We wait with excitement as well as trepidation. This is about to make life different. Different is often good, but not without struggle. Again we revisit the old questions from two years ago when Claire was born: Are we up for this? How will we handle the unexpected? What if he's not healthy? But there are also new questions: How will Claire handle the transition? Can we negotiate our daily routine with an added child? Will we be able to split our attention without causing major birth-order complexes? How will we survive when we can't sleep every time Jude sleeps?!
Of course, all of these things will work themselves out. Most of the time we are ready, confident, expectant.
While we wait, we have been busy. The house is all ready for Jude's birth, and we have moved on to enjoying the little fall rituals available. We have been going to Disneyland regularly while we still can. This weekend we also took Claire to a pumpkin patch. I had a coupon for a free pony ride (they're close to $10 if you have to pay, like a sucker!) I was a little interested to see how she would handle it. They don't let a parent walk with the rider. We had to hand her over to some teenage worker who put her on the pony and then took her around the pen while we waited on the other side of a fence. Of course, the giant animal, the stranger, the separation from Mom and Dad, the new experience; it didn't phase Claire at all! She waved as she passed us each time and grinned through the entire ride!
I'll leave you with the pictures of our recent exploits. The next post will most likely be more newsworthy!
