random thoughts and photos

I missed a hair-cutting appointment Saturday. Just completely blanked out. It was in my Filofax, but not on the big wall calendar, so maybe it was reasonable that I'd forget, but it felt like a pregnancy-brain thing to do. Now I can't get in until Jan. 5, but it's OK. I can get through the holiday season without a trim.

I'm 25 weeks pregnant now — about five and a half months — and I've really popped in the past week. (See photo ... and click here to see what I looked like when I was this far along with Daniel. I seem to be carrying this one less all-over-the-belly, or something; my bump is all in one place. Are you impressed that I'm still able to hold Daniel on my hip? So am I ... though it's getting harder.) I've been wearing last year's winter jacket so far, and zipping it up has been no problem ... until this weekend. Now it's a really tight squeeze. Fortunately, I had a maternity coat lying in waiting, and I've graduated to using it most of the time. It's actually even kind of cute — a brown, down-stuffed, Old Navy number that I found at a consignment store this fall for $30.

Mom and Dad gave us a membership to the Minnesota Children's Museum for Christmas, and I have to say, it's one of the best gifts ever. We got our membership cards Friday and took Daniel Saturday, and he had the best time — running around the "Habitot" room, pushing the button that makes the timberwolf howl sound, and sliding down the sloped, carpeted ramp. He hit paydirt in the Sesame Street room, though: computers. This boy adores computers with a single-minded fascination that makes him very persistent. I can't keep him away from ours at home, and he knows where to find all the computers at his school each week. He breaks away from me when I'm taking off his jacket and runs in to grab the mouse and turn the screen on. Today, Teacher Jill stood guard in the doorway to her computer room when she saw him coming! So ... at the Sesame Street exhibit, he had a field day with the interactive Elmo program. Not that he has a clue who Elmo is, which is fine with me. The Santa at the mall tried to tease a smile out of Daniel by waving an Elmo doll at him, but he got nothing.

Speaking of pictures with Santa, I did end up succumbing to that highly overpriced temptation this year at the Mall of America. It was a couple of weeks ago, when the weather first turned cold, and I hadn't been planning more than an escape from the freeze (and a chance to get out of the house) when I dressed Daniel in the casual (and, ugh, mismatched) outfit he's wearing. But the line was short, and Santa looked friendly, so I thought Daniel might enjoy the experience. As it happened, he refused to sit on Santa's lap for even a second. We did manage to get a cute picture, though, with him in the rocking chair and Santa cozying up behind him. Would you believe Daniel has no idea Santa is there? He's smiling because the photographer was waving a stuffed moose in the air behind the camera. Do I feel better having gotten this obligatory picture taken for posterity? I guess. :) It could be fun to do it every year and see how he changes from year to year. Besides, next year there will be two of them, and that could be cute ... unless we have to fit both of them into that rocking chair.