As I near the end of my pregnancy and finally about to meet my little girl; I feel a little silly. No matter what I get done, I seem to stress about what more I want to do. And no matter how prepared I am I will still be overwhelmed with the change that is about to take place in my life. So I am now in my last few days trying to calm down, and relax and just enjoy it. So instead of making more freezer meals tonight; we had a picnic and went for a walk as a family. It was nice.
The last few months have been interesting in a lot of ways; despite my freaking out. One thing that has been enlightening though a bit difficult is figuring out that Nathan suffers from anxiety and depression, and has been for most of his life. Though it has been hard to face this issue; it has been eye opening. It has also in a way been a blessing for us. One, because we are starting to understand behaviors and thought processes Nathan has in a whole new light, and two; Nathan is able to use his feelings and discoveries about his depression in his comedy. As Nathan puts it, "I have depression, and its hilarious." The jokes he has been coming up with have been comedy gold and whats more they have been resonating with a lot of people.
Nathan has really been enjoying working on comedy. Over the last few months he has been taking a stand up class which has pushed him in a lot of ways and been helpful for him. He has a show coming up for his class that he is pretty excited about. He also did a show recently which I was able to attend. He did a really good job, and it was fun to see him perform and hear the laughter his jokes created.
Nathan at a class he took about being an emcee.
Nathan at the show I was able to see.
Nathan bought a mic to practice at home. Wrenn likes to talk in it too.
It has been a lot of fun seeing Nathan work on his stand up comedy; it really makes him happy. I also have enjoyed it because it has been something we have been able to work on together. We enjoy going over jokes and trying to find the perfect way to phrase and present them. It makes me feel like we're a comedy power duo, and it is a lot easier to understand/take part in conversations about comedy than about programming.
In other news Wrenn has been a lot of fun the last few months. It's like he is becoming a little boy right in front of our eyes. He has a lot of personality and is being able to express himself more. He is saying a lot more words, and some of his facial expressions are awesome. His favorite things to say right now are uh-oh, and clean up. He has a teddy bear, named Diego, that he adores, and he likes to have things orderly (putting cars in lines, putting things away etc.). He also is starting to do animal noises; his favorite ones are baaing like a sheep, mooing like a cow, and howling like a wolf. Oh and he loves dancing; anything with just a little bit of a beat gets him moving his body. We love the little bugger he makes us so happy.
Here are some photos :).
We took the side off of Wrenn's crib and now for naps the only way I can get him to take them is to; completely ignore him for 30 or so minutes, then scoop him up off the floor, and put him in his bed when he finally crashes.
Wrenn loves the yard and being outside. We bought him a water table at a garage sale which he has enjoyed on a few warm days. He also loves digging in the dirt and "helping" me plant things and take care of the flower beds.
We have been trying to do play dates and go on adventures as well. Its nice having a toddler to get a homebody like me out of the house.
Eating snacks with a friend is so much better than by yourself.
Selfie during toddler reading time at the library.
Exploring a fun new park with a friend.
Excitedly checking out the fish and other animals at Petco.
And crashing after an awesome day at the zoo.
We of course still do a lot of hanging out at home, because like I said I'm a bit of a homebody.
Wrenn loves painting and drawing; just like his mom. Here he is helping me paint bookshelves for his room.
Mommy and Wrenn selfie time!
Eating lunch. Diego is modeling a skirt I made for baby girl Tate.
My OCD child.
We have tried to get out and have some adventures as a family as well. There is so much to do around LA and we are just getting started.
We went and checked out the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Chinese Theater, and caught a glimpse of the Hollywood sign.
We also went and checked out the Los Angeles temple.
We went to the beach! Finally... haha. We took the time there to do some maternity shots and capture the baby belly in its full glory. We also tossed around a Frisbee; which I don't have pictures of, but I felt like a pretty impressive pregnant lady chasing after that flying disc.
Working my "curves".
Last Sunday we hiked up to the Griffith Observatory which has some beautiful views of LA. It was a pretty, although windy day. We went right after church, so I hiked up the hill in heels. So once again feeling like a pretty impressive pregnant lady. Unfortunately my efforts didn't induce labor.
Like I said there has been a lot going on and not that much the last few months, but we are doing well. There are struggles and blissfully happy moments, but all in all we feel extremely blessed and are grateful to go through life's adventures as a family.
To leave off this post here are pictures from our Valentines day. We enjoyed a dinner by the sea and then a couple weeks later a dinner that the Young Women in our ward put together.
We are having fun, and enjoying our LA home. Now we are waiting to meet our little girl and see how she fits in to our little, but growing, Tate clan. Love you all, and I'll be back with baby photos and birth stories soon, I
