rare

These family friends that just left us earlier this morning, on a train headed north, what we have with them is just....... rare.  Rare in a wonderful way. 

Honestly, we don't see them all that much.  We don't keep up that well when we are apart.  The last time we were together was when Isaac was born!  But the way our families gel and mesh and match is just ..... rare. 

Matt and Matt (yes, two husband/daddy Matts) were friends in college and have much shared Asia history.  I could talk to Jill for hours.  The kids, well you would think we'd been neighbors for years.  Their Marian and our Julianna were both in tears during the departure this morning.  We adults all got a little teary too. 

Jill is such a fun photographer, so grateful for the many photos she took...... some of her shots capture just a bit of our fellowship.


The older six watching pandas.  Their sweet little Vivi was safe and snug in the carrier and one of our dreamed-of additions squirming in my belly.... We managed to attract a lot of attention just about everywhere we went :) 

I kind of like to call the below shot "the rehearsal dinner slide show photo" - we wondered together how many of these dreamed-of matches end up reality.  Honestly, if any two have a chance of tying the knot it might be these.... they were buddies the entire time (Julianna specifically asks to sit with Isaiah) and are so delightfully unaware that friendship with someone of the opposite sex is anything more than a whole lot of fun. 

These girlies slept 1 - 2 - 3 in a row at night, and played played played all. day. long. 

Think anyone in this photo is having fun?  There is a game of Go Fish! hidden behind all those busy hands and bodies. 

Oh the joy of having another set of parents to share the love (and cuddles, and work!) of our combined children! 

Red Light, Green Light. Marian calling the 'lights', a teeny look at sweet Vivi's head in the carrier with Matt and my Matt speed walking alongside the troops.  Despite the fact that Isaac's size and age disadvantage make him a guaranteed looser he LOVES this game and plays with abandon. 

Today was back to reality.  It was actually less of a crash and burn than I anticipated (feared?).  Isaac did comment at lunch "there are only four people at the table, who will sit in the rest of the chairs?" and after loads of Daddy-time over the past ten days he suffered the worst of the Matt-withdrawal. 

I was pretty tired myself today too - too much fun, I guess?!?!?!  This baby feels like it is squeezed into every spare corner of my womb with not one inch to spare.  Were they all like this? I don't think so.  Now solidly into the third trimester I see the doctor monthly and my next appointment is (hopefully) Monday. 

I'll be curious to hear his eval on the baby's position.  This one is very bouncy and jumpy, just like Lydia was and she did her infamous turn out of the breech position at 38 weeks.  I'll be glad to hear that this one is head down and hope he/she stays that way.  I am quite positive that baby's been back and forth from breech to vertex recently but it seems that in the past few days baby's settled head down.... but that's just my (very) uneducated conclusion.  At 32 weeks it's nothing to worry about, I know, but I am not anxious to have a repeat of the late late turning Lydia pulled.  For one, an 8 lb baby doing flips in the tummy is no cake walk (Lyds was 9 lbs at birth, so probably over 8 lbs when she turned for the final time!) and the doctor has already assured me that this one will be plenty big :) 

Updated belly shot to come soon.  I haven't been intentional about taking one and with all the winter layers you just can't tell much from the average photo.