup the drawer chest for Nicholas last week, so I've been able to pack away his little clothes. The crib has been moved into place and bedding has been all set.

Here's the growing belly at 32 weeks - I had my appointment with Dr. Farrell this week and he thinks that I should be expecting Nicholas to come out at about 7 1/2 to 8 pounds - eeeks! How is he really going to get out?? I definitely have had a growth spurt the last 4 weeks. His heart rate is perfect and the measurements are normal.

The time is flying by and I am reminded every day by certain changes that the time for the 'birth' is creeping up. In one part of my mind, I'm able to separate the thoughts of excruciating pain from my mind, and on the other side, I'm anxious to meet the little guy. The wonderful part is that he's coming soon and we're pretty much ready for him at this point. Some noticeable changes in the pregnancy have included the following: Breathlessness: Wow - who would have thought such a tiny baby could occupy so much real estate in my belly. I feel more breathless, which is expected in the 3rd trimester, more and more each day. I have to breathe deeper just to feel that I got a good breath in, and have to not talk as much - as that causes me to pant a bit more. I find that when I get excited on a topic gets me breathless as well. Happy as can be: I read a lot about women getting emotional during pregnancy, which has to some extent affected me - especially when I s

My weekly Friday treats have been a nice shawarma with garlic and sweet sauce at Andalo's after my pregnancy massage, followed by a decaf Americano at Starbucks. The guy at Andalo's found out last week that I was having a boy, and when I ordered my chicken shawarma today - he told his worker to make it a double. Holy Cow! I don't think I looked that hungry, but sure - I'll eat it! It was double the size of a normal one, and by the time I was ready to eat it, I wolfed down the entire thing no problem! I never thought having a big belly warranted men serving me a super sized shawarma! I wasn't even hungry for dinner tonight as it filled me up for the whole day. I still went for my coffee and even got a chocolate chip banana bread dessert.